Israel strikes airport in Yemen while WHO chief nearby

 

This image from UGC video posted on social media on Dec. 26, 2024, reportedly shows travelers rushing in panic out of Sanaa International Airport after it was hit by an Israeli strike. (UGC via AFP)

The World Health Organization’s director-general said airstrikes hit Yemen\’s main airport Thursday just as he was about to board a flight there.

The United Nations says at least three people were reportedly killed and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

A high-level U.N. delegation led by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was at the airport on Thursday waiting to depart when the airstrikes took place, and a U.N. Humanitarian Air Service crew member was among the injured, U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” the WHO chief said in a post on X.

The rest of the U.N. team left the airport and are “safe and sound” in Sanaa, and the injured crew member is being treated in a hospital, Tremblay said.

Tremblay said an assessment of damage to the airport will be made Friday morning to see whether Tedros and the U.N. team can leave Yemen.

Tremblay said that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation in attacks between Yemen and Israel, and that he said Thursday’s attacks on Sanaa International Airport, Yemen’s Red Sea ports and power stations were "especially alarming.”

Israel’s army later told The Associated Press it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief or delegation was at the location in Yemen.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by Yemen\’s Houthi rebels at the international airport in the capital Sanaa, as well as power stations and ports, alleging they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials.

The U.N. chief appealed to all parties to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, as required under international law, Tremblay said.

Guterres called for a halt to all military actions and for “utmost restraint,” Tremblay said.

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes near Sanaa International Airport in Sanaa, Yemen, on Dec. 26, 2024.

The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi missile and drone launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah reported multiple deaths and showed broken windows, collapsed ceilings, and a bloodstained floor and vehicle. Iran\’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes. The U.S. military has also targeted the Houthis in recent days.

The U.N. has said the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation, which plunged into a civil war in 2014.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, while other missiles and drones were shot down. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people in what it said was a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, saying it is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The U.N. Security Council has an emergency meeting Monday in response to an Israeli request that it condemn the Houthi attacks and Iran for supplying them with weapons.

 

By：VOA