124,000 New Arrivals Strain Taiz as Water Costs Jump 75 Percent

Hadil al-Shahid used to buy ten liters of bottled water every day for her two young children and herself. Now, that same amount lasts four days. She sits in her hair salon in Taiz, Yemen, which she recently closed because customers stopped coming. The change is not just about hair. It is about survival. Water has become the most expensive part of her household budget.

The city of Taiz, home to more than one million people, is under a tightening siege by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Humanitarian organizations report that basic needs are barely being met. Access to local wells is restricted, desalination plants lack fuel, and water trucks are blocked from entering. Prices for bottled water have risen by as much as 75 percent in just a few weeks. Some families are now buying water on credit.

The pressure on Taiz has intensified since the Houthis captured the port city of Mokha last month. Mokha lies about 130 kilometers away and is vital for controlling Red Sea shipping. As the rebels advanced, they took control of roads and land surrounding Taiz. Truckers making the dangerous trip into the city have tripled their rates. The water utility and desalination plants are running well below capacity as fuel reserves drop.

The city is also absorbing a wave of displaced people. United Nations migration experts estimate that Taiz province has taken in roughly 124,000 people displaced elsewhere in Yemen since August. Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for a UN emergency aid division, said some of these families live in tents or makeshift shelters. They survive on one meal a day. Hani Bafaqih of the aid group CARE noted that cooking gas prices have more than quadrupled. Families are burning wood, charcoal, or cardboard to heat their homes.

The shortage of fuel extends beyond cooking. It makes it harder to keep hospitals and sanitation services running. Flour and rice now cost about 50 percent more than they did in the summer. Amnesty International has urged the Houthis to open roads into the city immediately. The organization warned that Taiz is being pushed to the brink of a severe humanitarian disaster.

Yemen has been in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took the capital, Sanaa. Taiz has been a focal point of fighting ever since. Aging infrastructure, population growth, and frequent droughts had already depleted groundwater before the current siege. Residents relied on water delivered by truck, a service that was mostly dependable until recent weeks.

Ahmed Abdel Gaber is displaced with nine relatives. He shelters in the ruins of a building. His income from hauling construction material is no longer steady. He said he hears explosions daily from fighting about five kilometers away. Al-Shahid cannot afford to leave her home. She said staying is inevitable, whether it is a matter of life or death.

The government still holds the center of Taiz, but the siege complicates resupplying its forces. The Houthis face stiff resistance in the surrounding hills. Three Houthi officials speaking anonymously said the group controls about 80 percent of the surrounding countryside and several neighborhoods inside the city. Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba has acknowledged the rebels' tightening grip. Ahmed Nagi of the International Crisis Group said any attempt to seize parts of the city would likely mean a prolonged and costly battle.

Earlier this week, Houthi missiles hit a residential area in Taiz. Two teenage girls were killed. The fighting shows no sign of slowing. The next few weeks will determine how much of the city's remaining infrastructure holds up under the strain of the siege.