The humanitarian and health repercussions of the Houthi siege imposed on the Yemeni city of Taiz have worsened, with the aggressive attacks on the city entering their second month, amid a decline in basic services and a rise in indicators of the spread of epidemic diseases, at a time when the United Nations suspended the delivery of aid to the Qataba District, north of Al Dhalea Governorate, and neighboring displaced persons camps, following the fall of a Houthi missile near their shelter areas.
In the face of deteriorating food security, the World Food Program and its partners launched an initiative to provide emergency meals to the most needy families in the city of Taiz, relying on food ingredients from local sources, targeting in its first phase two thousand families distributed over three districts.
The initiative comes at a time when the city, which the Houthis are imposing a renewed siege on, is facing a worsening crisis in basic services, especially water, health and hygiene, with the increasing difficulty of the population’s access to essential needs.
According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 310,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Yemen since the beginning of August, including about 135,000 displaced people still inside Taiz Governorate, representing more than 40 percent of the total newly displaced people.
With regard to responding to emergency needs, humanitarian partners were able to provide shelter assistance to about 5,600 displaced families, out of more than 51,000 families displaced since August, while planning is underway to distribute shelter supplies and tents to an additional 4,600 families.
Suspension of aid in Al-Dhalea
In the north of Al Dhalea Governorate, security concerns imposed new restrictions on humanitarian operations, after a missile fired by the Houthis landed about one kilometer from the city of Qaataba, near areas hosting displaced people.
Initial reports indicated that a number of civilians were injured as a result of the incident, which prompted the suspension of the delivery of humanitarian aid to the district and nearby displaced camps, as a precautionary measure in light of the risks threatening the safety of relief workers and beneficiaries.
This comment comes to add a new obstacle to humanitarian response efforts, at a time when the needs resulting from waves of displacement and military escalation are increasing, especially in areas that host large numbers of families fleeing confrontations.
Worrying epidemiological indicators
In Taiz, the Public Health and Population Office warned of increasing health and epidemiological risks as a result of the continued siege and the decline in health and environmental services, based on indicators that monitored a decrease in medical consultations and an increase in some infectious diseases.
The Epidemiological Surveillance Department report showed a decline in the average weekly medical consultations by 27 percent, from 24 thousand to about 17.5 thousand consultations, an indicator that reflects the decline in the ability of health facilities to provide services and reach patients.
In contrast, suspected dengue cases increased by 26 percent at the governorate level, while the increase reached 71 percent within the city of Taiz per thousand consultations. Mumps cases also recorded an increase of 94 percent.
The report monitored a 50 percent decrease in suspected cases of measles, whooping cough, and meningitis, coinciding with a 40 percent decline in vaccination and epidemic containment operations, which raises concerns about widening gaps in prevention and early detection.
As for water-borne diseases, data showed a decrease in suspected cholera cases by 42 percent, compared to an increase in the rate of watery diarrhea in the city by 22 percent, amid warnings of pollution of water sources, accumulation of waste, and poor sanitation services.
Decreased response
The health report pointed to a decline in epidemiological response activities, as alerts decreased by 19 percent, and home visits by response teams decreased by the same percentage, while laboratory samples decreased by 22 percent. He warned that the decrease in the number of recorded cases does not necessarily mean an improvement in the epidemiological situation, as it may be the result of reduced access to health services and weak surveillance activities.
These risks multiply with the shortage of fuel and medical supplies and the cessation of waste removal operations, the amounts of which range in the city between 500 and 600 tons per day, threatening the continuation of health services, including the operation of child incubators and dialysis machines.
The government report called for providing 1,200 liters of diesel per day to the hygiene fund, in addition to intensifying mosquito control and water sterilization campaigns, supporting health facilities with fuel and medical supplies, strengthening vaccination and epidemiological surveillance programs, and providing mobile medical teams to reach rural areas.
These indicators reflect the expanding pressures faced by the residents of Taiz, as the siege and decline in services coincide with waves of displacement and lack of basic needs, at a time when health and environmental risks threaten to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, and place health facilities facing increasing challenges to maintain their minimum services.
Operation “Yemen Dawn” entered its second month with a presidential confirmation of its continuation until the restoration of state institutions, coinciding with the issuance of a report by the United Nations Group of Experts on Yemen on the group’s continued development of its military capabilities by benefiting from complex external supply networks, while a Houthi bombardment with a ballistic missile caused deaths and injuries in an operation that the Yemeni government described as a “war crime.”
The military confrontation in Yemen witnessed a new phase of escalation, with the expansion of battles between government forces and the Houthi group in the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, Ma’rib, and Al-Jawf, and increasing fears for civilians and international navigation in the Red Sea.
In a statement to the council on Thursday, the head of the Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, confirmed the continuation of military operations until achieving their declared goals, foremost of which is ending the Houthi coup, restoring state institutions, and extending its authority over the entire Yemeni territory.
The Council said that, since October 5, the armed forces have carried out more than 40,000 military targeting operations on various fronts, which, according to its outcome, resulted in the neutralization of about 20,000 of the group’s leaders and members, and the destruction and damage of more than five thousand military vehicles and equipment.
These numbers, according to the Council, reflect the volume of military operations during the first month, while confrontations continue on several fronts, amid government moves to rearrange some military and security leadership.
While the Houthi group continued its hostilities and its targeting of civilians and vital civilian installations inside and outside the country, in addition to using UN headquarters for military operations, a UN report revealed that it continued to develop its military capabilities by benefiting from complex external supply networks.
The Yemeni government's announcement that the Houthis on the western coast were using a United Nations building in the Al Mokha District as a center for military operations and a missile launching pad raised new concerns about the safety of humanitarian facilities and international workers.
Multiple battles
Government forces announced the recovery of military sites in the areas of Al-Sarari in the Sabr Al-Mawadim District and Sanamat in the Al-Misrakh District in Taiz Governorate (southwest), following attacks launched with the support of the Popular Resistance, which coincided with air raids and strikes carried out by drones targeting Houthi sites, gatherings and vehicles.
Local sources reported that, at dawn on Friday, military aircraft launched a series of raids targeting the group’s positions, fortifications, and vehicles in the Haifan District and the vicinity of the city of Al-Turbah, without announcing an official toll of losses.
Many areas in Lahj Governorate witnessed violent confrontations, particularly concentrated on the front of the Zurayqa area of the Al-Maqatara District, where military sources reported that the Houthis carried out a bypass attack on five sites, before the defending forces, backed by the resistance, were able to recover two of them, while the confrontations continued in the Al-Mudaraba District and the Kahboub Mountains overlooking Bab Al-Mandab.
The confrontations in Al-Zariqa, according to a preliminary field tally reported by leadership sources, resulted in the killing of 11 members of the joint forces and the wounding of 23 others. The number of casualties among the Houthis was not known, while the clashes continued with the arrival of military reinforcements from both sides.
The escalation extended to the governorates of Ma'rib and Al-Jawf, where government forces announced progress in the Al-Dahidha Heights and the Huwaishan Mountains, east of Al-Jawf, and control of sites, fortifications and weapons, as part of operations aimed at opening the road towards the city of Al-Hazm.
In Marib, confrontations continued in Wadi Halhalan in the Raghwan District, where government forces announced the recovery of sites that were under the control of the Houthis, and advance towards the Mahazim Mas area, following clashes and mutual attacks that resulted in deaths and injuries on both sides.
Fears are increasing about the repercussions of the expansion of the Houthi missile and air capabilities on the security of the region and sea lanes, especially with the continuing threats related to navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
In this context, a report by the United Nations Group of Experts on Yemen revealed that the group continues to develop its military capabilities by taking advantage of complex external supply networks, and dual-use commercial and civilian components, including navigation systems, batteries, engines, and electronic control devices used in the manufacture and development of drones and missiles.
The report indicated the interception of military shipments and components during the year 2025, as well as attempts to obtain chemicals used in the manufacture of rocket fuel and explosives, including ammonium perchlorate and sodium nitrate, warning that the continuation of these supplies enhances the group’s long-term capabilities and poses a threat to navigation and international trade.
Another massacre in Al-Waziyah
On the West Coast, the Yemeni government’s announcement that the Houthis were using a UN building in Al Mokha District as a center for military operations and a missile launching pad raised new concerns about the safety of humanitarian facilities and UN workers.
The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said that the group is exploiting the legal immunity of UN headquarters to cover its military activities, calling on the United Nations to investigate these accusations and work to evacuate the building of armed elements and weapons. It was not possible to independently verify these allegations.
In another field development, there were deaths and injuries as a result of the targeting of the popular Hadara market in the Al-Waziyah district, west of Taiz Governorate, on Friday.
While the Ministry of Health of the unrecognized Houthi government announced the killing of 20 people and the injury of at least 15 others, the local authorities in Taiz held the group responsible for the attack, and denied that it was the result of air strikes by the “coalition,” confirming, based on the operations room’s testimony, that military aircraft did not carry out any operations in the Al-Wazi’iyah District during that day.
The Yemeni army spokesman, Majid Al-Nuzaili, said that the Houthis targeted the market with a ballistic missile, which led to dozens of deaths and injuries, describing the attack as a “war crime” that, in his words, reflects the group’s targeting of civilians whenever it suffers field losses or fails to launch its missiles.
Al-Nazili accused the group of endangering the security of the region, freedom of navigation, and international trade lines, calling on the international community to classify it as a terrorist organization, dry up its sources of funding, and cut off its arms supplies, and stressed the continuation of government forces in Operation “Yemen Dawn.”
For its part, the local authority warned that indiscriminate Houthi missile attacks, including the use of ballistic missiles, endanger the lives of civilians. She stressed that markets and population centers are protected under international humanitarian law.
It called on the authorities to document the circumstances of the incident, preserve the material evidence, and subject it to an independent technical examination. It also urged residents to stay away from projectile landing sites and not touch or move their remnants, and to inform the competent authorities, calling on the United Nations and human rights organizations to condemn the targeting of civilians and support investigation and accountability efforts.
The escalation coincided with changes in some military and security positions, as President Al-Alimi issued a decision to appoint a new command for the Abyan military axis, in parallel with decisions of the Ministry of Interior that included 11 appointments in the police command and departments in the governorate, in a step that comes as part of government moves to rearrange the military and security institutions in conjunction with the expansion of operations on the fronts.
The Houthi group in Yemen announced the allocation of about $10 million to spend on the families of those killed, wounded, and missing in the military escalation within one week, in a measure that raises widespread condemnation within the areas under its control, which have witnessed a severe living crisis and the interruption of public employee salaries for years.
Late last month, the General Authority for the Care of Families of the Group’s Dead launched a broad program to spend on the group’s followers and the families of its dead and wounded, at a total cost of about $9.34 million (5 billion and 443 million Yemeni riyals, as the group imposes a fixed price for the dollar equal to 530 riyals), as part of its annual activities, which it calls “Martyr Week.”
Spending includes food projects and cash aid. According to the speech of Houthi leader Saleh Hamza, Vice President of the Commission, during the inauguration event, the announced projects aim to commemorate the anniversary of the group’s dead, as well as implementing regular care and economic empowerment programs, and expanding areas of support directed to the families of the dead, wounded, and missing.
In addition, the group aims to distribute food baskets worth $3.36 million (1.8 billion riyals), and symbolic gifts worth $2.61 million (1.4 billion riyals), in addition to economic empowerment projects and periodic care directed exclusively to the group’s members and their families.
In recent years, the Houthi group has doubled the use of financial and economic resources in serving its project, as leader Hamzah spoke about harnessing billions of riyals during the past year to implement cash, health and food projects directed exclusively to the families of the dead, wounded and missing.
Limiting aid to loyalty
The group is accused of employing state resources and revenues from the “Zakat” and “Endowments” bodies, two parallel entities it established over the past years, to enhance military mobilization and political loyalty, instead of directing them to alleviate general economic suffering.
Residents in Sanaa believe that the group continues to waste money on projects targeting the families of its dead and wounded, in parallel with holding events that promote its sectarian ideas, while ignoring the suffering of millions who face harsh living conditions, in light of a humanitarian crisis that worsens year after year.
A public employee in Sanaa, who asked to conceal his name, says that, while he is unable to provide the basic needs of his family, which includes five children, the group is allocating billions to the families of those killed, and programs that do not extend beyond its followers, which raises an extreme feeling of bitterness for him and the thousands who cannot meet the needs of their families.
He denounces the deprivation of millions of Yemenis of food, treatment, and education, in exchange for allocating these amounts to a limited number of families because of their loyalty.
Appealing to poor families
Observers believe that the group seeks to win over poor families and exploit their living conditions to strengthen their loyalty and convince them to push more of their children to join the fighting on the front lines.
For his part, the head of a poor family expresses his regret at hearing about billions being spent on the group’s activities and projects, while poor families are faced with harsh choices. Between reducing their basic needs or going into debt, in the absence of stable sources of income and declining opportunities to obtain aid.
In the countryside of the kidnapped capital, Sana'a, an educational employee says that the continued interruption of salaries has prompted thousands of teachers to search for alternative jobs to provide the minimum needs of their families, at a time when mobilization campaigns and Houthi spending on followers continue, pointing to the inability of teachers to provide for the needs of their children after many years spent in the service of education.
This targeted spending comes at a time when the United Nations classifies the situation in Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, as millions of people in areas under Houthi control suffer from food insecurity and the deterioration of basic services.
