"The Houthis fled under massive airstrikes. The offensive continues. Our goal is the complete liberation of the city, the strategic goal is the liberation of the seaport," Majali said, confirming that the airport had been recaptured.
He also noted that the Houthis were using the inhabitants of Hodeidah as human shields.
"We want to save the lives of civilians. There are many residents in Al Hudaydah [Hodeidah]. We strive to provide safe areas for its residents, to act cautiously against Houthi militants who are using civilians as human shields," Majali stressed.
According to a diplomatic source, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths left the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Tuesday after talks with the Houthi rebels on the crisis around the port city of Hodeidah failed to achieve any results.
"The UN envoy has left Sanaa having achieved no progress in [solving] the issue of escalation in the province of Al Hudaydah [Hodeidah] in western Yemen and saving the city from hostilities amid Ansar Allah's demands to preserve its troops in the city," the source said.
Last week, Griffiths called on the parties to the conflict to avoid further escalating tensions in Al Hudaydah [Hodeidah], adding that the United Nations was in contact with all the sides of the conflict.
READ MORE: IOM Warns Offensive on Yemen's Hodeidah Port Putting 600,000 at Risk
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement since 2015. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.
