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

Almost one million people are on brink the of starvation as health infrastructure is overwhelmed by the war-wounded.

People walk at the entrance of al-Thawra General Hospital in Taiz, Yemen on October 12, 2026 [Ebrahim al-Suhaibi/Reuters]

The humanitarian groups the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have sounded the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen amid ramped-up fighting.

An estimated 800,000 people have been cut off from life-saving food assistance as front lines have rapidly shifted between Saudi-backed forces of the internationally recognised government and the Iran-aligned Houthis, according to the WFP.

“This is the kind of situation that can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe,” said El-Khidir Daloum, WFP’s country director in Yemen.

The crisis is worst in Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, where an estimated 600,000 people have no access to food assistance, including 200,000 women and children, the United Nations agency said in a statement.

Taiz has been the focus of recent clashes and is hemmed in by Houthi forces, imperiling aid deliveries.

The WFP said that the loss of access is especially alarming given that Taiz has some of the country’s highest levels of food insecurity.

Across Yemen, more than 18 million people do not have enough to eat, it added, while the latest monitoring shows a record 74 percent of households in accessible areas cannot meet their daily food needs.

A displaced Yemeni child sits under a tree as families gather to receive aid at the Al-Fallahine displacement camp in Dar Saad district, Aden, Yemen, Monday, October 12, 2026 [Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP]

Casualties flood hospitals

Meanwhile, “overwhelmed” health facilities in Marib, Taiz and along the Red Sea coast were bearing the brunt of the fighting in those areas, according to a statement released by the ICRC, with some receiving more than 700 cases in a single week,

Firas Abu Samra, the ICRC’s health services coordinator, said only a handful of facilities operating in Yemen can provide comprehensive care for the injured.

Front-line hospitals are taking in large numbers of wounded while running short of surgical supplies, anaesthetics, oxygen and medicines, he said.

“Additional pressure on hospitals can mean fewer beds, fewer supplies and less capacity to treat people with conditions unrelated to the conflict”, said Eduardo Toro, an ICRC surgeon at Marib General Hospital.

Christine Cipolla, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Yemen, said the country’s battered health system is ill-prepared to cope with any more fighting.

“Our concern is that the system may have little capacity left to absorb a major surge in casualties,” she said.

由于战争伤员过多，医疗基础设施不堪重负，近一百万人濒临饿死。

2026年10月12日，人们走过也门塔伊兹的革命综合医院入口。[Ebrahim al-Suhaibi/路透社]

国际红十字委员会（ICRC）和世界粮食计划署（WFP）等人道主义组织对也门日益恶化的人道主义局势发出警报，称战斗愈演愈烈。

据世界粮食计划署称，由于沙特支持的国际公认政府军与伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间的战线迅速转移，约有 80 万人无法获得救命的粮食援助。

世界粮食计划署驻也门国家主任埃尔-希迪尔·达卢姆表示：“这种情况很容易迅速演变成人道主义灾难。”

联合国机构在一份声明中表示，危机最严重的是也门第三大城市塔伊兹，据估计，那里有 60 万人无法获得粮食援助，其中包括 20 万妇女和儿童。

塔伊兹一直是近期冲突的焦点，并被胡塞武装包围，危及援助物资的运送。

世界粮食计划署表示，鉴于塔伊兹是该国粮食安全状况最差的地区之一，失去援助通道尤其令人担忧。

报告还指出，也门全国有超过 1800 万人吃不饱饭，而最新的监测数据显示，在交通便利的地区，有创纪录的 74% 的家庭无法满足其日常食物需求。

2026年10月12日星期一，在也门亚丁达尔萨阿德区的法拉欣流离失所者营地，一名流离失所的也门儿童坐在树下，其他家庭聚集在一起领取援助物资。[Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP]

伤员涌入医院

与此同时，红十字国际委员会发表声明称，马里卜、塔伊兹和红海沿岸的医疗设施“不堪重负”，承受着这些地区战斗的冲击，一些医疗机构一周内就接收了700多例病例。

红十字国际委员会卫生服务协调员菲拉斯·阿布·萨姆拉表示，也门只有少数几家医疗机构能够为伤员提供全面的护理。

他说，前线医院接收了大量伤员，但外科用品、麻醉剂、氧气和药品却严重短缺。

“医院面临的额外压力可能意味着床位减少、物资短缺，以及治疗与冲突无关的疾病患者的能力下降，”红十字国际委员会马里卜总医院的外科医生爱德华多·托罗说。

红十字国际委员会驻也门代表团团长克里斯汀·西波拉表示，该国饱受摧残的医疗系统没有做好应对更多战斗的准备。

“我们担心该系统可能没有足够的容量来应对伤亡人数的大幅激增，”她说。