Al-Jumhuri Hospital in Yemen’s besieged city of Taiz is facing a critical shortage of fuel and medical supplies, raising concerns that the facility may soon be forced to close. The hospital, which is overcrowded with beds and stretchers, reflects the worsening state of the healthcare system in Yemen’s third-largest city amid an ongoing siege.
The city of Taiz has been encircled by pro-Iran Houthi fighters since early October, who have blocked all supply routes, including the road connecting Taiz to Aden, the interim capital of Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government. This blockade has led to severe deficits in essential resources required to sustain medical and humanitarian services.
At Taiz’s largest treatment center, Al-Thawra General Hospital, the kidney dialysis unit is caring for approximately 420 patients. However, the hospital’s diesel generators have only enough fuel to operate for the next two weeks, according to the facility’s director, Youssef al-Zakri. He warned that without continuous dialysis treatment, patients could face fatal consequences. One patient, Ahmed al-Issi, highlighted the urgency by comparing dialysis dependence to that of a fish out of water—survival without treatment is not possible.
The ongoing conflict stems from the broader Yemeni civil war, which began after the Houthi movement seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The war has caused a prolonged humanitarian crisis, now exacerbated by renewed hostilities linked to tensions between the United States and Iran. Clashes in Taiz governorate and along Yemen’s Red Sea coast have resulted in hundreds of casualties and displaced over 100,000 people, according to military and United Nations sources.
Local officials, including Taiz’s deputy governor for health affairs, Ilan Abdulhaq, report that most medical facilities in the city are on the brink of shutdown due to a lack of diesel fuel and critical medicines, which cannot be replenished because of the blockade. Efforts to establish humanitarian corridors have been discussed but no concrete guarantees have been provided.
The disruption extends beyond healthcare. Residents report acute shortages of pharmaceuticals and other basic necessities. Fadl al-Bukhari, a heart patient in Taiz, said pharmacies have been unable to restock medicines, attributing this directly to the imposed blockade.
International organizations have expressed alarm at the deteriorating conditions. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said hospitals near frontlines are overwhelmed, struggling to treat large numbers of wounded with scarce surgical supplies, anaesthesia, oxygen, and medications. The World Food Programme (WFP) noted that its operations in Taiz have been severely limited, hindering aid delivery to approximately 600,000 people, including 200,000 women and children.
Taiz governorate is among Yemen’s hardest-hit regions in terms of food insecurity. Ten out of its 16 districts are classified at the emergency level by the WFP. The agency also reported near depletion of wheat flour stocks and rapidly declining food availability in local markets. Across Yemen, over 18 million people face severe food insecurity, with 2.2 million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition.
El-Khidir Daloum, WFP’s country director in Yemen, expressed deep concern over the escalating violence and the growing population cut off from humanitarian assistance, warning that the situation could quickly evolve into a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.