WHO chief at Yemen airport during Israel strikes

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he and his crew were about to board a flight when the airport was struck by Israeli missiles, with one crew member injured in the attack.

The control tower at Sana'a airport after the strikes. Picture: X.

The head of the World Health Organisation was at Sana’a airport when it was hit with Israeli missiles overnight (AEDT), while a UN crew member was injured, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has confirmed.

Mr Tedros said on social media he was at the airport during the strike but was unhurt, adding that “one of our plane’s crew members was injured”.

The strike was Israel’s first-ever attack on the airport in the capital, during which Israeli jets also hit two power stations after the Iran-backed group fired missiles at Israel in recent days.

The Israeli military said the air strikes targeted infrastructure that the Houthis, who control the capital, San’a, have used to bring Iranian weapons and officials into Yemen.

Mr Tedros, who was in Yemen to seek the release of detained UN staff and assess the humanitarian situation in war-torn Yemen, said he and his team were about to board their flight when “the airport came under aerial bombardment”.

He said the air traffic control tower, departure lounge and runway were damaged in the strike.

“We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he added.

A Houthi spokesperson said the airport strike hit the control tower and arrival hall minutes before a flight landed. Three people were killed and an assistant captain of a United Nations plane was injured by the strikes, said Houthi officials. The World Health Organization, a UN agency, said a crew member was injured.

This was the fourth time since July that Israeli planes have travelled more than 1,600km to strike targets in Yemen, and the second time in about a week. Previous Israeli strikes in Yemen have mostly targeted energy infrastructure, such as fuel depots, which Israel says the Houthis use for militant activities.

WATCH⚡️

Sanaa airport after IDF gave them a visit from 2000 km away.

It looks like a warning shot. pic.twitter.com/7WQ5B5W19W

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 26, 2024

In the past seven days, the Houthis have fired ballistic missiles at the densely populated Tel Aviv region late at night on four occasions, sending residents fleeing to bomb shelters. Israel has intercepted the vast majority of Houthi attacks over the past year, but recently some projectiles have eluded its defences.

On December 19, a warhead from a Houthi missile struck a school in central Israel, collapsing the building but causing no casualties. Following that attack, Israel struck Houthi-controlled areas, including ports and energy infrastructure.

On Saturday, another Houthi missile struck a park in Jaffa, a part of southern Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16 people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to halt the Houthi attacks. “We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s evil axis. We will persist in this until we complete the task,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the Air Force command and control center with Defense Minister Katz, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Halevi and Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Bar, to monitor the attack on Houthi terrorist infrastructure in Yemen and along the western coastal strip. pic.twitter.com/3OKeKfSDR9

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 26, 2024

The Houthis are still carrying out effective strikes on Israel, though other Iranian-backed groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been largely sidelined by the Israeli military campaign that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

All together, the Houthis have carried out hundreds of missile and drone attacks against Israel, according to Israel’s military.

In addition to the airport, the Israeli military said it hit the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, and what it said was military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports located on Yemen’s western coast.

The Houthis control much of northwestern Yemen. They have also snarled international trade by attacking cargo ships in and near the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important trade routes. The group says the campaign is aimed at supporting Palestinian militants fighting Israel in Gaza.

WATCH⚡️

Sanaa airport after IDF gave them a visit from 2000 km away.

It looks like a warning shot. pic.twitter.com/7WQ5B5W19W

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 26, 2024

In response, the US, Israel and other allied forces have repeatedly targeted the Houthis over the past year, but have failed to force the group to back down.

The Israeli strikes on Thursday occurred while the Houthi militant leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi was speaking publicly about his group’s fight with Israel. “Our operations against Israel are ongoing, effective and will not stop until the Israeli aggression stops,” he said during that speech.

Following the Israeli strikes, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said the targeting of the airport in San’a and other civilian infrastructure “is an act of Zionist aggression against the entire Yemeni population.” Israel’s military said that while the Houthis rely on Iran for funding and weapons, the group acts autonomously. “This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the military said.

Dow Jones, AFP