Yemen Launches Offensive Against Houthis Amid Red Sea Tensions
Yemen launches a military offensive against Houthi forces as Red Sea tensions escalate, while a new book linking Hebrew punctuation to colonialism sparks controversy in the US.
Yemeni government forces have launched a wide-scale military campaign to retake territories controlled by the Houthis, following weeks of escalation between the Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, ordered all branches of the armed forces to engage in operations and fight until the country is liberated from the Houthi militia. The decision follows a Houthi offensive earlier in September that seized strategic areas on Yemen's western coast, including strengthening their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
The Saudi-led coalition announced it would provide Yemeni forces with full operational support to end the Houthi coup, asserting Saudi Arabia's right to protect its sovereignty. Meanwhile, the Houthis have escalated direct attacks against Saudi Arabia using missiles and drones targeting cities and energy sites. The regional tensions, alongside a stalemate in US-Iran talks, have contributed to a rise in energy prices, with Brent crude trading above $100 a barrel. Riyadh has requested expanded military assistance from Western nations, with France sending troops and radar systems to defend Yanbu.
In a separate geopolitical development, the Houthi takeover of strategic points in the Red Sea has renewed attention on Somaliland and questions regarding Israel's ties with the breakaway territory. Following Israel's diplomatic recognition of Somaliland in December 2025, reports have circulated regarding potential Israeli intelligence and logistical presence in the port city of Berbera, though neither government has officially confirmed a military base. Analysts note that while Berbera's proximity to the Bab al-Mandeb strait offers strategic advantages, physical presence alone does not guarantee immunity from Houthi escalations.
Meanwhile, a literary controversy has emerged in the United States over Florence Hazrat's book On the Mark: From Periods to Interrobangs, How Punctuation Remade the World. The book sparked sharp backlash on social media and criticism from commentators for linking the introduction of punctuation in Modern Hebrew to colonialism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reviewers and public figures dismissed the argument as pseudoscientific linguistics, criticizing the attempt to weave punctuation history into the geopolitical discourse.
