 "WHO Chief Tedros narrowly escapes deadly Israeli strike at Yemen's Sanaa airport that killed 6")
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus narrowly escaped Israeli aerial bombardment at Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Thursday. The strike took place when he along with his United Nations and WHO colleagues were about to board a plane.
At least six people were killed and dozens more injured after Israel unleashed a series of strikes on Yemeni capital Sanaa and the western city of Hodeidah on Thursday.
The Israeli military said that it hit “military targets” belonging to Iran-backed Houthis. “The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
The IDF further said that it had struck “military infrastructure” in the Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast, claiming that these military targets were used by the Iran-backed Houthis “to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials."
According to the Houthi-run al-Masirah television, at least three people were killed and 30 other were injured in Israeli strike on Sanaa International Airport killed.
WHO Chief stuck at Sanaa airport attacked by Israel
In a post on X, Ghebreyesus said: “As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged.”
“We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave. My UN and WHO colleagues and I are safe. Our heartfelt condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack,” he further said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOur mission to negotiate the release of @UN staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in #Yemen concluded today. We continue to call for the detainees' immediate release.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 26, 2024
As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport… pic.twitter.com/riZayWHkvf
In Hodeidah, at least three people were killed and 10 others were injured in Israeli attack, al-Masirah television report said. The strikes hit the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Issa, and the Ras Kutub power station in Hodeidah Governorate, it further reported.
Houthis vow revenge
Houthis said that Israeli strikes on Thursday injured at least 40 people and called the attack “a brutal aggression” as it vowed revenge.
In a post on X, member of the Houthi political council Hezam al-Asad, in Hebrew, threatened Israel, saying: “Gush Dan is no longer safe.” Gush Dan is a metropolitan area in central Israel that includes Tel Aviv and the towns and cities around it.
UN chief condemns Sanaa airport attack
A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said in a statement: “The secretary general condemns the escalation between Yemen and Israel. Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a international airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming…"
“Today’s airstrikes follow around a year of escalatory actions by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the region that threaten civilians, regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation.”
Guterres also called for the respect of international law, emphasising that civilians and humanitarian workers must never be targeted.
The UN Chief reiterated the call for all parties to cease military actions and exercise restraint.
‘Strikes on Yemen won’t stop’
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that Israel’s air force attacked Houthi targets on the coastline and in Sanaa. “We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s evil axis. We will persist in this until we complete the task.”
Speaking from Israel’s Air Force Command Center, Netanyahu said, “We will persist in severing the terror arm of Iran’s axis of evil until the mission is complete.”
In an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu said that Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis. “We are just getting started with them,” he said.
Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
With inputs from agencies.
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