A wave of Israeli air attacks Hitting the main airport in Yemen Just as the Director-General of the World Health Organization said he was about to board there, a crew member of the UN plane was infected, the WHO chief said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on the X website that he was a few meters away from the attack on Sanaa airport on Thursday.
“While we were about to board our plane from Sanaa… the airport was subjected to an air strike. One of our plane’s crew members was injured,” he added.
“The air control tower, the departure lounge – a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues were fine.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the incident.
The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said three people were killed in the raids on the airport, three more were killed after Israel struck the main port city of Hodeidah, while 40 others were wounded in the Israeli attacks.
The Israeli army said it attacked the infrastructure it uses Houthis Yemen At the international airport in the capital, Sanaa, as well as power plants and ports, allegedly used to smuggle Iranian weapons and the entry of senior Iranian officials.
The Houthis repeatedly launched drones and missiles towards Israel in what they described as acts of solidarity with it Palestinians in Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, from UN headquarters in New York, said Ghebreyesus and his staff were evacuated to safety shortly after the attack on the airport.
“The UN tells us that all its staff have been accounted for. “But make no mistake about it, this was a very close result,” Elizondo said.
UN spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay told reporters that the delegation had just concluded discussions on this topic The humanitarian situation in Yemen They are negotiating the release of detained UN staff.
She added: “The Secretary-General emphasizes that international law, including humanitarian law where applicable, must be respected at all times, and calls on everyone to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
“Humanitarian relief personnel must not be targeted and must be respected and protected at all times.”
The Houthis threaten to respond
The Houthis said on Thursday that they were ready to respond quickly to the attack and confront “escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 that Israel has just begun its campaign against the Houthis. “We’re just getting started with them,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s position at home has been strengthened by the Israeli military campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and the destruction of most of the Syrian army’s strategic weapons.
Reman Al-Hamdani, a Yemeni researcher at ARK International Development Group, said that the attacks launched by Israel on the airport represent a major escalation.
Al-Hamdani also said that the Houthis are playing with fire in “doubling down” on their pledge to continue attacks on Israel and that the country does not have the capacity to deal with the crisis of a major conflict involving Israel.
He said: “I believe that what we saw today cannot be undone because the Houthis are absolutely determined to continue striking Israel.”
Last week, Israeli aircraft bombed Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people. The United States Army has it as well It targeted the Houthis In Yemen in recent days.
The latest wave of Israeli strikes in Yemen comes several days after the Houthis sounded air raid sirens in Israel. The Houthis are also targeting ships in the Red Sea corridor, saying they support Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli war on Gaza led to the killing of more than 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom were children and women, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
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