Um Yousef. A 40-something Yemeni woman. Moved her family near a front line in Taiz in January 2025 after failing to find a three-bedroom home at the typical market rate of $130, according to Al Jazeera. Her husband had died while working abroad, making her the sole provider for four children in a country where poverty has increased sharply since the war began more than a decade ago.

Living in a war-torn city

She described the housing situation as so dire that she was forced to move from one area to another for eight months before choosing the only affordable option — a home near the front line. The area had been relatively quiet in recent years due to a de-escalation of the war, but it remains between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels. Um Yousef asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons.

“There is a huge demand for houses, and all my efforts failed while I was living in a single room with my children,” she recalled; “It was very difficult to stay in that one room.”

Tragedy on the front line

Two months after the family moved. Her 11-year-old son was shot while playing outside; he returned home with blood pouring from his mouth, according to Al Jazeera. The incident highlights the risks many Yemenis take to find affordable housing in a country where more than a decade of conflict has left entire neighborhoods in ruins.

Destroyed buildings line the front line areas of Taiz, evidence of the prolonged fighting that has left the city scarred — For families like Um Yousef’s, however, the cost of housing elsewhere is simply too high. She now pays $13 a month for a home where the threat of violence is constant.

Broader implications of the crisis

Um Yousef’s story is emblematic of a housing crisis that has deepened with the war, but With no end to the conflict in sight, and economic conditions worsening, many Yemenis are forced to make dangerous choices just to survive. The lack of affordable housing has pushed families to live in areas that are either unstable or unsafe, with limited access to basic services.

The Al Jazeera article did not provide additional data on the scale of the housing crisis or its impact on other regions of Yemen. However, it highlighted the personal and emotional toll of the situation, particularly for single mothers and children caught in the crossfire of both war and economic hardship.