Three dead in south of Saudi Arabia from missile attack - state media

Malki also said that legitimate forces in Yemen are preparing to cut the Houthis' route of supplies towards Saada. "However despite these actions, a military assault now looks imminent", Dfid said in an email to aid groups.

"It's also our plan and intention to stay and deliver", Lowcock said. I urge you to speak out publicly against the offensive and warn our allies that Congress will introduce legislation to end United States assistance for their campaign should they move ahead with an attack. "We are working with very largely numbers of Yemeni organizations and individuals".

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called on all parties "to honour their commitments to work with the UN".

The U.S., he said, is closely following developments in Hodeidah and urged Emirati leaders to preserve "the free flow of humanitarian aid and life-saving commercial imports".

The United Nations relocated members of its worldwide staff from Hodeidah on Monday.

The United Nations fears that a battle in Hodeidah could be devastating for the estimated 600,000 people still living in the city.

Sputnik Faisal Al Shabibi Yemeni Houthi Rebels Shell Government Forces- Reports

"I hope that there will be a way to avoid the military confrontation in Hodeida", Guterres told reporters.

During the closed session, Griffiths was to brief council members by video-conference from Amman along with United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock. "It is essential for him to be given the time that he needs to facilitate a negotiated solution that avoids conflict in the city and we support his efforts to do so".

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Monday to try to avert an attack by the Saudi-led coalition on a key port in Yemen that provides a lifeline for humanitarian aid. He said that the Saudi forces spotted at around 8.09 p.m. Sunday the launch of the Iran-backed militia from Saada province of Yemen and was deliberately targeting populated areas.

The Houthis seized Yemen's capital Sana'a in 2015 and has been locked in battle with troops loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. It has damaged Yemen's infrastructure, crippled its health system and pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of starvation.

An alarming 22.2 million people in Yemen - the Arab world's poorest country - need some kind of humanitarian or protection assistance, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).