Besieged by the Houthis, Yemen’s Taiz is teetering on the edge of humanitarian catastrophe

The Houthis have cut off every main route out of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, leaving food stocks nearly exhausted and 12 hospitals hours from running out of fuel. The World Food Program reports it cannot access over 600,000 people in Taiz who depend on humanitarian aid. The renewed offensive followed the collapse of the 2022 UN-brokered truce in July.

The Houthis have cut off every main route out of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, pushing it toward a humanitarian catastrophe. Food stocks are nearly exhausted, and 12 hospitals are hours from running out of fuel, threatening thousands of patients dependent on electricity. The World Food Program stated on October 14 that it cannot access more than 600,000 people in Taiz who depend on humanitarian assistance, including over 200,000 women and children. The renewed offensive followed the collapse of the 2022 UN-brokered truce in July. The article notes that the UN Security Council appears uninterested in prioritizing the issue, and that allies of Saudi Arabia have declined to commit forces. The writer observes that global civil society, which protested Israel's war in Gaza, has been absent regarding Taiz, and that some of those crowds are openly supportive of the Houthis due to their stated desire for Israel's destruction.