The Houthi bombing on the Hayja al-Abd road amounts to a war crime The Human Rights Watch organization confirmed that the Houthi group attacked a vital road in Taiz governorate that is used to transport food, medicine and fuel, and said that this is a war crime. In a statement published by the organization on its website, it said that the Houthi armed group "used explosives on October 18, 2026 to cause serious damage to a vital road leading to the besieged city, exacerbating threats to civilian lives and their living conditions." She explained that the Hijat al-Abd road is the main entry point for food, medicine and fuel for the residents of the city of Tais, which has been besieged by the Houthis since 2015, and added: "If the Houthis' deliberate destruction of parts of the road is intended to disrupt infrastructure, it must violate the law of war and the survival of civilians. It is possible that the attack also caused disproportionate damage to civilians." "The Houthi attack on the last trade route to supply the besieged Taiz exacerbates the danger to civilians, who are already suffering from severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel," said Nico Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. "If the residents of Taiz are cut off from this vital route for an extended period, they may face greater risks to their lives and living conditions." The organization confirmed that it verified the incident, and noted that it corresponded with the Houthis about these attacks, but did not receive any response. The organization also noted a similar attack that occurred on the same road, at the beginning of the month, about 45 kilometers southeast of the city of Tais, and quoted sources who said that the Houthi forces penetrated and reached the Hijat al-Abd road, placed explosives and blew them up in a water ferry under the road immediately after the withdrawal of the al-Wati market. The UN's World Food Program said on October 14 that it had been unable to reach "more than 600,000 people in Taiz who are dependent on humanitarian assistance", and Human Rights described this as a "grave concern" as most districts of Taiz are classified as having emergency levels of hunger. The WFP also said that "stocks of wheat flour are almost exhausted" in the city, and that "the remaining food supply in local markets may only be sufficient for a short period if restrictions on access to these areas continue."

The Houthi bombing on the Hayja al-Abd road amounts to a war crime The Human Rights Watch organization confirmed that the Houthi group attacked a vital road in Taiz governorate that is used to transport food, medicine and fuel, and said that this is a war crime. In a statement published by the organization on its website, it said that the Houthi armed group "used explosives on October 18, 2026 to cause serious damage to a vital road leading to the besieged city, exacerbating threats to civilian lives and their living conditions." She explained that the Hijat al-Abd road is the main entry point for food, medicine and fuel for the residents of the city of Tais, which has been besieged by the Houthis since 2015, and added: "If the Houthis' deliberate destruction of parts of the road is intended to disrupt infrastructure, it must violate the law of war and the survival of civilians. It is possible that the attack also caused disproportionate damage to civilians." "The Houthi attack on the last trade route to supply the besieged Taiz exacerbates the danger to civilians, who are already suffering from severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel," said Nico Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. "If the residents of Taiz are cut off from this vital route for an extended period, they may face greater risks to their lives and living conditions." The organization confirmed that it verified the incident, and noted that it corresponded with the Houthis about these attacks, but did not receive any response. The organization also noted a similar attack that occurred on the same road, at the beginning of the month, about 45 kilometers southeast of the city of Tais, and quoted sources who said that the Houthi forces penetrated and reached the Hijat al-Abd road, placed explosives and blew them up in a water ferry under the road immediately after the withdrawal of the al-Wati market. The UN's World Food Program said on October 14 that it had been unable to reach "more than 600,000 people in Taiz who are dependent on humanitarian assistance", and Human Rights described this as a "grave concern" as most districts of Taiz are classified as having emergency levels of hunger. The WFP also said that "stocks of wheat flour are almost exhausted" in the city, and that "the remaining food supply in local markets may only be sufficient for a short period if restrictions on access to these areas continue."