Updated

Iran-backed Houthi rebels advanced on government strongholds in Marib and Taiz, marking their most significant military gains in years, while also reportedly seizing Perim island, a strategically located point on a major Red Sea shipping lane. Analysts describe the advance as potentially reshaping the balance of power in Yemen's long civil war. In response, Yemen's internationally recognized government forces said they struck Houthi positions and equipment in the Dhubab and al-Khokha areas along the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to the army's official spokesman. The counterstrikes signal an attempt by government forces to blunt the Houthis' rapid territorial gains in a strategically vital maritime chokepoint.