Al- Hodeidah- Yemen – Having failed to defeat Yemen’s Armed Forces and lift their Red Sea blockade in support of Gaza, Tel Aviv began establishing a foothold in neighboring Somaliland as a means of preparing the stage for a regime change operation against the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a.
This MintPress News’ investigation examines how Yemen’s resistance have thwarted an Israeli plot to secure a platform for Red Sea dominance and control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through establishing a strategic foothold in Somaliland and in strategic islands along Yemen’s western coastline. Tel Aviv sought to use this web of military outposts to launch a regime change operation, only to have been pre-empted by a large-scale Yemeni offensive.
The strategic passage, of the Bab el-Mandab Strait, was transformed into a pressure point against Israel after Yemen’s Ansarallah launched a successful maritime blockade in the Red Sea preventing Israeli ships from transiting the water-way; during Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This blockade disrupted Israeli-bound shipping that drove Israel’s Eilat Port into a financial crisis, bankrupting its busiest maritime port and forcing it to suspend operations entirely by July of 2025.
In creating a foothold in Somaliland, Israel sought to expand its strategic encirclement of the two countries that have historically stood up to its colonial plans: Iran and Yemen – while Palestine’s Arab neighbors helped Israel circumvent Yemen’s Red Sea blockade and have built new military alliances through the Abraham Accords.
Israel has spent nearly a decade building its operational and intelligence capabilities by establishing alliances in the Caucasus and Persian Gulf. The Abraham Accords helped accelerate Israel’s intelligence capabilities in the region with the goal to target Iran and Yemen.
Israel’s military outpost in Somaliland gives Tel Aviv much more than an intelligence outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere with 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port.
It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Sitting adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Straight and less than 80 miles away from Yemen’s coastline, Somaliland became a strategic foothold in the horn of Africa to establish a military and intelligence post to fulfill Israel’s regional expansionist goals. This week, US President Donald Trump described Somaliland as “a total different country” boosting Somaliland’s quest to become Africa’s newest country and Israel’s new military colony to control the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, following the collapse of the nation’s central government, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition. As a result, Somaliland’s separatist leadership has proven itself politically willing to cooperate with any external party that simply recognizes its independence. Israel has exploited this opportunity, exchanging recognition for the establishment of military positions, as well as a number of logistical and intelligence support centers at the Port of Berbera along the Gulf of Aden.
In reaction to emerging reports of Israeli presence on Somalia’s internationally recognised territory, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland region came after the separatist authorities accepted three key Israeli conditions: The establishment of a military base on the Gulf coast, to help in the “resettlement” of Palestinians displaced from Gaza, and joining the Abraham Accords.
«Israel has no peaceful intentions in coming to Somalia, and the world, especially Arab and Muslim nations, must view this Israeli move as a serious threat», remarked Somalia’s President, adding that «the presence of Israel will be felt by everyone in the region.» Mogadishu has vowed to “confront” this project from taking place on its soil, but is yet to take any tangible measures.
A high-ranking official within Yemen’s ruling Ansarallah Party informed MintPress News that it considers the acceptance of Somaliland’s leadership to facilitate the ethnically cleansing the people of Gaza transgresses against its own red lines, as well as those of the Arab and Islamic World.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin announced his official recognition of Somaliland as a state on December 26, 2025, a joint cooperation agreement was immediately signed, followed by the mutual opening of embassies in occupied Jerusalem as well as Hargeisa.Somaliland’s Abdirahman Abdullah then declared that his separatist movement does not rule out the establishment of an Israeli security presence in the country.
According to a Sana’a government intelligence official that spoke to MintPress News, Israeli officers of African origin are already operating inside Somaliland and are integrating their own military infrastructure with those of the separatist authorities. This includes aircraft hangars, air-defense systems, advanced radars, a command and control room, in addition to logistical support centers, the sources claimed.
In June, the Middle East Eye reported that Tel Aviv had deployed a small military force to Somaliland. Citing a senior Somali government official, the report alleges that the force is composed of approximately 50 soldiers and was sent to Somaliland shortly after Israel recognized the breakaway region as a state.
MintPress News was informed, by two high-ranking Ansarallah political sources and a military official, that the Israeli threat posed from Somaliland had played a role in prompting the recent offensive to take control of the nation’s Western coastline and islands – including Mayyun (Perim) island that is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These islands had provided the Israeli military and intelligence services with an advantage over the Yemeni Armed Forces, who had been granted access to facilities built and operated by Emirati-backed forces previously stationed there.
The Yemeni move, according to the same officials, came as a preemptive step aimed at depriving Israel of advanced positions to the west of Yemen, and establishing new positions from which to confront Israel in Somaliland itself – by taking advantage of the strategic Yemeni islands’ proximity to Somaliland.
Yemen’s Sana’a-based Foreign Ministry had previously issued a series of strongly worded warnings against both Israel and the authorities of Somaliland, cautioning them from establishing any military bases or security presence in the region overlooking the Gulf of Aden.
The Strategic Military Importance Of Somaliland For Greater Israel
Israel’s military positioning in Somaliland would give it far more than an intelligence post, according to an analysis of the territory`s strategic value, Situated near Yemeni`s western coast-including the city Hodeidah,
Israel’s capture of territory through its use of Somaliland separatists gains Tel Aviv much more than an observation outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere in 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port.
It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Beyond aiding in the surveillance and air defense sphere’s, Israel’s strategic positioning would also enable them to more effectively launch large-scale offensive operations inside Yemen. If their presence expands significantly, they could potentially even impose an air and naval blockade on the country.
The same experts expressed that this power could be harnessed to carry out extensive missions across the entire Horn of Africa, Red Sea, and result in it asserting dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A fear of this reality being imposed likely played into compelling a broad rejection of Israel’s Somaliland recognition from the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and various African States.
Establishing a foothold in Somaliland has been a long-standing Israeli objective, predating the Ansar Allah movement’s presence in Yemen. Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had even set the strategic objective of securing access to the Red Sea and finding ways to combat what was then the threat of a blockade over the Straits of Tiran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz during his meeting with the president of the breakaway Somali region, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, on June 17th:
«Israel and Somaliland have a long-standing friendship based on shared interests. We have cooperated for many years discreetly in a series of operations that will remain confidential». «We are determined to elevate our security cooperation to new levels, for the benefit of both peoples and for the sake of stability in the region”, he added.
«We are closely monitoring developments in Somalia and the activities of the Israeli enemy in the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea. We will take the initiative at any time to target any Israeli activity in Somalia, and we will not stand idly by in the face of any Israeli presence there», declared Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in response to reports of Israel’s intent to deploy military assets to the region.
Al-Houthi directly threatened practical steps against the Israeli presence, asserting that «we will not wait for the hesitant and complacent regimes. Rather, we will take the initiative whenever the Israeli enemy establishes any presence in Somalia, targeting it with all available means.»
Israel Loses Its Foothold In Bab El-Mandeb
The military doctrine of the Yemeni Armed Forces, led by Ansar Allah, instructs its personnel to act proactively, instead of waiting to absorb enemy attacks. In the context of its confrontations with Israel, Yemen has emphasized seizing the initiative and preemption. A source from within the Yemeni military informed MintPress New that his nation’s military doctrine is intended, among other objectives, to prevent a repetition of the scenario faced by Iran.
On September 3, Yemeni forces, supported by tribal fighters along Yemen’s western coast, launched a military operation aimed at reshaping the military balance along the Red Sea. One of the operation’s publicly stated objectives was to establish control over all areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as well as the strategic island of Mayyun and the Hanish Islands that are located around 100 miles north Bab el-Mandeb.
Sultan al-Barakani, the Saudi-appointed head of Yemen’s Riyadh-backed parliament, declared that 35 armed brigades were deployed across the nation’s West coast, while approximately 50,000 fighters were undergoing training. These forces included local recruits, Salafist fighters, and even Saudi military personnel.
These preparations formed part of a broader plan for a ground offensive aimed at seizing territory from the Ansarallah led government. MintPress News was informed that this Saudi-led plot was set to be supported by Israeli air operations originating from Somaliland. Saudi-aligned media outlets even promoted the prospect of a decisive campaign, using rhetoric suggesting that Anasarallah would be eliminated through a single overwhelming military operation.
Instead of allowing Saudi Arabia to order its proxy forces to launch an offensive, the Yemeni Armed Forces countered with their own advance that resulted in the seizure of approximately 5,400 square kilometers of territory. Yemeni military spokesman, Yahya Saree, later declared that the preemptive operation targeted four coastal districts—Hays, Al-Tuhayta, Al-Khawkhah, and Dhubab – areas then held by forces associated with Tariq Saleh, and those backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
The operation combined conventional ground advances with coordinated drone and ballistic missile launches. An Ansarallah military planner noted that a key component to this strategy was a series of strikes carried out against command-and-control centers, training sites and ammunition depots – located both at the Al-Wadi’ah border crossing with Saudi Arabia and inside Yemen itself. This effectively disrupted the Saudi-backed forces from resupplying, reinforcing their positions and coordinating along the frontlines.
Although the Saudi-backed forces announced a counter-offensive and Riyadh deployed its airforce to their aid, it proved ineffective, as the Yemeni Air Defences managed to shoot down at least 9 drones during this initial seven day period.
Among its most strategically significant achievements was the capture of the port of Mokha, accompanied by the release of hundreds of Yemeni detainees from prisons in the city. During interviews conducted by MintPress news with a number of released detainees, the prisoners of war testified to having been subjected to torture by Saudi-backed personnel.
The advancing forces also captured substantial quantities of foreign military equipment. According to War media footage accounts reviewed, the equipment included American- and Israeli-origin systems such as drones, air-defense equipment, radar and surveillance systems, communications equipment, electronic-jamming technology, military vehicles, and large quantities of ammunition.
MintPress News has viewed evidence indicating American-made Oshkosh Armoured Vehicles and Emirati-manufactured JAIS Mk 2 4×4 armored vehicles were captured. In addition to this, a large number of medium-machine guns (MMG)s, anti-aircraft weapons, tanks, naval radars, military boats and self-propelled artillery vehicles fell into the hands of Yemen’s Armed Forces. Other kinds of weapons including Kornet and TOW anti-tank guided missile systems were also seized.
Further equipment was captured at the following locations/facilities:
Communication equipment at the Joint General Command headquarters in Mocha; military equipment and technology at Dhubab airbase and on the Mayyun Island; advanced surveillance systems left behind at the Yakhtal Base, as well as in the Naval Command and Coast Guard Administration Headquarters in Mocha. The Coast Guard Operations Center’s
surveillance stations on Zuqar Island and the Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands also meant that Yemen’s forces gained access to modern Radar systems. Sizeable weapons depots were additionally discovered at the Khalid bin Walid Camp, Jabal al-Nar Camp, al-Dhubani Camp, al-Aqd and al-Maghras Camps, Anbarah Camp, and Abu Musa al-Ash’ari Camp.
The significance of Yemen’s successful capture of enemy equipment may well extend beyond that of its immediate military application. The Yemeni Armed Forces and their allies will likely work to reverse engineer some of these systems, meaning domestic variants of the U.S. and Israeli military systems/equipment may become available for production and even modifications that make them more effective. All of this from the seizure of communications devices, surveillance capabilities, electronic warfare capabilities, modern radar technology and air-defense capabilities.
Propaganda To Rally The World Against Ansarallah In Bab El-Mandeb
Following the capture of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island, both Israel and Saudi Arabia launched global smear campaigns against Yemen, claiming that international maritime security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait was now under threat.
Yemen’s Sana’a based authorities were, however, quick to make it clear that the results of their offensives posed no threat to international navigation and commerce. Instead they accused Saudi Arabia and Israel of attempting to mobilize international opinion against the Sana’a authorities by portraying Yemen’s control of Bab al-Mandab as an international maritime threat.
In separate statements, representatives of the Yemeni armed forces, the Sana’a-based Change and Construction Government and Ansarallah, all emphasized their stated commitment to freedom of navigation through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. They also asserted that Sana’a would continue to recognize Yemen’s existing international obligations and treaties, including commitments made by previous Yemeni governments.
In fact, the maritime traffic remained within its regular range. MintPress News was able to witness the free passage of ships through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the initial days of the territory being captured, also receiving eyewitness reports that the situation has not changed since. Additionally, maritime data from the MarineTraffic platform, demonstrates that 116 vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, from both directions, between September 11, 2026, and Monday morning, September 14.
Despite Yemen’s reassurances, Tel Aviv and Riyadh have persisted with their allegations that a threat is being posed to the key international shipping route. Motivating this is the fact that Yemen’s Armed Forces are currently imposing a counter blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and Israel’s fear that a blockade will be re-imposed upon them in the event of renewed attacks on Lebanon and Gaza.
