150 killed in battle for Yemen's Hodeida as global alarm grows

At least 150 people have been killed in 24 hours of clashes in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, medics said Tuesday, as Britain's top diplomat visited the Gulf seeking to boost international calls for a ceasefire.

Government loyalists supported by a Saudi-led coalition are fighting to oust the Iran-backed Huthi rebels from the strategic Red Sea city, whose docks are a lifeline to 14 million Yemenis at risk of starvation.

Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, a coalition spokesman told reporters in Riyadh that "the operation is still ongoing", adding that it was meant to pressure the rebels to come to the negotiating table.

A Hodeida resident reported an ebb in fighting around the city by Monday evening, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a possible "catastrophic situation" if the port is destroyed.

"The fighting must stop, a political debate must begin, and we must prepare a massive humanitarian response to avoid the worst next year," he said.

A military source in the pro-government coalition said the insurgents had pushed back a large-scale assault aimed at moving towards the port, under rebel control since 2014.

In a statement sent via the Telegram messaging app, the Huthis said they had "lured" loyalists up the western coastline of Hodeida, where the rebels then launched an attack on the troops.

Government forces, led on the ground by Emirati-backed troops, have made their way into Hodeida after 11 days of clashes, reaching residential neighbourhoods in the east on Sunday and sparking fears of street fights that would further endanger civilians trapped in the city.

Residents and government military sources have reported rebel snipers stationed on rooftops in civilian streets in eastern Hodeida, a few kilometres (miles) from the port on the western edge of the city.

The fighting forced hundreds of terrified medical workers and patients to flee the al-Thawra hospital -- Hodeida's largest public medical facility -- as a series of explosions rocked the area on Sunday, Amnesty International said. A medical worker told Amnesty that they "dodged a hail of shrapnel" as bombardment near the hospital lasted more than 30 minutes.