The latest fighting around Taiz has revived fears of another major battle for one of Yemen's biggest cities.
But military analysts say the Houthis may have little interest in actually storming it.
Instead, they argue, the group's more achievable objective is to cut the roads keeping Taiz connected to the rest of government-held Yemen - and gradually make the city harder to sustain.
"The real danger does not lie in a direct attack, but in the Houthis succeeding in cutting the supply arteries and turning the siege into a permanent reality," military and security affairs researcher Assem al-Mujahid told The New Arab.
"Accordingly, the western front remains the key to the battle for Taiz: if the supply routes remain open and the forces retain the ability to manoeuvre, the strangulation project will remain obstructed, while cutting this corridor would mean subjugating the city without the need for a comprehensive assault."
That helps explain the pattern of the latest escalation.
The Houthis have launched intense attacks west of Taiz, using ballistic missiles and drones and temporarily breaking through government lines. But around the city itself, their strategy has largely involved pressure on roads and supply routes rather than an attempt to seize its densely populated neighbourhoods.
Al-Mujahid said: "The forces defending the city have accumulated extensive field experience in urban and mountain warfare, which has pushed the Houthis to favour a strategy of strangulation and attrition rather than entering a direct battle to storm the city."
Why Taiz matters
Taiz is Yemen's most populous governorate, with close to four million inhabitants.
Its importance is also strategic. To the west lie the port of Mocha and the approaches to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes.
Control of the governorate is divided among several anti-Houthi forces as well as the Houthis.
The internationally recognised government controls much of Taiz city and large parts of the governorate. On the western coast, the National Resistance forces of Tariq Saleh - an anti-Houthi commander who sits on Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council - control Mocha and other coastal districts.
The Houthis control much of the north and east, including the economically important al-Hawban area north-east of the city.
Al-Hawban contains major factories, trading companies and markets, giving the Houthis access to substantial revenues while most of densely populated Taiz city remains under their opponents' administration.
That makes the current division of the city economically useful to the group: it can extract revenue without assuming the full cost of governing Taiz.
The battle for the roads
The latest offensive began early last Thursday after the Houthis fired 14 ballistic missiles as well as drones, followed by fighting that lasted around 15 hours.
They temporarily reached strategic positions including Jabal Nu'man in Jabal Habashi district, before government and allied forces counter-attacked and recovered many of them.
At al-Kadha, an important link between Taiz and the western coast, anti-Houthi forces also repelled the attack.
Reinforcements have since arrived from the Giants Brigades, a powerful southern anti-Houthi force, and Nation's Shield, another military force aligned with Yemen's internationally recognised authorities.
The significance of the fighting lies in two crucial roads.
One connects Taiz with Mocha and the western coast. Another runs south-west towards Aden, the interim seat of Yemen's government.
For residents, they are not simply military supply routes. They are among the main arteries carrying civilians, food and commercial goods into and out of the city.
The Houthis have also targeted al-Wazi'iyah bridge, an important route between Taiz and the western coast.
"The Houthis understand that controlling the supply routes would give them the ability to gradually strangle the city and recreate the siege model of the early years of the war," al-Mujahid said.
"The Houthi objective at the current stage is focused on exhausting Taiz until it reaches a point where it loses its ability to withstand pressure, with the aim of draining the government and blackmailing it politically and militarily."
The consequences of cutting those routes could include higher prices, disruption to trade and further displacement among a population that has already endured years of war.
It could also give the Houthis greater leverage in future political negotiations.
Why not simply capture the city?
Taking Taiz would be extremely difficult.
The city consists of densely packed neighbourhoods surrounded by mountainous terrain, including Jabal Sabir, which provides defenders with a powerful natural position.
Government forces and local fighters have also accumulated more than a decade of experience in urban and mountain warfare.
Al-Mujahid said: "Taiz's rugged geography, the high ground surrounding it, and the complex nature of fighting inside residential areas make any large-scale attack a military adventure with uncertain results."
Military analyst Colonel Sarhan al-Muhaya argues that years of fortification have made the city's defences significantly stronger.
"The positions of the National Army inside Taiz have become literally impregnable, thanks to strong engineering fortifications combined with the rugged geography and innovative obstacles, alongside the precise implementation of concealment and camouflage principles. All of this has created a firm conviction among the Houthis that achieving any breakthrough is impossible, regardless of how long the war lasts or the intensity of firepower, meaning that the attacks result in human and material losses for them."
Even a successful assault would carry substantial costs.
The Houthis would have to fight through a hostile and heavily damaged city, then take responsibility for services and infrastructure serving a large civilian population.
By contrast, their current position around Taiz allows them to retain economic influence and military pressure without bearing those costs.
"The Houthis' dreams of controlling the al-Dhabab road and the Taiz-Mocha road, and closing the remaining corridors under the control of government forces, are unattainable, and Houthi forces will not be able to achieve them."
He added: "It has been proven theoretically and practically that the Houthi forces are unable to retake any territory they have lost in Taiz governorate despite their repeated attempts."
Fakhr al-Azb is a Yemeni journalist based in Taiz. Writes for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition.
Article translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site. Read the full article here.