In the Yemeni city of Taiz, a siege that closed the road to Aden in early October has now run for twenty days, and the quiet arithmetic of survival has become the story: water bought by the truckload at triple cost, cooking gas gone, hospitals rationing what remains. It is one more chapter in a war that began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and has never found a stable peace, and the question now hanging over more than 800,000 people is whether the outside world can reopen a road before the last reserves run dry.
Time 'Running Out' for Yemen's Taiz as Houthi Siege Cuts Off 800,000 People, UN Warns
More than 800,000 people are cut off from aid, nearly 260,000 have been displaced, and at least 1,574 have been killed since August according to the UN.
Impossible to get in, impossible for people to get out
Mark
Twenty days is the number everyone keeps repeating. Why does it matter so much?
Mimi
Because the local groups are working from whatever stock was already inside the city. Laerke said the supplies keeping water pumps and hospitals running come with a time limit. Nothing new is arriving to replace them.
Mark
And the people affected aren't a small group.
Luke
The figure is more than 800,000, and it comes from the World Food Programme. It's a UN estimate of people cut off, not a headcount taken inside the city under siege.
Mark
What are residents actually feeling day to day?
Mimi
Water is the clearest case. Most people rely on trucked water, and the cost has tripled. Cooking gas is largely unavailable, which puts the community kitchens at risk.
Mark
The government also gave battlefield numbers.
Luke
Colonel al-Nuzaili said 620 Houthi fighters were neutralised and 190 vehicles destroyed in 24 hours. Al Jazeera could not verify that, and we have only one side's claim. I wouldn't lean on it.
Mark
Is the hunger problem new?
Mimi
No, it predates the siege. UN screenings found over 52,000 children in Taiz with acute malnutrition, about 11,500 of them severe. The siege is landing on top of that.
Luke
Worth saying what's unknown: the reporting doesn't tell us how many of those children can still be reached, or when the road might reopen.
Mark
And the EU money?
Mimi
An extra 22.5 million euros, but the WFP says its core problem is regaining access to Taiz. Money doesn't solve that by itself.
Le Pouls
- Houthi forces have encircled Taiz since early October, and for twenty days almost nothing has entered the city by road.
- Water trucking costs have tripled while cooking gas has nearly vanished, pressing hard on families and community kitchens.
- Forty-two health facilities face acute shortages of fuel, oxygen and medicine, and more than 52,000 children are acutely malnourished.
- The UN says local stocks keeping pumps and hospitals alive are running out, and the EU has added 22.5 million euros, but aid workers still cannot get in.
In the Yemeni city of Taiz, a siege that closed the road to Aden in early October has now run for twenty days, and the quiet arithmetic of survival has become the story: water bought by the truckload at triple cost, cooking gas gone, hospitals rationing what remains. It is one more chapter in a war that began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and has never found a stable peace, and the question now hanging over more than 800,000 people is whether the outside world can reopen a road before the last reserves run dry.
Twenty days into the siege of Taiz, a UN spokesman in Geneva gave the count plainly: the city has been cut off for twenty days and counting. Fighting has made it impossible for aid workers to get in and for civilians to get out, and the Houthis have severed the road linking Taiz to Aden, the interim capital of Yemen's internationally recognised government.
The effects are visible in daily life. Most residents depend on water delivered by truck, and that water now costs three times as much. Cooking gas is largely unavailable, which threatens the community kitchens that feed families. Local groups have used their remaining stocks to keep water pumps and hospitals running, but that reserve has a limited lifespan.
Hospitals are strained beyond their limits. The World Health Organization reports acute shortages at 42 health facilities, and UN screenings have found more than 52,000 children with acute malnutrition, around 11,500 of them severely. The European Commission has announced an extra 22.5 million euros in aid, but the central problem remains access. The UN World Food Programme is desperately trying to regain entry to the city, and the question now is whether that road can reopen before the stocks keeping the city alive are gone.
Twenty days into the siege of Taiz, a UN spokesman stood before reporters in Geneva on Friday and gave the count plainly. "It's 20 days and counting since Taiz has been cut off," said Jens Laerke of OCHA, the UN's humanitarian arm. The fighting, he said, increasingly makes it impossible for aid workers to get in and impossible for civilians to get out.
The Iran-backed Houthis have encircled the city since early October, severing the road that links it to Aden, the interim capital of Yemen's internationally recognised government. Since then, little fuel, food or other supplies have reached Taiz. According to the UN World Food Programme, more than 800,000 people in the city are cut off from aid. About three-quarters of them depend on humanitarian assistance, and at least 200,000 are women and children.
The shortages are showing up in daily life. Most residents rely on water delivered by truck, and Laerke said the cost of that water has tripled. Cooking gas is largely unavailable, which threatens the community kitchens that provide meals to families. Local humanitarian groups have managed to distribute their remaining stocks to keep water pumps and hospitals running, but Laerke warned that this comes with a time limit: the clock, he said, is running out.
Hospitals are already strained. Christian Lindmeier, spokesman for the World Health Organization, said 42 health facilities in Taiz face acute shortages. Hospitals across the province report critical deficits of fuel, oxygen, medicine and supplies. The siege also lands on a place already struggling with hunger: UN screenings in Taiz alone have found more than 52,000 children with acute malnutrition, and roughly 11,500 of them have the severe form.
Fighting has intensified in recent days, with clashes reported in the Jabal Han highlands and in the Dhubab and al-Masrakh districts. Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesperson for the government's forces, said troops carried out raids and counterattacks over the previous 24 hours, "neutralising" 620 Houthi fighters and destroying 190 vehicles. Al Jazeera could not independently verify those figures.
Azfar Deen, a WFP regional communications officer, described the agency's position bluntly: it is "desperately trying to regain access to Taiz" while continuing to support operations elsewhere in Yemen. On Friday the European Commission said it would release an additional 22.5 million euros ($25.2m) in aid, on top of the 87.5 million ($97.9m) already allocated for 2026.
The siege is the latest turn in a conflict that began when the Houthis seized Sanaa and other provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the government. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 collapsed this July, when the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi ports. The escalation since then has displaced nearly 260,000 people, mostly in Taiz and Lahij provinces, according to the UN, and more than 3,800 have fled to neighbouring Djibouti. Since August, at least 1,574 people have been killed and 6,939 wounded.
What to watch now is whether aid agencies can regain road access before the local stocks keeping pumps and hospitals running are gone.
Citations marquantes
It's 20 days and counting since Taiz has been cut off.— Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson
We're desperately trying to regain access to Taiz.— Azfar Deen, WFP regional communications officer
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War & Conflict