Yemen’s city of Taiz is sinking deeper into a humanitarian crisis, the United Nations has warned, nearly three weeks into a Houthi siege that has kept supplies from getting in. Speaking at a news conference in Geneva on Friday, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian arm OCHA, said fighting was making it increasingly impossible for aid to enter and for people to leave.
The Iran-backed Houthis have surrounded Taiz since early October, cutting the road that links it to Aden. Aden is the interim capital of the internationally recognised government. Since then, almost no fuel, food or other goods have made it into the city.
Water, cooking gas and aid access under strain
Laerke said most residents rely on water brought in by trucks, and its cost has tripled. Cooking gas is largely unavailable, which threatens the community kitchens that feed families.
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According to the World Food Programme, more than 800,000 people in Taiz are cut off from aid, around three-quarters of whom need humanitarian assistance. At least 200,000 of them are women and children.
Local groups have used their remaining stocks to keep water pumps and hospitals running. Laerke warned that time is short: “It comes with a time code: The clock is running out.”
Hospitals short of fuel and medicine as hunger deepens
Hospitals across the province are reporting severe shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicine and supplies. World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said 42 facilities in Taiz face “acute” deficits.
The fighting has also worsened an existing hunger crisis. UN screenings in Taiz alone found more than 52,000 children with acute malnutrition, and roughly 11,500 of them are severely affected.
Azfar Deen, a WFP regional communications officer for eastern and Southern Africa, said: “We’re desperately trying to regain access to Taiz, and we continue to support the broader operations across Yemen.”
Clashes, disputed military claims and new European aid
Clashes have flared across Taiz province in recent days, reported in the Jabal Han highlands and the Dhubab and al-Masrakh districts. Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesperson for government forces, said on Friday that troops had carried out raids and counterattacks over the previous 24 hours. He claimed they were “neutralising” 620 Houthi fighters and had destroyed 190 vehicles. The figures could not be independently verified.
The European Commission said on Friday it would release an extra 22.5 million euros ($25.2m) in aid to Yemen. That adds to the 87.5 million ($97.9m) already allocated for 2026.
Conflict roots, truce collapse and civilian toll
Yemen has been torn by conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and other provinces in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to back the internationally recognised government.
A truce brokered by the UN in 2022 fell apart this July, when the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi ports. The escalation that followed has displaced nearly 260,000 people, mostly in Taiz and Lahij provinces, according to the UN. More than 3,800 people have also fled to neighbouring Djibouti.
At least 1,574 people have been killed and 6,939 others wounded in the conflict since August.
