CAIRO (AP) — As Houthi rebels advanced, Eshraq Abdel Gelil and her husband fled their home, walking through the mountains before catching a ride to a nearby city. Four months pregnant, she feared another miscarriage. They are among an estimated 125,000 people who have fled as the Iran-backed rebels have advanced down the Red Sea coast to a key maritime chokepoint. The offensive, linked to the wider Iran conflict, has threatened Saudi oil exports, increased global fuel prices, and unsettled markets.
The humanitarian cost has been significant for Yemenis caught in the conflict. Many have fled their homes with only what they could carry. Yemen, already the Arab world's poorest country, was pushed to the brink of famine in an earlier phase of the civil war, which has killed an estimated 150,000 people.
A Saudi-led blockade, along with the Houthis' repressive governance and detention of U.N. and aid workers, has worsened conditions in the expanding territory under rebel control. Yemen's Saudi-backed government has struggled to counter the Houthis.
Abdel Gelil is now sheltering with family in the southwestern city of Taiz, while others are sleeping in the streets or constructing makeshift tents from plastic. Her husband, Mohamed Thabet, described the latest fighting as "extremely fierce" and more intense than a battle in 2017 that had also forced him to flee. "There was shelling and shrapnel near the house," he said.
They walked for 5 kilometers (3 miles) before taking a vehicle for around 60 kilometers (37 miles) on mountain roads. Upon arriving in Taiz, a doctor informed them that the baby had moved lower in the womb. Abdel Gelil had miscarried at the same point in a previous pregnancy. "My wife cried from the shock and was very fearful," Thabet said.
Currently, they are living with extended family and can only afford to eat twice a day, raising concerns about Abdel Gelil's nutrition during her pregnancy. Thabet is also worried about his sister, who has been unable to afford her diabetes medication for over a month. She and her two daughters, aged 8 and 13, have a blood condition that makes them susceptible to anemia.
The civil war in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year to support Yemen's internationally recognized government. A ceasefire in 2022 largely halted the fighting.
Hostilities resumed in July when the Houthis renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia, claiming it was an effort to lift the blockade. The attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil industry coincided with U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The fighting in Yemen has resulted in eight civilian deaths and 32 injuries, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, which reports that at least 125,000 people have been displaced. UNICEF states that more than 57,000 children are among the displaced.
Obia Achieng, a UNICEF representative in Yemen, noted, "This is one of the most fast-moving and volatile displacement waves Yemen has seen in years. Families are fleeing with little or no warning, often at night, carrying only what they can grab."
Achieng added that the situation is particularly concerning as it compounds an already severe humanitarian crisis. Prior to the recent fighting, the U.N. had warned that around 5 million Yemenis were experiencing "crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity."
Milena Murr, of Prosper Global, a humanitarian group formerly known as Mercy Corps, reported that some new arrivals in Taiz had walked for over 16 hours, arriving at displacement camps exhausted and dehydrated, with some children appearing malnourished.
Iman Abdullahi, country director for CARE, another aid organization, emphasized the urgent need for food, maternal and newborn healthcare, hygiene supplies, private latrines, and mental health support. "One woman had to wash her only clothes and remain inside her tent until they dried because she had nothing else to wear. Another was forced to flee just two weeks after giving birth," he said.
Nashwan Ahmed Said was stitching together a tent from plastic wheat sacks, stating this is the third time he has been displaced since the war began. "We are in such a state! We have no home, no toilet, no food and nothing to drink," he said.
Arwa Ahmed, who was displaced with her five children, mentioned that they had eaten nothing but rice for days. "We need everything. We need tents, we need food and all the essentials, because we were displaced and took nothing with us," she said.