In the besieged city of Taiz, Yemen, a mother from the Jabal Sabir mountain area was seen holding the body of her infant daughter, Gaza Ali Abdulmughni al‑Shaqab, in a short video that spread across social media on November 10. The child had fallen ill and died because her family could not reach a hospital amid the ongoing Houthi siege.
According to the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms, the vehicle that was carrying the baby to medical care was attacked by Houthi forces while traveling through mountain roads. The mother said, “Our children are dying because of the siege. We have no open road, no medics and no medicines.”
The siege intensified in early October when the Houthis advanced around Taiz, cutting off the last major supply route into government‑held areas. Since then, the city has been under blockade, with the Yemeni government accusing the rebels of tightening restrictions on nearly two million residents for more than a month. The blockade has prevented the entry of food, safe drinking water, medicines and fuel.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on October 29 that the siege “may amount to the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare.” While the Houthis deny responsibility, HRW, aid workers and UN officials have all reported that the rebels are the primary cause of the road closures.
International agencies have repeatedly highlighted the crisis. The World Food Programme (WFP) stated on October 14 that it could not reach more than 600,000 people in Taiz who depend on humanitarian assistance, describing the situation as “especially alarming.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that health services were failing due to a shortage of supplies, with nearly 250,000 people—over 186,000 children under five—losing access to essential healthcare. OCHA also noted more than 1,400 cases of acute diarrhoea and suspected cholera in the region.
As fighting between the Iran‑backed Houthis and the Saudi‑backed Yemeni government continues, the siege of Taiz remains in place, leaving families like the one from Jabal Sabir without the basic means to save their children’s lives.
Source: Al Jazeera
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Editorial note: This is an original news report prepared from the attributed source material with AI assistance. It is not a reproduction or translation of the original article.
