The Yemeni government said on Thursday the national forces with support from the Saudi-led coalition drove the Houthi militants out of the Bab Al-Mandab strait and the island of Mion on the Red Sea.
The forces are now preparing for the battle to retake the port town of Makha and other areas in Taiz province, it said, as the battles between the Yemeni and coalition forces and the Houthi militants continued in Marib province.
The Marib battle which will pave the way for retaking the capital Sanaa started a few weeks ago. Thousands of troops from the coalition and hundreds of heavy equipment are backing the Yemeni forces in it.
In the past two days, the national and coalition forces retook key positions including the Marib dam and have advanced on key warfronts forcing the Houthis to retreat, military sources said.
Separately, the UN has abandoned a proposal for a probe into possible war crimes in Yemen where the conflict has killed more than 2.000 civilians and injured more than 20.000 others since March.
The proposal was put forward by the Netherlands amid increasing calls for an international independent probe into possible war crimes mostly by the Saudi-led coalition in the country.
The coalition has been conducting airstrikes against the Houthi militants and dissident forces backing them since March.
Lately, the UN said airstrikes were to blame for most of the civilian deaths.
An alleged airstrike targeted a wedding party in the town of Makah in the province of Taiz two days ago killing around 135 civilians mostly women and children. Many others were injured some seriously.
In Taiz, many civilians have been killed and injured in battles between the forces and the militants most of whom in Houthi random shelling on populated areas.