Renewed fighting risks ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Yemen, aid groups warn

Intensified fighting in Yemen is overwhelming hospitals and cutting off aid to around 800,000 people, according to humanitarian agencies. Front-line hospitals in areas such as Marib, Taiz, and the Red Sea coast are treating unprecedented numbers of wounded patients, with some admitting over 700 casualties in a single week, reported the Red Cross. Over 200,000 individuals have been displaced from their homes since recent weeks of renewed fighting between Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces.

Trauma care staff are struggling to meet the demand, with only a limited number of functioning health facilities equipped to provide comprehensive trauma care, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Hospitals face shortages of surgical supplies, anesthesia, oxygen, and medicines while dealing with large numbers of wounded people.

The ICRC warns that Yemen's health services, battered by over a decade of conflict, economic crisis, displacement, and disease outbreaks, may struggle to absorb a new surge in mass casualties if the fighting escalates further.

The conflict has also disrupted life-saving humanitarian assistance for 800,000 people in Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which is currently hosting the largest number of people fleeing the fighting. Some districts are now inaccessible due to fighting and road closures. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) reported that wheat flour stocks are nearly exhausted and remaining food in local markets may last only a short time.

This situation could rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe if assistance cannot reach those in need, warned El-Khidir Daloum, WFP Representative and Country Director in Yemen.