Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) As the transport plane comes in to land at Sanaa Airport , the deep scars of the brutal conflict tearing Yemen apart are only too clear : wrecked aircraft line the runway , and nearby buildings lie in ruins . To most of the outside world , this war-torn country is off limits , the weeks-long battle between Houthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition forces making it too dangerous to visit , and a no-fly zone rendering its international airport all but obsolete -- but on Tuesday , CNN was granted rare access on a desperate aid mission by Unicef , the United Nations Children 's Fund . The airport has previously been bombed . Hostilities are likely to resume before the day is out : a brief , peaceful window has been delicately negotiated following a special request from the U.N. -- but it wo n't last long . Unicef hopes there will be just enough time to deliver vital food and supplies , helping to ease the country 's worsening humanitarian crisis . More than 100,000 Yemeni civilians have fled their homes since fighting began , and OCHA , the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , estimates that 15.9 million people here are in need of assistance . The main terminal at El Rahaba Airport is under the control of the Houthi rebels . We ca n't get near it for fear of provoking trouble . But there is plenty to be done out on the tarmac . Within minutes of touching down , a small army of aid workers is busy unloading huge mounds of much-needed provisions . Gusts of wind blow dust across the runway , as crates and pallets of emergency nutrition and medical equipment pile up rapidly beside the plane . Unicef 's team has overcome more than one hurdle just getting it this far -- now they 'll have to work out how to distribute it to those most in need in a country paralyzed by a lack of resources . Even before Saudi airstrikes , most of the 25 million people in Yemen required humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs , according to the United Nations . As they work , an Air India plane is taxiing away from the terminal . Thousands have fled the country on evacuation flights in recent weeks as the situation in Yemen has deteriorated . But for those who have nowhere else to go and no chance of a flight out , mercy missions by Unicef and other NGOs like it are the only hope . READ MORE : ' A window into hell ' - desperate Yemenis flee by boatREAD MORE : Civilian catastrophe looming in YemenREAD MORE : Yemen crisis - how you can help . Bryony Jones contributed to this report .
25 million people in Yemen are in need of humanitarian aid , according to U.N. Planeload of aid supplies including food and medicine was flown in to Sanaa on Tuesday . A rare ceasefire was negotiated to allow the plane to land briefly .