Taiz faces soaring food and fuel costs amid intensified Houthi siege

In Taiz, a city under a Houthi siege, food and fuel costs have surged to double their former prices, according to UN humanitarian officer Laurent Bukera, who warned that hospitals are running out of energy and medical oxygen. The Yemeni government blamed the Houthis for a mortar strike on an ambulance that killed an 18-year-old girl and another person, and said it would launch counter-attacks to regain ground. Yemeni forces have carried out nearly 750 operations using aircraft, drones and artillery, targeting Houthi firing sites and command centres, while the Houthis reported strikes on Saudi border provinces Jizan and Asir.

A Saudi-led coalition claimed a drone was shot down over Riyadh. Bukera urged the Houthis to open safe passages for essential supplies, noting that water production in Taiz has fallen to half capacity, leaving hundreds of thousands of families without access. The escalation follows a recent Houthi assault on a military training camp in Shabwa that killed at least 73 people.