Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that Yemen’s third-largest city, Taizz, is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis following the Houthi armed group’s tightening of its siege in October 2026, leaving residents struggling to access food, clean water, fuel and essential medical care.
The human rights organisation stated that the blockade of the city’s remaining major supply route has disrupted the delivery of essential goods and restricted humanitarian access, deepening a crisis that has persisted since the conflict between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces began in 2015.
Niku Jafarnia, a Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch, noted that, “renewed efforts by the Houthis to cut off food, water, and medicine to Taizz show their utter disregard for civilian lives.”
“Throughout the 12-year-long siege of Taizz, the Houthis have bombed, starved, and denied humanitarian aid to a million residents of the city with scant adherence to international law.”
Niku Jafarnia
Food Shortages and Rising Prices Deepen Civilian Hardship
According to Human Rights Watch, the tightened siege had severely disrupted the supply of food and other essential commodities, with residents reporting dwindling market stocks and sharply rising prices.
Earlier, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that it had been unable to reach more than 600,000 people in Taizz who depended on humanitarian assistance. It indicated that most districts in the city were experiencing emergency levels of hunger, while wheat flour stocks were nearly exhausted.
The agency also cautioned that remaining food supplies in local markets might last only a short time if access restrictions continued.
Human Rights Watch attributed the shortages primarily to the disruption of supply routes, which has affected the transportation of food, fuel, water and medicine.
“The crisis in Taizz isn’t in the food itself, it’s in the fuel,” the leader of a local civil society group indicated, explaining that transportation costs had doubled for truck drivers.
Residents have also reported severe shortages of cooking gas. One aid organisation leader revealed that its price had increased by approximately 400 per cent, while others described difficulties finding available supplies.
Fuel Crisis Threatens Water Supplies and Healthcare
Moreover, the disruption of fuel supplies has compounded the humanitarian emergency, threatening water distribution and the operation of healthcare facilities across Taizz.
Akhil Iyer, UNICEF’s country representative in Yemen, warned that diesel shortages threatened to halt water pumps, while the cost of trucked water had tripled since the latest escalation.
In a statement, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Laurent Bukera reported that water production in Taizz had been halved, with alternative supplies running out.
Human Rights Watch highlighted that restrictions on water access have been a longstanding feature of the siege. It also reported that water truck operators had been stopped at Houthi checkpoints while attempting to transport supplies into the city.
Healthcare services have also come under increasing pressure as road closures and fuel shortages prevent patients from reaching hospitals and clinics.
Medical facilities are struggling with shortages of essential medicines, surgical supplies, anaesthesia and oxygen. One health worker warned that the oxygen shortage threatened emergency surgery, intensive care, dialysis and neonatal services.
Also, fuel shortages have forced some facilities to suspend operations because their diesel-powered generators could no longer function.
According to a report, one doctor informed Human Rights Watch that the facility where he worked had to “stop working for three days because we run out of diesel. Patients were coming and leaving disappointed, as there is no service or care we can offer them.”
UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen warned that Taizz’s “health system is close to collapse,” adding that shortages threatened hospital power supplies and medical oxygen, putting hundreds of patients at risk.
HRW Calls for Road Access and Humanitarian Relief
Human Rights Watch has called on the Houthis to reopen vital roads and allow food, water, fuel, medicine and humanitarian assistance to reach civilians in Taizz.
The organisation also urged all parties to the conflict to facilitate humanitarian deliveries and ensure the safe movement of civilians.
Under international humanitarian law, siege warfare is not automatically prohibited when directed at military objectives. However, parties to a conflict must not use starvation of civilians as a method of warfare or cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population.
The prohibition on starvation also covers the deprivation of essential supplies, including food, water and medicine. Parties must facilitate humanitarian relief for civilians and cannot arbitrarily delay assistance. The movement of humanitarian workers may be restricted only temporarily for imperative military necessity.
Customary international humanitarian law also prohibits using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, including by impeding relief supplies. Depending on the circumstances and the required criminal intent, such conduct may constitute a war crime.
Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch stated that, “the Houthis cannot use the siege of Taizz to justify the humanitarian catastrophe they are causing civilians,” adding, “they should immediately facilitate the entry of food, fuel, medicine, water, and aid to avert further suffering.”
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