Yemeni government forces claim 474 strikes in a day; The Jerusalem Post says the Saudi-backed assault is still weeks away

Four reports, four stories. Each outlet names a different actor, or none.

Under way, or still to come? LBCI's report says heavy fighting is already happening. The Jerusalem Post says the main assault has not started. Neither says whether the 474 strikes are part of that operation.

Each side is heard through the other. The Houthi strike reaches readers through the Saudi coalition's spokesman. No report we hold quotes a Houthi official.

What is not settled - How many people have been killed, wounded or forced from their homes. No report gives a figure. - How many people are going hungry. The WFP warning carries no number. - Whether the offensive will happen. Only The Jerusalem Post reports it. - What the missile hit. We hold only the first line of Shargh's report. - Whether trouble at sea is raising food prices in Yemen. None of the four puts a number on it.

This story is about a war in Yemen that is also a fight over a major shipping lane, and about who goes hungry because of it.

How it got here. Yemen has been at war since 2014. That September the Houthis took the capital, Sanaa. They are an armed movement from the north that calls itself Ansar Allah. The internationally recognised government fled south. In March 2015 a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states joined the war on the government's side, mostly from the air. A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 largely stopped the big offensives, but no peace deal followed. The country stayed split. The Houthis hold Sanaa and much of the north and west, including the port of Hodeidah. The government, led since 2022 by a Presidential Leadership Council, holds much of the south and east.

The war in Gaza began in October 2023, and after it started the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea. They said they were acting in support of Palestinians. The United States and Britain struck back from the air from January 2024. A Reuters photo caption carried by The Jerusalem Post says the Houthis joined a conflict involving Iran on 7 April 2026.

The strait. The Bab el-Mandeb is the narrow channel between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Ships sailing between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean must pass through it, including those using the Suez Canal.

Who is in it, and why. - The Houthis rule northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the United States say Iran arms them; Iran disputes this. - The Yemeni government wants its territory back. - Saudi Arabia borders Yemen and leads the coalition behind the government. - The World Food Programme is the UN's food-aid agency. Yemen imports most of its food, much of it by sea.

What is at stake. Whoever controls the coast can tax or block trade by sea. Yemeni households pay for the fighting through what food costs and whether it arrives.

Where it stands. On 2 October, government forces said they were striking Houthi positions, and the coalition said the Houthis had fired a missile at southern Saudi Arabia. The WFP warned of a surge in hunger.