Battle for rebel-held Hodeidah could cut aid lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people trapped in dire conditions, say agencies

Families in Hodeidah, Yemen, were trapped inside their homes “waiting for their destiny”, as Saudi-backed forces began closing in on the city.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s exiled government began an assault on the port, a vital lifeline for the humanitarian aid that sustains the majority of the population. About 80% of Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance and 8.4 million are on the brink of famine.

From his house in the centre of Hodeidah, Salem Jaffer Baobaid, Islamic Relief’s deputy country director in Yemen, told the Guardian he could hear an “extraordinary” number of jets overhead, but was unable to estimate how close the fighting was. People want to leave the city, but can’t, he said.

“The conflict has affected the whole country and people will not move around,” said Baobaid. “They are poor people, who don’t have houses elsewhere. They are vulnerable. They are inside their houses, waiting for their destiny.”

A Care International worker said they had heard 30 airstrikes in 30 minutes around the city, amid reports of fighting in the southern part of Hodeidah governorate.

The UN children’s agency, Unicef, said the assault could endanger the city’s 300,000 children and “choke off” aid for millions more. Other aid agencies have warned of “catastrophic” consequences for a country in the midst of what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. There were no reports of large-scale movements of people.

Baobaid said people were terrified that the fighting would reach the city. “It is highly populated, with houses very close to each other. If the fighting enters the city it will be catastrophic. You cannot imagine how bad it will be.”

Opening his window, Baobaid said he could hear what sounded like gunfire, to the south of the city, but he could not be certain how close it was. Reports estimate the fighting is 6km (3.7 miles) to 8km away from the centre.

Islamic Relief operates in the majority of governorates in Yemen, partnering with the UN’s World Food Programme to distribute food. It has 35 staff in Hodeidah.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Workers inspect damage at the site of an airstrike on the maintenance hub at the Hodeidah port on 27 May. Photograph: Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters

Care International’s acting country director, Jolien Veldwijk, said from Sana’a: “Some civilians are entrapped, others forced from their homes. We thought it could not get any worse, but unfortunately we were wrong.

“People are already exhausted, starving, and have no means to cope with any further escalation of war,” she said.

UN diplomats, backed by Britain and the US, have spent days urging the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to delay any attack. The assault has led to accusations that the UK and the US, which are close to Saudi Arabia, have not done enough to deter it.

Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen, had warned an attack would set back his peace plan for the country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which pulled its international staff out of Yemen last week, said on Wednesday that the assault was “likely to exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the country.

Abdi Mohamud, Mercy Corps’ country director in Yemen, said in a tweet: “Today, people in #Hodeidah have woken up in a war zone. Whatever the gains that might be won, these will be eclipsed by the suffering, misery and needless loss of life that will be paid by the Yemeni people.”

Mohamud, who is in Sana’a, said he had heard from staff in Hodeidah that people were in a “panic situation”. “The port is closed. The situation is fluid. People are waiting inside to measure what is happening and what they will do.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fire rages in a World Food Programme warehouse in Hodeidah, 31 March. Photograph: Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters

The UN and aid agencies fear a prolonged attack could drastically worsen already dire conditions in the city, home to 600,000 people. The UN’s humanitarian coordinator has said 250,000 people could be killed and hundreds of thousands more could be forced to flee their homes.



Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said: “Under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict have to do everything possible to protect civilians and ensure they have access to the assistance they need to survive. Right now, nothing is more important.”

The most pressing needs are food, clean water and hygiene kits to prevent cholera, aid agencies said.

Reuters spoke to workers who said five ships were docked at Hodeidah port unloading goods, but no new entry permits would be issued on Wednesday due to the fighting. The Arab states say they will try to keep the port running and can ease the crisis once they seize it by lifting the import restrictions they have imposed.

More than 10,000 people have been killed and 2 million displaced in Yemen’s civil war.