Thousands of families are fleeing the new military escalation in Yemen and urgently need humanitarian assistance, Islamic Relief says. Further escalation is likely to have catastrophic humanitarian consequences in a country where millions of people are already suffering extreme malnutrition and poverty.
Islamic Relief aid workers in Taiz, Lahj and Aden Governorates say thousands more families are being displaced every day as airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes intensify, and many of them are fleeing without shelter, food, water, clothes or access to medical care. Islamic Relief is planning to provide aid to displaced families.
Yemen is already suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with years of conflict and economic crisis leaving 22 million people – two thirds of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance. There have been fragile improvements since the 2022 truce, but these now risk being rapidly reversed.
Essential services such as healthcare and water supply are already severely overstretched, with global aid cuts forcing some critical services to shut down.
Islamic Relief says the international community must act to prevent further escalation that will plunge millions of Yemenis back into a humanitarian catastrophe.
The UN reports more than 80,000 people have already been displaced in Taiz, Lahj and Aden, but local communities estimate the number may be far higher
Khanzad Shah, Islamic Relief’s acting head of programmes in Yemen, said:
“Thousands more families have fled their homes in the past 24 hours, and the number is rising every day. Many of them don’t have enough food or water as they had to flee with whatever they could carry. In some areas, whole villages have reportedly emptied.
“When the fighting escalates, it is always the poorest civilians who suffer most of all. The situation is increasingly desperate and people urgently need aid.
“The crisis in Yemen has been largely forgotten by the world, and this is a wake-up call that the people of Yemen are still suffering and the crisis could get even worse.”
Islamic Relief is calling on parties to the conflict to de-escalate, protect civilians, and ensure safe humanitarian access to people in need, and on the international community to increase humanitarian aid and step up diplomatic efforts towards long-term peace.
Islamic Relief has worked in Yemen since 1998 and delivers projects to improve water and sanitation, strengthen sustainable livelihoods, support orphaned children, and provide emergency relief. It works closely with local partner organisations across the country.
