Fresh air strikes and clashes in Yemen have killed over 60 fighters as Saudi-backed pro-government forces push an offensive against Houthi rebels, security and medical sources said on Monday.

Saudi-led coalition air raids overnight killed at least 18 of the Iran-backed rebels in Hais, south of the key port of Hudaida, while bombardments from gunships left 35 others dead in nearby Tahita, a security official told AFP.

The latest fighting killed 12 government troops and wounded 19 more, military and medical sources said.

On the outskirts of the capital, Sanaa, a witness told AFP that seven members of the same family including women and children were killed by a coalition air strike on Monday.

Government troops and coalition forces have been advancing along the Red Sea coast, seizing the town of Khokha earlier this month.

The stated goal is to reach Hudaida, Yemen’s second largest port and a key entry point for aid to the country, which the UN has warned faces “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades”.

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Featured image courtesy of AP