On the frontline of world's worst humanitarian crisis
Civilians have fled Hodeida, Yemen, as an offensive draws closer and aid agencies say hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.
Sunday 14 October 2018 20:53, UK
Commanders of Yemeni forces fighting under the Saudi-led coalition have told Sky News they expect to advance on the rebel Houthi-held port city of Hodeida soon.
It comes as the United Nations is warning that a military offensive there by the coalition, including militias loyal to the internationally recognised government in exile, will have an "incalculable human cost".
Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in 2015 to support President Hadi's administration after the Iran-backed Houthis ousted it from large areas including the capital Sana'a.
Half a million civilians have fled Hodeida as the fighting draws closer and aid agencies say hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.
One of the biggest threats is lack of food.
At the al Sadaqa teaching hospital in Aden, Anissa Abdulmoniem totters unsteadily onto the ward.
Her clothes hang off her tiny frame like sacks but it is not until doctors examine her that you can see how severely malnourished she is.
The medical staff tell us she weighs just over 10kg, that's half of what she should weigh at the age of eight.
Anissa's family are one of thousands who escaped the fighting in Hodeida province.
She hasn't eaten properly for over two years.
Dr Aida Hussein, a consultant at the hospital, says if she had not arrived when she did she would've almost certainly died.
"With the very severe malnutrition I have found here they are suspected for sepsis and more likely to die. These patients are more likely to die.
"All my ward is in the same condition. The guests from al Hodeida, from IDPs are the same" she says.
On another ward the scene is also distressing.
Premature babies, just a few days old, are being helped to breath by their mothers - such is the crisis in hospitals across the country there aren't enough medical staff to treat everyone.
Countless children are dying from lack of food and healthcare in Yemen. The UN says more than 22 million people - 75% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance and than eight million people don't know where there next meal is coming from.
We travelled to the area where the war is intensifying on the west coast.
What is happening in Yemen should shock the international community.
At a food distribution centre in the town of Al Khawkha hundreds of desperate people demand help. They've been queuing for food handouts for days - but there isn't enough to go round.
Some are holding up pieces of white paper which means they will be able to eat. Others are not so lucky and will go hungry.
One elderly woman, who looks visibly weak and tired, tells me she's been waiting for four days.
She's one of dozens angrily pleading with local officials for aid.
Eventually they are sent away empty-handed.
This is why the UN is calling what's happening in Yemen the "world's worst humanitarian crisis" and aid agencies are warning it could get even worse.
The war being fought here by Saudi Arabia and its allies against Iran-backed Houthi rebels has now shifted to the coastal plains along the Red Sea.
Helicopter gunships patrol the skies whilst a naval blockade controls the flow of food.
Houthi-controlled areas are effectively under siege.
The west coast of Yemen is of vital importance to the Saudi-led coalition.
They claim that if they control this area and the port city of Hodeida they can break the Houthis stranglehold on the capital Sana'a.
Armed by the US and UK, the coalition is trying to roll back Tehran's influence on the Arabian peninsula.
It is not just the sale of weapons, it's also military support to help prosecute the war.
Britain and America have been providing targeting support and refuelling coalition jets.
The roads on the way to the frontlines are littered with destroyed armoured vehicles.
It is a patchwork of Yemeni militias that are leading the fight.
And nearly four years after the Saudi-led coalition entered the war in Yemen, there is no end in sight.
It's not certain if this conflict can even be won, but what's sure is civilians will continue to suffer in the wake of this destructive conflict.