Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away
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Israel’s army later told The Associated Press it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was there
JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X.
He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he said, without mentioning the source of the bombardment. U.N. spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay later said the injured person was with the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service.
At least three people were later reported killed and dozens injured in the airport strike. The U.N. team members left the airport and were “safe and sound” in Sanaa while the injured crew member was being treated at a hospital, she said.
Tremblay said the damage assessment would be made on Friday morning to see whether WHO chief and the U.N. team can leave Yemen.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation in attacks between Yemen and Israel and described Thursday’s attacks as “especially alarming,” Tremblay said.
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 strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. Overnight, the Israel said the Houthis fired yet another missile, triggering air raid sirens in central Israel, jolting thousands of people awake and forcing them to scramble to shelters. The army said it intercepted the missile before it reached Israeli airspace and there were no reports of injuries.
The Israeli military in a statement said it attacked infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, asserting they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials.
