Soaring food prices and persistent supply disruptions are worsening hardship across Yemen, as basic food staples become unaffordable for ordinary families and local health facilities register a sharp rise in malnutrition amongst children.
In the southern port city of Aden, putting food on the table is becoming increasingly difficult.
Yemen's heavy reliance on imports, combined with shipping disruptions, currency depreciation and unpaid public-sector salaries, has driven food prices higher.
For many households, even a basic diet is becoming unaffordable, forcing parents to make desperate choices to feed their children.
"I have gone three months without a salary. We received our July salary, and then August, September and this month, we got nothing. Where do we get food for our children? What are we supposed to feed them? The government should fulfill its obligations. Some people are now forced to look for food in garbage bins because there are simply no salaries," said Jamal Ahmed Qaid, a local resident.
The financial strain at the markets quickly translates into a severe public health emergency.
In Aden, clinics and public hospitals are dealing not only with local food shortages, but also the compounding pressure of tens of thousands of people displaced by ongoing conflict along the impoverished West Coast.
With families arriving destitute, health centers are dealing with a continuous influx of infants and toddlers suffering from acute malnutrition, placing immense strain on local medical staff and limited supplies.
"Recently, we have noticed a clear increase in malnutrition cases. The situation is not good. We are seeing a persistent rise in the number of infants and young children arriving at our facility," said Dr. Insaf Al-Khamri, health official and facility director.
As the conflict in the country continues to escalate, many in the country are desperate to have their basic needs met.
Soaring food prices, supply disruptions worsen hardship across Yemen
Yemen's Houthi group said that it had carried out multiple attacks on Saudi and Saudi-led coalition targets, while the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile, and Yemeni government forces reported operations against the group on several fronts.
In a statement released early Thursday, the Houthis said they used a surface-to-air missile to hit a Saudi Typhoon fighter jet. The aircraft, they said, had taken off from Saudi Arabia's Taif Air Base and was hit over Yemen's Sa'adah Province. Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the claim.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthis said they launched a large-scale attack using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against oil facilities of energy giant Saudi Aramco in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia, as well as King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The Houthis said in a separate statement released Wednesday evening that the group had fired one more ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport and launched three ballistic missiles at Saudi-led coalition targets in southern Yemen.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Wednesday that they had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Civil Defense said in a statement on Wednesday that fragments from the intercepted missile fell in Riyadh, injuring one person.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that late on Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on a residential building in the Al Maravi'ah area of Hodeidah province, which is under Houthi control. Early on Thursday, al-Masirah also reported that Yemen's capital, Sanaa, had come under Saudi attack.
According to a Houthi statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Saudi-led coalition launched 42 airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi-controlled areas in the previous 24 hours. The Houthis said that Saudi attacks on islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait directly threatened the safety of maritime shipping routes.
Separately, Yemeni government forces said on Wednesday that they continued to strike Houthi targets and personnel on the eastern and southern fronts.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.
Houthis, Saudi-led coalition report fresh military actions against each other
