Houthis Seize Red Sea's Hanish Islands, Claim Large-Scale Missile and Drone Attack on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base

Yemen's Houthi movement said it seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, 160km north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew -- the latest step in a rapid Houthi advance that already captured the port city of Mocha and Mayun island inside Bab el-Mandeb earlier in September. The group said Saudi jets had struck Houthi-held areas of Yemen 54 times in the preceding 24 hours (part of a claimed 300+ strikes over five days). Hours later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed a large-scale ballistic missile and drone attack -- the group's second on the base in under 90 minutes, around 22:40 UTC -- on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, targeting aircraft hangars, radar, runways and ammunition depots and claiming 'direct hits.' Riyadh did not immediately respond to or confirm the claim. The escalation extends the war's Gulf-of-Aden/Red Sea front, tightening Iran-aligned control over a shipping route that has grown more critical as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blockaded.