While pro-Saudi forces really were already starting up offensives around Hodeidah before last weekend’s failed peace talks had officially collapsed, they are escalating significantly now, with Saudi airstrikes hitting targets around the city’s outskirts.
At least 15 people were reported killed in the Saudi airstrikes around the city, according to hospital sources. This included five civilian who were from internally displaced families trying to flee the city. Dozens of other people were reported wounded.
Hodeidah is the site through which about 70% of Yemen’s food and medicine is imported, and the Houthi movement’s control has prevented mass starvation across their territory. Pro-Saudi incursions have cut supply lines, meaning little is able to go in, or out.
Last weekend’s peace talks in Geneva were intended to take a step toward ending the Saudi invasion and resolving the war that has raged since. The talks never got started, however, as the Houthis sought assurances about their ability to safely travel to and from Geneva, and the Saudis refused. The Houthis, thus, never got to Geneva, and the talks never happened.