Yemen in April 2026: the most important developments in security
In April 2026, Yemen's Houthis were involved in the wider conflict between Iran on one side and Israel and the United States on the other. On 1 and 2 April the Houthis said they had fired missiles at Israel, describing the first attack as a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah, and Israel reported new missile attacks from Iran and Yemen. On 4 April the Houthis announced they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport and military sites in southern Israel; the Israeli military said a missile from Yemen landed in an open area with no injuries. Around 6 April a coordinated attack on Israel by the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iran was reported. By 9 April a ceasefire had been announced, which the Houthis called a major victory for Iran and the wider Muslim community.
The second theme was the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the passage at the southern end of the Red Sea. From the start of the month the Houthis threatened to close it if Gulf states joined the war, and merchant ships were warned of fresh strikes in the Gulf of Aden. After the ceasefire, Yemen vowed to escalate if the United States and Israel resumed the war on Iran, and reports said the Houthis might close the strait in response to the US naval blockade of Iran. Iran also threatened to block Red Sea shipping if the blockade continued.
By mid-month the Houthis were again threatening to block the strait, after the Strait of Hormuz. The USS George Bush was taking a route 1.5 times longer to the Gulf because of the threat, and a South Korean oil tanker was reported to have left the Red Sea. On 9 April Costa Rica designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis as terrorist organizations.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.