BIG: Yemen’s Houthis have captured Mokha and swept roughly 2,600 km² of western Yemen in a rapid coastal offensive. The advance targeted the western Taiz and southern Al-Hudaydah governorates, cutting through multiple districts in what's being described as one of the fastest territorial shifts in the war in years. Government and National Resistance Forces (Tariq Saleh's units) withdrew or collapsed across a broad front, reportedly falling back toward Aden. Named locations taken include Hays, Al-Khawkhah, Al-Wazi'iyah, Mawza, and the strategically important Khalid ibn al-Walid military camp. The offensive culminated in seizing Mokha (Al-Makha), the main government-held port city on that stretch of the Red Sea coast. Why this is significant? Mokha sits roughly 60–75 km north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints. The city had been in government/coalition hands since early 2017 and served as a key hub for Tariq Saleh's National Resistance Forces. Houthi control there puts them physically closer to the strait and international shipping lanes they've already been disrupting. It also removes the main government military and logistical anchor on the western coast.