ADEN: Yemeni government forces captured new positions in Taiz as they intensified their offensive against the Houthis, carrying out 1,164 strikes and neutralizing an estimated 558 militia fighters over the past 24 hours, a military spokesperson said on Monday.

Majed Al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said in a post on X that government troops had forced Houthi fighters to retreat in Taiz under heavy air and artillery support as part of Operation Dawn of Yemen.

The military also reported destroying or damaging 135 Houthi military vehicles and pieces of equipment during the operations, which targeted the militia’s troop concentrations, reinforcements, fortifications and supply routes.

Al-Nuzaili said the strikes were carried out using fighter jets, drones, field artillery, rocket launchers and sniper units, disrupting Houthi firing positions and supply lines.

In the southern battlefronts and Shabwa province, government forces continued their offensive against Houthi positions, restricting the militia’s movements and preventing it from regrouping or deploying reinforcements.

Along the western coast and near the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait, government troops repelled Houthi advances and targeted troop assembly areas and firing positions, the spokesperson added.

He said the latest operations had neutralized 558 Houthi fighters, including field commanders, as government forces continued to expand their territorial gains.

Al-Nuzaili also said the military had taken precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, stressing that the strikes targeted legitimate military objectives.

The latest announcement comes amid intensified fighting between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia since the launch of Operation Dawn of Yemen on Oct. 5.

The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen has provided air support for the offensive, which aims to recapture Houthi-held territory and restore government control over state institutions, including in the capital, Sanaa.

The escalation has also seen renewed Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government positions.

On Monday, a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a military camp in Shabwa killed at least 53 people and wounded around 200 others, according to reports, marking one of the deadliest attacks since the latest fighting began.