TAIZ, Yemen — Houthi forces have intensified their offensive around Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, as renewed fighting escalates in the country’s prolonged civil war. The ongoing conflict is pushing the city toward an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis, with thousands displaced and essential supplies running low.
Taiz has become a critical battleground since hostilities resumed this year following a four-year ceasefire. The Houthi movement, allied with Iran, has encircled the city, cutting the main road south toward Aden and tightening a siege that has forced many residents to flee their homes. Local witnesses describe shortages of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies, alongside rising prices and growing public health concerns.
Ali Hassan, a resident, recounted multiple displacements due to the fighting and injuries sustained from Houthi sniper fire, which left his right hand paralyzed in 2021. He also reported his sister was recently disabled after being shot in the spine. These accounts could not be independently verified. Hassan described daily hardships as the Houthis push for greater control in the region.
The Houthis deny Iranian military support, framing their campaign as a fight against corruption within Yemen. In recent weeks, they have increased attacks, including a significant missile strike on the presidential palace in Aden on October 15, which killed five people according to the Yemeni government. The Saudi-led coalition, backing the Yemeni government, has reported multiple Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure as well.
Taiz remains the last major urban stronghold for anti-Houthi forces in Yemen’s southern highlands and has been contested since the war’s outset in 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, prompting a government retreat southwards. The Saudi-led intervention beginning in 2015 brought a stalemate that persisted until the ceasefire collapsed earlier this year. Recent government offensives have reclaimed some territory near the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb shipping strait.
The humanitarian situation is worsening rapidly. Aid groups report that over 230,000 people have been displaced in the recent fighting, with more than half located in Taiz. Many internally displaced families are sheltering in unfinished buildings, shops, and other unsuitable structures, according to Ahmed al-Jalal, head of displaced persons’ camp management in Taiz’s Al-Muzaffar district.
Health services in Taiz are struggling to cope amid the siege. The World Health Organization has highlighted critical shortages of oxygen, medications, and fuel for hospital generators. Twelve hospitals have only a few days’ worth of fuel remaining, threatening the delivery of urgent medical care as conflict moves into urban neighborhoods where major medical facilities are situated.
The intensified contest over Taiz signals a protracted conflict with significant consequences for civilians, further destabilizing a region already deeply affected by years of war.