In a lightning advance Monday against the Iran-backed Houthis, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces recaptured the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, driving the Houthis as far as Mocha with the support of heavy Saudi airstrikes, according to Yemeni government reports.

The Yemeni government said it had retaken much of the strait, a vital shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The government said that it had also made gains in Mocha, with Houthi fighters retreating into the mountains.

Government troops also regained important positions in the Dhubab district, including an airstrip near the strait. The Houthis had seized this area last month, a move that sent the global oil market into a panic and drove up oil prices. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane for the world’s oil supply, means that the threat to Bab el-Mandeb further endangers the world’s oil supply.

Because of the massive amount of shipments that pass through Bab el-Mandeb, the Yemeni government takeover signifies more safety for ships transiting the strait and passing between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. However, the Houthis still have the capability to endanger ships by launching drones from deeper inland or further along the northern coast.

The Houthis have made important gains in other areas, maintaining their threat to the city of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, by reportedly capturing part of the mountain road leading to the city and encircling it with their fighters. The Houthis have also threatened strikes on aircraft flying through Saudi airspace.

The war is worsening Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation. In Taiz, which has been on the front line of the war, people lined up for fuel and cooking gas Monday.

Turkey and Pakistan agreed to quickly deploy forces and military equipment to Saudi Arabia. The three countries signed a defense agreement called the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. The three states accused the Houthis of attacking Mecca and Medina in addition to Saudi cities and civilian infrastructure.