Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say they have secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the start of a major offensive against the Houthis, according to the BBC.

A Yemeni military spokesman said the Giants Brigades and National Shield forces are besieging Houthi fighters in Dhubab, a Red Sea coastal town, after taking its airport and cutting the road to the port city of Mokha. Houthi-run media denied that government forces had advanced in the Dhubab area. The Saudi-led military coalition said its fighter jets destroyed more than 300 high-value targets in strikes supporting the offensive, according to the BBC.