How did the Houthis become so emboldened?

An escalation of attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the group’s seizure of Yemen’s western coast, comes at a critical time in the region.

The rapid advance in a matter of days has given the group unprecedented access to the Bab Al Mandeb strait, a global maritime chokepoint, while displacing at least 125,000 civilians.

Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz, another critical route for international energy supplies, remains effectively closed because of the war between the US and Iran.

The violence in the two waterways has disrupted the flow of oil, goods and aid.

The fighting only intensified over the past week as the Iran-backed group attacked Saudi targets, including the holy city of Makkah, while the East-West pipeline was struck from Iraq.

In Yemen, pro-government forces have suffered major losses.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks into how the Houthis' capacity to fight has grown enough for them to make such sweeping gains so quickly and whether the confrontation will escalate further before it dies down.

She speaks to Baraa Shiban, political analyst on Yemen at the Royal United Services Institute, and to Gulf expert Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.