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Taiz fighting drives flight
In Yemen’s Taiz governorate, Houthi attacks on the Maqbanah district and other areas in the southwest escalated early Thursday, and Abdullah Saeed, 47, fled his home in Maqbanah in 2022 before settling in al-Rahabah camp in the Jabal Habashi area 90km (55 miles) south of Taiz.
“Fighting erupted suddenly at night.”
Saeed told Al Jazeera that “Fighting erupted suddenly at night,” and that by morning “we were shocked to see the frontlines near our camp,” forcing him to take basic belongings and flee again as the Houthis advanced toward al-Rahabah.
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis launched an offensive against government forces on the western fronts of Taiz governorate early Thursday morning using missiles and drones before initiating ground fighting described as the fiercest since 2022.
The article said the Houthis advanced across several fronts in Maqbanah, Mawzaa and Jabal Habashi districts, triggering a new wave of displacement, while Saudi-backed government forces said they confronted the attacks and retook some areas.
Yahiya Lutf, a pro-government fighter in Jabal Habashi district, confirmed the Houthis launched sudden attacks across different fronts in western Taiz governorate but said government forces had retaken several areas.
Competing death tolls
A separate report said several fronts in the western Yemeni provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah saw heavy fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group, with the Yemeni government saying dozens of deaths and injuries occurred and hundreds of civilians were displaced.
The report cited the Yemeni government and said the French press agency AFP reported that more than 120 people were killed during yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday) in clashes described as the fiercest in years.
It also quoted a Yemeni military official who asked not to be named saying that the death toll of government forces since yesterday rose to 66, while medical and military sources allied with the Houthis reported at least 62 militants killed.
In the same report, Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Yemeni Leadership Council, said, “We will not allow Iran’s system to achieve its goal of controlling the Bab al-Mandab Strait.”
The Yemeni government announced on Friday the displacement of 917 families due to the military escalation in western Taiz since dawn yesterday, according to an initial count from the office of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in Taiz.
Humanitarian strain and stakes
As the fighting continued, the Executive Unit for the Management of Displacement Camps in Hodeidah said 57 families, comprising about 400 people, were displaced from the Hays district and its surroundings after repeated Houthi shelling targeted populated areas.
“Fifty‑seven families, comprising about 400 people, have been displaced”
The unit confirmed that families fled villages in the districts of Hays, Al‑Jarahi, and Jabal Ras due to fear and panic caused by ongoing shelling, heading toward alternative sites including Awais, Al‑Qash, Mahwa Al‑Abd, Al‑Ha'it, Mahal Al‑Rabi', Al‑Nazali, and Al‑Huraybah.
The report said the urgent appeal sought shelter materials, safe housing, food and cash assistance, drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, and essential non‑food items, while warning of extremely harsh humanitarian and living conditions.
In Taiz, the same wave of escalation pushed dozens of families to flee from conflict zones in the Maqbanah district and arrive in safer areas in the Al‑Ma'afir district, with local sources reporting intensified artillery shelling on residential villages in Jabal Habashi, Al‑Dhubab, Al‑Sayahi, and Hadhran.
The report framed the broader stakes by linking the western-front escalation to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, with the Yemeni Leadership Council warning against Iran’s system controlling the strait as the conflict intensified.