UN warns prices have doubled in Houthi-besieged Taiz as fuel shortages endanger hospital patients

Summary

The UN warned on Tuesday that food and fuel prices have doubled in Taiz, Yemen, as the city struggles under a Houthi siege, and urged the Houthis to let supplies in. A fuel shortage is affecting hospitals, many families struggle to get water, and a shortage of medical oxygen is endangering hundreds of patients, according to UN humanitarian official Laurent Bukera, who said the health system is on the brink of collapse because road closures and insecurity stop supplies from reaching residents. The Yemeni government accused the Houthis of firing a mortar shell at an ambulance in Taiz, killing two people, including an 18-year-old girl, and said the rebels were carrying out indiscriminate shelling of residential areas. Government forces say they are intensifying counter-attacks to regain territory, and official media said they carried out almost 750 operations using warplanes, drones, artillery, rocket launchers and snipers. The Houthis, whose offensive in recent weeks has reignited Yemen's civil war, also claimed attacks on the Saudi border areas of Jizan and Asir, and a Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a drone over Riyadh.

Timeline

1. The National

   20 Oct 2026, 17:56 UTCSource ↗

   The National reports that food and fuel prices have doubled in besieged Taiz, that the UN has urged the Houthis to let supplies enter, and that the fuel crunch is endangering hospital patients.