Houthi attacks on civilians deepen Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, displace 158 families

At least 158 families in Yemen have been forced to flee their homes after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked civilians in residential areas in the Hodeidah Governorate on Yemen’s western coast. Human rights sources reported that 124 families fled the affected areas of Jabal Ras, Jarrahi and Maqbanah to the district of Hays. In addition, 34 families fled to the district of Khokha.

The latest Houthi strikes are part of a wider campaign targeting civilians in the area.

The Houthis launched three ballistic missiles and struck the strategic Red Sea port of Mocha. “This is destruction on top of destruction, causing further damage to already devastated facilities,” Seaport Director Abdul Malik Al-Shara’bi said.

The ongoing civil war in Yemen began in 2014, when Houthi forces seized control of the capital, Sanaa. An international coalition led by Saudi Arabia subsequently backed Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its war against the Tehran-backed militia. Nearly 400,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict, with children and women accounting for many of the victims. The United Nations has also warned of widespread hunger and malnutrition among Yemeni children.

Jamal Mashra’i, head of the Executive Unit for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps in Hodeidah, said relief efforts were underway to assist affected civilians in cooperation with the Human Access association and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

Despite the humanitarian emergency supplies, many local families reportedly still lack essential support. Mashra’i said that limited resources had prevented many families from receiving food rations and called on local and international humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to the displaced families and their children.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been further exacerbated by the Houthis’ attacks on Israel and international commercial vessels since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Armed and financed by Iran, the Houthis have launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward Israel during the nearly three-year regional war. Israel has responded with repeated strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

In June, Iran and the Houthis fired dozens of missiles at Israel, prompting the Israeli Air Force to strike targets in Iran. As the fighting threatened to widen across the region, the Trump administration pressed Israel and Iran to halt their attacks and helped broker a ceasefire aimed at preventing a broader escalation. The Houthis were also reportedly using the subsequent pause in fighting to improve their missiles for future attacks against Israel.

Both the Iranian regime and the Houthis openly call for Israel’s destruction.

In August 2025, Israel eliminated several senior Houthi leaders in precision airstrikes, including Houthi Prime Minister Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi. At the time, senior Houthi official Mahdi al-Mashat announced the “martyrdom” of al-Rahwi and several of his ministers, whom he said had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Although the Houthis and their Iranian patron have been significantly weakened, both remain intact, with no immediate end in sight to Yemen’s civil war or the broader conflict involving Iran and its regional proxies.