Yemen: Taiz missile strike kills two girls as UN warns of hospital shortages

A missile struck a densely populated residential area of Taiz on Tuesday, October 20, killing two teenage girls and wounding six other people, the [Associated Press reported](https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-saudi-fighting-8a036054a8f0cd38ff8ee0101947f708). AP attributed the attack to Houthi forces and described extensive damage to homes. It came a day after a Houthi missile strike killed 73 recruits at a government camp in Shabwa; see our [earlier report on the Shabwa attack](https://www.mushimu.com/post/9079). The wider emergency is affecting basic services. On October 20, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Laurent Bukera said in [a UN statement](https://yemen.un.org/en/324723-statement-humanitarian-coordinator-yemen-laurent-bukera-humanitarian-situation-ta%E2%80%99iz) that insecurity and road closures were keeping fuel and other vital supplies out of Taiz. Remaining food and fuel prices had more than doubled, water production in the city had fallen by half, and shortages threatened hospital electricity and medical oxygen. At a [UN Geneva briefing](https://transcripts.un.org/en/briefing/geneva/2026-10-20) that day, UNICEF’s Yemen representative said active fighting and shelling by both sides were making routes unsafe for trucks, so aid access would need to be negotiated with both parties. The UN is urging safe passage for food, medicine and humanitarian aid, and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. The reports available so far do not identify the missile’s intended target or provide a complete damage assessment. The UN’s account also cautions against attributing every blocked route to one side: insecurity from fighting on both sides is preventing safe passage. The immediate concern is whether residents can receive supplies before hospitals lose essential power and oxygen.