Time ‘running out’ to reach Yemen’s Taiz amid deepening crisis, UN says
Source reports published 23 Oct 2026, 10:00 am – 24 Oct 2026, 4:05 pm AEST
The United Nations reports a humanitarian crisis in Yemen’s Taiz, where a Houthi siege has cut off supplies for 20 days. Water and fuel shortages are impacting residents and aid efforts, with over 800,000 people isolated from assistance.
What happened
- A Houthi-led siege of Taiz, Yemen, has prevented the delivery of essential supplies for nearly three weeks.
- The United Nations warns that time is running out to reach the city, which houses over 800,000 people, most of whom depend on humanitarian assistance.
- Access is severely limited due to the Houthi encirclement, cutting off the road link to Aden.
- Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian arm, OCHA, stated that fighting makes it impossible to get in or out.
- Water supplies, primarily delivered by trucks, have tripled in cost, and cooking gas is largely unavailable.
- More than 52,000 children in Taiz alone are experiencing acute malnutrition, with approximately 11,500 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
- Local humanitarian groups are struggling to maintain operations due to fuel, oxygen, medicine, and supply shortages in hospitals.
- Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesperson for the internationally recognised government, reported raids and counterattacks, neutralizing 620 Houthi fighters and destroying 190 vehicles, figures Al Jazeera could not independently verify.
- The European Commission announced an additional 22.5 million euros in aid to Yemen, building on previous allocations.
- The conflict, ongoing since 2014, has displaced nearly 260,000 people, primarily in Taiz and Lahij provinces, and prompted 3,800 to seek refuge in Djibouti.
Original reporting
- Al Jazeera: Time ‘running out’ to reach Yemen’s Taiz amid deepening crisis, UN says
2026-10-23T00:00:00+00:00 - South China Morning Post: In besieged Yemeni city, drinking water supplies hit crisis levels
2026-10-24T06:05:46+00:00