Operation Yemen Dawn, backed by 100 Saudi coalition aircraft, retook the town of Dhubab just north of the strait, as the Houthis claimed they struck Riyadh's international airport, an oil refinery and military bases across Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan and Turkey agreed to deploy troops to the kingdom.
Yanbu serves as the kingdom's primary crude export terminal on the Red Sea and is connected to its oil-producing regions near the Gulf coast by the East-West pipeline, also known as Petroline.
A senior Houthi official said Washington reached out after the group's advance to Bab el-Mandeb, as US media reported Trump cancelled planned strikes at the last minute after a call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Hanish archipelago fell after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew, adding to Houthi control of Mokha and Perim Island. More than 80,000 people have been displaced in two weeks of fighting, as the internationally recognised government vows to regroup.