• Yemen’s coastguard reports that six people are dead and 10 others injured after a Houthi attack on a commercial vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
• Yemen’s Houthis claim they targeted a Saudi ship carrying military equipment in Bab al-Mandeb, according to the group’s Saba news agency.

US air strikes killed 153 civilians in Yemen last year, Pentagon admits: US media

US air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen last year killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others, US news outlet The Hill reports, citing Pentagon documents.

The Pentagon informed Congress in a 12-page report that the casualties resulted from three specific incidents during operations in April 2025.

These included an air strike on April 6 in Sanaa that killed five civilians, an attack on April 17 at the Ras Isa port that killed 80, and a third strike near Saada on April 28 that killed 47, according to the report.

The Pentagon added that 15 additional incidents related to the military campaign remained under review, it said.

Pakistan FM says three nationals killed in attack on vessel in Red Sea

Ishaq Dar has written on X that one other person was injured in the incident.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel,” he added. “Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”

The top diplomat said Islamabad was in contact with relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationally recognised government of Yemen regarding the incident.

Houthis launch new attack on Yemen’s al-Makha port

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched new ballistic missile attacks on the strategic port of al-Makha (Mocha) near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in southwestern Yemen, according to state media.

Saba TV did not provide any further details. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The attack comes a day after Yemeni government forces said the Houthis had launched 10 ballistic missiles and four drones at the city of al-Makha.

Japanese PM asks Iran to help prevent attacks in Bab al-Mandeb

Sanae Takaichi has requested that Iran use its influence to help prevent further escalation by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Bab al-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the presidency.

The request came as the Japanese prime minister welcomed what she described as progress in negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz and expressed hope that the strategic waterway would reopen as soon as talks concluded successfully.

According to the statement, Takaichi also reiterated Tokyo’s support for diplomatic efforts to end the war, saying such an approach was in the long-term interests of both Iran and the region.

For his part, Pezeshkian thanked Japan for supporting efforts to end the war and said Iran had “never sought instability” in the region. He claimed that the US and Israel had undermined regional peace through what he described as aggression against Iran.

Pezeshkian said Iran had acted in accordance with international law and had consistently sought to improve relations with neighboring countries. He also expressed hope that Japan’s diplomatic efforts would help restore peace and stability in the region and prevent further conflict.

Escalating Houthi attacks stoke fear of ‘all-out civil war’ in Yemen

The attacks on al-Makha are very serious because it signals that the Ansar Allah (Houthi armed group) is escalating their military operations, not only just to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, but also to target the players on the ground, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is working with the UN and Saudi Arabia to try to regain control of Yemen from the grip of the Ansar Allah movement.

But what we’re seeing on the ground is the fact that, speaking militarily, the Ansar Allah – Houthis – are the powerhouse on the ground. They have ballistic missiles, they’re able to target the port of al-Makha, where they say that they targeted command headquarters and also targeted weapon depots that were being built by Saudi Arabia. They claim that a number of Saudi military officials were also killed in the latest attacks in the port of al-Makha.

You have military operations being launched from the Ansar Allah group across the country, in the areas that are under the control of the Yemeni army, including the eastern governorate of Hadramout, and Marib – the stronghold of the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces.

An all-out civil war is to be expected if the situation does not de-escalate.

Yemen’s PLC chief vows response to Houthi actions

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), pledged to respond to every Houthi action and called on the group to end the fighting and join Yemen’s political process.

Yemen’s SABA news agency reported that al-Alimi said “no action by the Houthi militias will go unanswered or unchecked,” during a meeting with representatives of prominent media outlets.

According to SABA, al-Alimi also said there was still an opportunity for the Houthis “to lay down their arms, engage in political life, and compete through the ballot box on an equal footing with all other Yemenis”.

Saudi Red Sea oil exports go dark as Houthi threats continue

Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks ‌by Yemen’s Houthis, Reuters news agency reports.

The growing use of so-called “dark voyages” is clouding visibility into Saudi oil exports, making it harder to assess the extent to which Houthi threats may be disrupting crude flows, Reuters said.

Ship-tracking firms have produced widely different export estimates – data used by the International Energy Agency, OPEC and traders to assess global oil supply and forecast market trends.

In the week beginning August 3, data analytics firm Vortexa estimated loadings from Yanbu fell to 2.38 million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.71 million the previous week, while Kpler estimated a sharper drop to 1.78 million bpd from 4.04 million. AXSMarine, however, calculated a rise to 850,000 bpd from about 420,000 bpd.

The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, opening a new front against the United States and its allies in the Iran war.