WHO chief says he was at Yemen airport when it was hit by Israeli airstrikes

GENEVA

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Thursday said he was at Yemen's Sanaa airport when it was hit by Israeli air strikes.

"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," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "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," he said, adding that the mission needs to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before they can leave.

Tedros said he and his colleagues are safe and sent "heartfelt condolences" to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the attack.

The WHO chief and his colleagues were in Yemen to negotiate the release of UN staff detainees and assess the country's health and humanitarian situation, which concluded Thursday.

"We continue to call for the detainees' immediate release," he added.

Israeli warplanes launched a new wave of airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday evening amid rising regional tensions over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Israeli media said.

The strikes targeted several strategic sites in Yemen, including Sanaa airport and the port of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen.

The Houthis have targeted Israeli cargo ships or those associated with Tel Aviv in the Red Sea with missiles and drones in a show of support with the Gaza Strip, where more than 45,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war since Oct. 7, 2023.