Ceasefire in Hodeidah Port, Yemen

While on Thursday, November 15, the intensity of clashes in Hodeidah Port, Yemen, decreased, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia and its allies ordered a halt to operations in the city, and the Associated Press cited local residents suggesting that this calm may be temporary. Reuters quoted a source close to the Saudi-led regional coalition stating that the coalition 'has instructed its forces to stop the war inside Hodeidah.' Another source reported that this action by the coalition was a response to international pressures for a ceasefire and to facilitate the Houthis' participation in peace talks. However, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition has not confirmed the cessation of attacks, and the Houthis also told Reuters that no official announcement has been made yet. Hodeidah has been under Houthi control for about three years. Yemen's government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia and its allies, launched an operation to expel the Houthis from the city earlier this year and resumed this operation 12 days ago after a several-month hiatus. Nonetheless, the Associated Press reported from several residents of Hodeidah that previous reductions in fighting were temporary and that 'more intense battles would resume.' The United States and several European countries, especially after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, have pressured Saudi Arabia to establish an immediate ceasefire and create conditions for UN-mediated peace talks. Hodeidah, located in eastern Yemen on the Red Sea coast, supplies eighty percent of the necessities for the Yemeni people, and the coalition's blockade of this port has led to severe shortages of food and medicine in this war-torn country. In the latest round of attacks, the United Nations has expressed concern that millions of people currently on the brink of famine will be unable to access food and medicine. The war in Yemen, which began three and a half years ago between the forces of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Iran-backed Houthis, escalated with the entry of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and has resulted in over ten thousand deaths, leading the UN to describe it as a 'humanitarian catastrophe' threatening the lives of millions. In recent years, Western countries have condemned Iran's role in supplying weapons to the Houthis while supporting Saudi Arabia and its allies in this war; however, especially since the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, these countries have been more cautious and some have halted new arms sales to Saudi Arabia.