Yemen's Taiz Under Siege: Families Face Starvation and Hardship as Routes Are Cut

In the besieged city of Taiz, Yemen, Yousef Farhan’s family is facing dire choices at mealtime. "The whole day, we either eat rice or beans, whether in the morning or in the evening," the 39-year-old father of four told Al Jazeera. Forced from their home by shelling years ago, the family has been living in a school in the southwestern city ever since. Farhan previously earned a meager living selling cucumbers from a cart, making about $2.50 to $3.20 daily. This income, though inconsistent, was enough to purchase a monthly gas cylinder and occasional varied meals. However, the siege has led to the closure of the school, halting his trade and forcing his family to cook over firewood. "With the suspension of the school due to the shelling and the siege, my source of income stopped, and I was unable to find alternative work since the siege caused many people’s jobs to come to a halt," he explained. His children, ranging from five months to five years old, along with his sister and her child who sought refuge with them after their neighborhood was shelled, depend entirely on him. Yemenis are seen lining up to refill gas bottles at a station in Taiz on October 19, 2026, captured by Ahmad al-Basha/AFP.

Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city with approximately 1 million residents out of the country's 43 million, has been effectively cut off since early October. The city lost its two land routes after the Houthis captured the town of al-Turbah by October 4, severing the crucial Taiz-Al-Turbah-Aden Road, a primary route for goods. A day prior, forces aligned with the internationally recognized government closed the eastern al-Houban crossing into Houthi-held territory, citing attempted Houthi incursions. Residents are seen walking on debris in their homes in the Seina district of Taiz, Yemen, following a missile strike on Tuesday, as documented by AMarzouq Al Jabri/AP. On October 20, the United Nations issued a warning that road closures and a lack of security were impeding the delivery of vital supplies. The prices of available food and fuel have more than doubled, and Taiz's water production has been halved. Families across Taiz, like Farhan’s, are struggling to determine what they can eat and if they can afford to cook it. A map illustrates the main Taiz-Al-Turbah-Aden Road and three other now-closed routes out of the city, as provided by Al Jazeera.

For weeks, 40-year-old Sayyun Burhan has focused only on surviving day-to-day. "We barely live day-to-day, waiting to see how the next day will pass," she stated. Her husband, formerly employed at a local store, is now jobless due to the lack of work and his deteriorating health. The family still faces expenses for rent, food, water, and cooking gas. According to UN officials, the cost of water delivered by tankers has nearly tripled across the city since the escalation of fighting. The siege's impact extends beyond basic needs; Burhan's children are missing school and spending long days indoors due to her fear for their safety. "They have been deprived of schooling and play," she lamented. Providing for and protecting her children is becoming increasingly difficult. Displaced Yemenis are shown receiving food aid in the Salah al-Din area on the outskirts of Aden, Yemen, on October 25, 2026, by Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP.

Fuel shortages are a primary cause of civilian emergencies in Taiz, essential for water pumps, hospital generators, ambulances, transportation to work, and patient access to treatment. However, the city's fuel stations have been closed since October 5. Al Jazeera's data from Taiz reveals a dramatic increase in fuel costs: a 20-litre (5.3-gallon) container of petrol now costs 120,000 riyals ($77), a fourfold increase from last year's 30,000 riyals ($19). The price of 20 litres of diesel has nearly doubled from 46,000 riyals ($29) to 90,000 riyals ($58). A cooking gas cylinder's price has surged from 11,400 riyals ($7) to 40,000 riyals ($26). Bus fares have risen by 150 percent, from 200 riyals (13 cents) to 500 riyals (32 cents), consuming a larger portion of household budgets already strained by rising food prices. Farhan's reliance on firewood signifies a drastic fall in his family's purchasing power, as even basic meals now depend on what he can burn.

Water shortages, a persistent issue in Taiz, have been exacerbated by the siege, with diesel scarcity disrupting pump operations. Local authorities report that access restrictions are also preventing tankers from the Al-Dhabab basin, a vital drinking water source, from entering the city. Fatima Khaled, 55, suffers from kidney failure and cannot afford the repeated trips from her village west of the city to the hospital for treatment or temporary accommodation. She now sleeps on the floor of the dialysis hall at Al-Jumhuri General Hospital. The closed roads and lengthy mountain detours make every journey for treatment arduous and costly. The hospital itself is under immense pressure. On October 22, the World Health Organization warned that 42 health facilities in Taiz were experiencing severe shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicine, and medical supplies. "I feel like I am imprisoned here. We have no housing or shelter here. This hall is our shelter," Fatima shared. Images show smoke billowing from a site targeted during battles between Saudi-backed Yemeni government fighters and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis at the Jabal Han front, west of Taiz, on October 21, 2026, by AFP.