Israel launched new air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, and WHO chief says they were meters away

The Houthis in Yemen announced that Israeli air strikes targeted, on Thursday, the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, and the coastal city of Hodeidah. The Director-General of the World Health Organization said that the bombing occurred while he was about to board a plane in Sanaa, wounding a crew member.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – a few meters from where we are – and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Channel X, adding that he and his colleagues at the World Health Organization were fine.

“We will need to wait until the damage to the airport is repaired before we can leave.”

The source of the bombing was not mentioned.

The Israeli strikes came several days after the Houthis sounded sirens in Israel. The Israeli army said that it attacked the infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Qutib, in addition to electricity stations. She did not immediately respond to questions about Tedros’ statement.

This came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned.”

His government said that Netanyahu monitored the new strikes with military commanders. Media outlets affiliated with the Iran-backed Houthis confirmed the strikes in a post on the Telegram app, but did not provide immediate details.

The US military has also targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations indicated that the ports are important entry points for humanitarian aid.

At the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi missile hit a stadium in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli aircraft bombed Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, describing it as a response to previous Houthi attacks.

The Houthis also targeted shipping in the Red Sea corridor, describing it as showing solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

An Israeli raid killed five journalists who the Israeli army says were militants

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health. The Israeli army said all five were activists posing as journalists.

The strike hit a car outside Al Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The journalists worked for the local Al-Quds Al-Youm news channel, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.

The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad is a smaller, more extreme ally of Hamas, and participated in its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

The Israeli military identified four of the men as militant propaganda promoters, and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad activists found by soldiers in Gaza, confirmed that all five belonged to the group.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian armed groups operate political, media, and charitable operations in addition to their armed wings.

Associated Press footage showed the burned-out shell of the truck, with press marks visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue compression vests draped over them.

Medics said the five were among at least 21 people killed in Israeli air attacks across the Palestinian enclave before dawn.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says that more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war. Israel did not allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza except with a military presence.

Israel regularly denies targeting journalists and says it takes steps to avoid harming civilians.

Israel and Hamas exchange blame for delaying the ceasefire

On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel exchanged blame for their failure to reach a ceasefire agreement despite progress announced by both sides in recent days.

Hamas said that Israel had set more conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the movement of reneging on the understandings that had already been reached.

Hamas said, “The occupation set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which delayed reaching the agreement that was available.”

Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, retract the understandings that have already been reached, and continues to create difficulties in the negotiations.”

The Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the 2.3 million people were displaced, and much of Gaza was reduced to rubble.

The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in Gaza, according to Israeli statistics.