Yemen fighting displaces over 200,000 as Houthis push towards Taiz and strike Aden airport

More than 200,000 people have now been displaced across Yemen as renewed combat escalates in the south-west of the country, according to United Nations assessments, with rebel forces advancing towards the key city of Taiz and launching strikes against major transport hubs.

The push by Houthi forces threatens to overturn recent territorial claims made by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. On Wednesday, an explosive struck Aden international airport moments before a commercial flight arriving from Cairo was scheduled to land. The aircraft was diverted across the Red Sea to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, forcing civil aviation officials to begin an urgent review of flight safety into Yemen's interim capital.

Abda Sharif, the British ambassador to Yemen, said the strike on Aden could have endangered thousands of civilians. Independent military observers reported that forces aligned with the internationally recognised government have begun pulling back from several positions in an effort to secure the perimeter around Aden itself.

Ground clashes around Taiz and Bab al-Mandab

Fighting has converged heavily on Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, where Houthi units appear to be closing in from the western approaches despite Saudi air strikes aimed at breaking up troop concentrations.

Further south along the Red Sea coast, pro-government fighters from the Southern Giants Brigades remain engaged in intense clashes near the Dhubab district. The militia has positioned itself in the local military airport sector in an attempt to retain control over the Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital maritime chokepoint that government forces sought to secure earlier in the week.

While Saudi-led forces initially claimed significant territorial advances along the coastal plain, those positions appear to have stalled. The Institute for the Study of War revised its earlier battlefield assessment, which had suggested Houthi defensive lines were crumbling, noting that fresh evidence showed rebel forces had halted the government advance.

Cross-border strikes and regional rhetoric

The escalation has also spilled beyond Yemeni territory. Houthi fighters launched missile strikes directed at two airports inside Saudi Arabia, including the capital, Riyadh. Although Saudi officials initially stated that the incoming fire had been intercepted, authorities later confirmed that three people were killed and 36 others wounded in the attacks.

In a televised address marking the third anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi accused Saudi Arabia of actively undermining Palestinian interests and collaborating with Israel and the United States against Hezbollah in Lebanon. During the speech, he also singled out the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, accusing the network of bias in its reporting of the ground campaign.

Aid organisations warn that the surge in fighting and subsequent displacement are stretching emergency support past breaking point, with frontline shifts around Taiz and the southern coastline cutting off critical supply corridors.