The ICRC hoped that the aircraft could land on Monday in the capital Sanaa, she said. However, it was still awaiting approval for an ICRC surgical team it plans to take by boat into the southern city of Aden, where fighting remains intense.

Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led air strikes in a village near Sanaa on Saturday. Credit:AP

In Riyadh, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said arrangements had been made for at least one Red Cross aid delivery on Sunday morning, but the ICRC had pulled out of the arrangement.

"There was a trip fixed for them at 9 this morning ... They informed us, after the time was set, of a request to delay the flight", Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told reporters, adding that this was because the company from which they had chartered the plane could not fly to Yemen.

The coalition says it has set up a special coordination body for aid deliveries and asked NGOs and governments to work with it to ensure humanitarian aid can be brought into Yemen and foreign nationals can be evacuated safely.