Dubai: Iran-backed Al Houthi militants continue to sabotage aid efforts in Yemen after they confiscated critical medication and renal dialysis equipment from Al Thawra hospital in Taiz.

The move serves no other purpose but to punish civilians and deprive them of vital life support.

The Yemen news agency SABA says the move has put the lives of hundreds of patients suffering from kidney failure at risk.

The statement called on international organisations and human rights groups to exert more pressure on the pro-coup militias to return these supplies.

The incident came as aid agency Oxfam called on donor nations on Monday to step up life-saving assistance to millions of civilians in Yemen facing starvation and disease.

“Many areas of Yemen are on the brink of famine, and the cause of such extreme starvation is political,” the British charity said on the eve of a United Nations conference in Geneva to seek aid pledges for the Arab country.

Alexander Ventura, emergency coordinator and head of mission in Yemen for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said: “The health system is at the verge of collapse and medical services are under fire.”

Yemen is reeling from two years of civil war that pits Al Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, against a Western-backed, Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting to restore the internationally-recognised government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi after an Al Houthi coup usurped power.

At least 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has unleashed a humanitarian crisis.

The UN has so far only received 15 per cent of $2.1 billion sought in aid for Yemen this year.

“Bilateral and institutional donors must prioritise assistance to the country’s health system to avoid total collapse,” Ventura said, adding that doctors and nurses had not been paid in six months.

Civilians are “deliberately targeted”, he said, and severe acute malnutrition was on the rise.

“Children are more at risk of dying from preventable diseases, pregnant women are unable to deliver safely and people suffering chronic conditions like renal failure are in need of dialysis,” he said. “Silent deaths must be prevented.”

MSF, which supports 12 hospitals across Yemen, uses Hodeida and other ports to bring in medical supplies but has begun airlifting goods to Aden, Hodeida and Sana’a, Ventura said.

The Yemeni government accuses Al Houthis of hijacking medical equipment brought in by aid agencies so the aid doesn’t reach the people most affected.