⚓ Bab el-Mandeb: reported territorial gains and shipping exposure: AFP reported that the Iran-backed Houthis seized Perim (Mayyun) Island, while Reuters reported that their forces reached Dhubab on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Globes and N12 said the advance extended Houthi control over nearly the entire Yemeni Red Sea coast.
Perim divides the approximately 29-km-wide strait into two channels, with the eastern passage only about 3 km wide. Control of the island and nearby coastline allows threats from artillery and short-range weapons alongside longer-range missiles and drones launched inland. An Israeli official told Channel 12 that proximity makes the threat worse than at Hormuz, allowing visual targeting with anti-tank missiles and reducing reliance on radar and sophisticated surveillance.
Reuters reported that the gains also threaten Saudi Arabia’s alternative oil-export route through its East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, bypassing Hormuz. Onward shipping through the southern Red Sea could face Houthi threats, placing two critical chokepoints under simultaneous pressure from Iran and its allies.
Roughly 10% of global seaborne trade normally passes through Bab el-Mandeb. The Wall Street Journal reported that Brent crude has traded above $107 a barrel amid the regional disruption.
🏔️ Southern Lebanon: deployment changes and stated control: The IDF withdrew troops from Ali Taher Ridge on Thursday to demolish Hezbollah’s underground facility, subsequently saying it would “reorganize” its deployment while maintaining control through surveillance and firepower.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the ridge remains within Israel’s southern Lebanon buffer zone and that forces are preparing to prevent Hezbollah or any other party from establishing itself there. He warned that “anyone who approaches the Ali Taher Ridge will be destroyed” and said the IDF “will not withdraw or redeploy until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon.”
🛡️ Domestic security and crossing arrangements: IDF soldiers acting on Shin Bet intelligence apprehended terrorist Abd al-Rahman in Hebron on Saturday. The military said he planned an imminent shooting attack against Israeli civilians during Rosh Hashanah. Counterterrorism operations continue throughout Judea and Samaria.
The Defense Ministry’s Crossings Authority will conduct a security exercise at Te’enim Crossing on September 15, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Route 557 will close intermittently, and gunfire and explosions will be heard.
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