Saudi, Yemeni foreign ministers discuss latest developments in Yemen

Yemen's besieged city of Taiz is experiencing famine, according to its governor Nabil Shamsan, who stated the city is not on the brink of famine. The Houthi-run health ministry reported that a Saudi airstrike on Thursday killed at least 13 people in western Taiz. The city, with an estimated population of 1 million, now receives only a small fraction of the water it needs since Houthi forces took control of its last outside water source.

Cooking gas is entirely blocked, leading to the closure of restaurants and residents resorting to burning wood for cooking. Hospitals are running dangerously low on oxygen for patients. The World Food Program is unable to deliver aid to over 600,000 people in Taiz who rely on humanitarian assistance, with wheat flour stocks nearly depleted.

Since the offensive started this month, 271 people have been killed and 1,129 wounded. The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, dismissed the siege reports as "Saudi-fabricated claims" and claimed his forces are only cutting off weapons supplies to "Saudi-backed militias." Taiz has taken about 124,000 displaced people since August, according to the U.N. migration agency.