Between hope and fear: Yemenis react to Houthi blockade on Saudi Arabia Yemenis fear a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia could reignite war, deepen shortages and worsen hunger. Sanaa, Yemen – Ammar Saleh, a 32-year-old schoolteacher in Sanaa, watched on Monday as the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. Then, on Wednesday, the Houthis declared they had attacked two Saudi ships – a declaration that they were serious in their intention to impose a maritime embargo on their northern neighbour.

The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of conducting its own blockade on rebel-controlled areas of Yemen, therefore justifying the Houthi attacks. Recommended Stories list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Saudi Arabia slams Houthi blockade: How will rest of the world be impacted? - list 2 of 4Pro-government militia seizes boat with ‘Houthi weapons materials’ in Yemen - list 3 of 4How serious is Iran’s threat to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea?

- list 4 of 4US launches new strikes as Iran warns of regional turmoil Whatever the arguments, the news has come as a jolt to Yemenis like Ammar, many of whom now believe that a four-year period of relative quiet in the country’s more than decade-long war is about to end. Ammar believes that Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled Yemeni provinces could once again become a battlefield and could be hit with fuel shortages and a worsening humanitarian crisis. “Imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia is not a minor move, and we will not be immune from its repercussions,” Ammar told Al Jazeera.

While many civilians are anxious over the fallout of the decision to confront Saudi Arabia, Houthi supporters describe it as a step towards ending what they perceive to be Riyadh’s hegemony in Yemen. Supporters of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, meanwhile, see the Houthi attacks as evidence of the group’s “obedience to Iran’s orders”. ‘Unseen suffering’ Civilians who say they support neither side in the war have expressed fear over what may come next.

Abdulla Yahya, a 25-year-old construction worker in Sanaa, said civilian suffering becomes “unseen during the chaos of war”. Abdulla told Al Jazeera that any Houthi-Saudi Arabian military face-off will complicate the lives of everyday people in Yemen and will make “survival a harder task”. “The moment a full-scale war begins, the basics we have today will no longer be available or affordable.

Prices will soar, fuel supply will be disrupted, and work opportunities will decline. Neither side of the conflict will be aware of our suffering,” said Abdulla. Yemen’s warring parties have emphasised their preparedness for war, but Abdulla says he is not.

“I wanted to buy an extra cooking gas cylinder and get additional food commodities, such as flour, rice and cooking oil. But I could not afford that. Getting those would cost me about 55,000 Yemeni riyals [$230],” said the father of three.

The ongoing escalation risks dragging Yemen back into wider conflict, further compounding a hunger crisis that aid agencies have said is already spiralling. Almost 20 million people in Yemen need humanitarian aid, according to United Nations estimates, and the lack of a political settlement to the conflict continues to add to the complexity.