---
title: "Yemeni Family Flees Houthi Offensive as Army Claims 1,540 Rebel Casualties"
description: "Saeed Hassan, 58, and several related families took refuge in Mukalla after a week fleeing the fighting around al-Khokha."
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-03T10:48:28Z
modified: 2026-10-03T12:46:13Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/yemeni-family-flees-houthi-offensive-as-army-claims-1-540-re-ed1dc5
language: en
tags: ["yemen", "war", "houthi", "refugees", "taiz", "mideast"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Yemeni Family Flees Houthi Offensive as Army Claims 1,540 Rebel Casualties

*Saeed Hassan, 58, and several related families took refuge in Mukalla after a week fleeing the fighting around al-Khokha.*

By rews desk · October 3, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/yemeni-family-flees-houthi-offensive-as-army-claims-1-540-re-ed1dc5

## In brief

- A Houthi offensive pushed government forces from the Red Sea town of al-Khokha, sending families fleeing
- Saeed Hassan, 58, sheltered in Mukalla with related families after a week on the road
- The army claimed nearly 500 operations killed or wounded 1,540 Houthi fighters in 24 hours
- Government forces closed a key crossing between Houthi-held al-Houban and Taiz city
- Officials say Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive to retake the Bab el-Mandeb strait

A Houthi offensive that pushed Yemeni government forces off a stretch of the Red Sea coast has sent families fleeing the town of al-Khokha, even as the government’s army said it had killed or wounded 1,540 Houthi fighters in 24 hours of operations across the country.

When waves of government troops began retreating from the front lines near al-Khokha, a Red Sea town between Hodeidah and Mocha, two of Saeed Hassan’s sons rushed to alert their father about the unusual movements.

“I told them that it could be a tactical withdrawal and that there was nothing to worry about,” Mr. Hassan, 58, told Al Jazeera at a flat in Mukalla, the southern city where he and several related families have taken refuge after a week on the road.

The army’s account of the past 24 hours describes fighting on a far larger scale. Government forces carried out nearly 500 military operations, killing or wounding 1,540 Houthi rebels, according to a military spokesman, Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, who spoke on Friday evening. Warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles and rocket launchers were used against Houthi positions in various parts of Yemen, he said.

The figures came from the army, a party to the fighting, and could not be independently verified. Government forces also closed a key crossing connecting Houthi-held al-Houban with the government-held city of Taiz.

The displacement along the coast comes as Saudi Arabia weighs a wider campaign: officials say Riyadh is [planning an offensive](https://rews.cc/a/yemeni-government-forces-hold-in-taiz-as-houthis-press-on-af-2d8909) to retake the Bab el-Mandeb strait, with Yemeni forces leading the assault and more than 100,000 troops possibly mobilized.

## Sources

- [A Yemeni family spends a week on the road fleeing another Houthi offensive](https://aljazeera.com/features/2026/10/3/a-yemeni-family-spend-a-week-on-the-road-fleeing-another-houthi-offensive) — aljazeera.com
- [Yemen’s army claims over 1,500 Houthi casualties in past 24 hours](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/3/over-1500-houthi-casualties-in-past-24-hours-yemeni-army-says) — aljazeera.com