Saudi Arabia launches a major offensive against Houthi held port in Yemen.

The Yemeni port city of Hodeidah. Reuters. 

Saudi Arabia and their allies have launched a major offensive against the Houthi rebel held port city of Hodeidah. Reuters. The Saudis launched ground, air and sea attacks on the port city in what is being described as the biggest operation of the war. The UAE has supported the attack as well and is focusing on the Houthi's front line near the airport. Four UAE soldiers died but it is unclear if they were participating in the battle. The Saudi's plan is to capture the airport and seaport and secure the route to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, which is currently controlled by the Houthis. The Saudis say they do not want to be drawn into a street to street fight in Hodeidah. Hodeidah is the main port supplying Houthi rebels and if taken could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 

My Comment:

Another major battle in Yemen. And the outcome of this one could effect the entire war. If the Saudis and their allies manage to take Hodeidah, the Houthi rebels will be cut off from Iranian supplies and global food aid. Their position may become untenable very quickly and could end with the liberation of the Yemeni capital. 

I think the main focus is cutting off Iranian supplies. Those Iranian supplies have included ballistic missiles that directly threaten the Saudi and UAE homelands. And given that those warheads can be fitted with chemical or biological weapons, stopping the flow of these weapons into Yemen is a major priority. Cutting of Iranian supplies won't stop the threat but it will go a long way to reducing it to a less dangerous level. 

Of course taking the city of Hodeidah could lead to a humanitarian crisis in a country that is already falling apart. With international aid cut off, the Houthis will no longer be able to feed civilians under their control and thousands of people could starve or die when they don't get needed medical supplies. The UN claims that aid will continue regardless but I don't see how that will happen when the city is a battlefield. I doubt the Saudis want to risk the political nightmare that starving out Sanaa would cause but it's still on the table at this point.

I don't know what to think about the report that the Houthis managed to beat back an amphibious landing. My guess would be that is Houthi propaganda. The Houthis don't have the technology or weapons to match the land, sea and air power the Saudis brought to the battle. They can slow them down but I don't see them stopping them unless they made a major tactical error. 

I do think that if the Saudis manage to take Hodeidah it will be a major victory for them and bring them closer to winning the war. The war hasn't gone that well for them despite the fact that they have better weapons and technology and arms. The fact that the Houthis were able to directly threaten Saudi Arabia itself shows how badly this war is going for them. 

They aren't going to quit though. They correctly feel that the Houthis are just a proxy force for the Iranians and if they lose the war the Iranians will use Yemen as a base to attack Saudi Arabia directly, similarly to what they are doing in Syria with Israel. As long as that is the case I don't see the Saudis or their allies quitting this war anytime soon, no matter what the international community says.