[News] Sanaa: Battle no longer defensive, shifted to preemptive action

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sanaa--battle-no-longer-defensive--shifted-to-preemptive-act>
Sanaa: Battle no longer defensive, shifted to preemptive action
Al Mayadeen English
August 24, 2026
------------------------------

Yemen's Defense Minister and Chief of Staff say Sanaa has moved from
defensive operations to preemptive offensives as Yemen escalates to lift
Saudi blockade.

   - [image: Ansar Allah supporters attend a protest against the United
   States-led airstrikes on Friday, Jan 12, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen (AP)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/8/12/f29f5bd8-1f3e-4bde-99f0-540fe0f47d62.jpg?width=1000>
   Ansar Allah supporters attend a protest against the United States-led
   airstrikes on Friday, Jan 12, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen (AP)

Sanaa government Defense Minister Major General Mohammed al-Atifi and Chief
of the General Staff Major General Youssef al-Madani announced that Yemen's
military operations have moved beyond defensive measures and entered a
phase of preemptive offensives.

The two officials said the tighter the noose Yemen's enemies attempt to
place around the country, the broader its military options grow and the
faster it develops advanced capabilities.
Saudi oil tanker, military positions targeted

Earlier on Monday, the Yemeni Armed Forces
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/yemeni-forces-target-saudi-oil-tanker-off-yanbu-amid-escalat>
announced that they had struck the Saudi oil tanker Amzan in the northern
Red Sea off Yanbu with a ballistic missile, sparking a fire on the vessel
and prompting other ships in the area to flee. Spokesperson Yahya Saree
said the strike is part of enforcing Sanaa's maritime ban and blockade
against Saudi Arabia.

Saree revealed that the Yemeni Armed Forces also struck a Saudi military
convoy in Al-Ubra and Al-Wadi'a, destroying over ten trucks loaded with
weapons, and hit Saudi forces
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/yemeni-armed-forces-strike-saudi-backed-forces-amid-escalati>
in Al-Kanais, killing and injuring dozens, including officers and
commanders, and destroying several weapons depots.

He stressed that Sanaa will continue meeting escalation with escalation
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/yemen-warns-any-saudi-escalation-will-be-met-with-escalation>
and warned of "stronger and more severe strikes" against any further Saudi
aggression.

The announcement follows overnight Saudi bombing of residential villages
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/saudi-shelling-hits-residential-villages-in-northern-yemen>
in Razih District, Saada Governorate, and Sanaa's downing of a Saudi
ScanEagle drone over Hajjah on Sunday.

Tensions have escalated since the Saudi strike on Sanaa International
Airport in July, after which Yemeni forces declared the 2022 peace deal
collapsed and announced a naval blockade on Riyadh.
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