People, who fled fighting between the Houthis and government forces in Red Sea coastal areas, queue for food vouchers at a camp for internally displaced people near Aden, Yemen, Sept 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to treat a sharp rise in war casualties, while intensified fighting has cut off humanitarian assistance to around 800,000 people, relief agencies said on Wednesday.
Front-line hospitals in Marib, Taiz and along Yemen’s Red Sea coast are treating unprecedented numbers of people wounded by weapons, with some facilities admitting more than 700 casualties in a single week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
More than 200,000 people have been displaced since renewed fighting erupted in recent weeks between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.
“Trauma care staff are under enormous pressure,” ICRC health coordinator Feras Abusamra said in a statement. Only a small proportion of Yemen’s functioning health facilities can provide comprehensive trauma care, he said, while hospitals face shortages of surgical supplies, anaesthesia, oxygen and medicines.
Yemen’s health services have been battered by more than a decade of conflict, economic crisis, displacement and disease outbreaks. The ICRC warned that the system could struggle to absorb a further surge in mass casualties if fighting intensifies.
The fighting has also cut off life-saving assistance for 800,000 people in Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, and other affected areas, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday. Taiz currently hosts the largest number of people fleeing the fighting.
Some districts have become inaccessible because of clashes and road closures, the WFP said. Wheat flour stocks are nearly exhausted, while remaining food in local markets may last only a short time.
“This is the kind of situation that can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe if assistance cannot move safely and reach those who need it most,” said El-Khidir Daloum, the WFP’s representative and country director in Yemen.