Houthis Seize Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands, Tightening Hold on Red Sea Shipping

Houthi fighters have seized Greater and Lesser Hanish. The two islands lie in Yemen's southern Red Sea. The group announced the takeover on September 14, 2026, after hundreds of Saudi-backed government troops withdrew from the archipelago without significant resistance.

The Hanish islands sit 160 kilometres north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That strait is the chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, and a quarter of the world's daily oil shipments pass through it.

This is the third and fourth major Houthi territorial gain in the area within a single week. On September 10 the group captured the port of Mokha, taking the Red Sea coast just north of the strait. The next day it seized Perim Island, which sits inside the Bab el-Mandeb itself.

For oil shipping, the Hanish seizure matters. Saudi Arabia has rerouted crude exports through the Red Sea since attacks began blocking reliable transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The group now has positions on both sides of the southern Red Sea, squeezing the corridor tankers have been using as an alternative.

Not good news for Riyadh. Yemen's internationally recognized government called the losses "painful and regrettable" and said its forces were regrouping. The UAE had dismantled military infrastructure on the islands beforehand, which likely eased the withdrawal.

MarineRadar recorded 132 unique devices tracking in the Southern Red Sea region over the past 48 hours. That is a lot of eyes on this corridor right now.