Troops loyal to Yemen's government killed seven members of the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday, a military official said.

"The Houthi rebels carried out an infiltration attack and planned to target the government-controlled sites located in Tuhyata district of Hodeidah," the source said on condition of anonymity.

He said that the 9th unit of the pro-government Giants Brigades forces confronted the Houthi attackers and aborted their assault.

He confirmed that seven of the Houthi attackers were killed and several others were injured during the clashes.

No information, however, was given about the casualties among the pro-government soldiers during the fighting with the Houthis in Hodeidah.

Hodeidah, a vital lifeline for millions of Yemenis facing starvation, has seen a shaky cease-fire between the government and the Houthi rebels since they reached a UN-sponsored truce in Stockholm in December 2018.

The truce was seen as the first phase toward a nationwide cease-fire to end Yemen's more than five years of civil war.

Hodeidah is under the control of the Houthis, while the government forces have advanced to the southern and eastern districts.

Both warring sides have been blaming each other for truce breaches and sporadic military escalation.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.