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Image of damage at the airport in Sana'a published by local media.

WHO chief and staff safe following Israeli strikes on Yemen airport moments before flight

Two people died and many more were injured, including the UN’s pilot, after the airport came under bombardment.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said he and fellow staff members were present at a Yemeni airport when Israel launched a large bombardment on the runway.

Two people were killed and many more were injured after six strikes hit an airbase and airport in the north of Sana’a, Yemen’s capital. The runway, the air traffic control tower and the departure hall were damaged in the attack.

Today’s stikes is the latest bombardment by Israel in the Middle East as it aims to disrupt and put an end to rebel Houthi factions in the country, who have been intercepting and unsettling container ships in the Red Sea.

A number of US-backed air strikes have also taken place in recent weeks on Houthi positions. The rebel group have been conducting operations in the area in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.

yemen-houthis-usa-israel-conflict-houthi-supporters-burn-us-and-israeli-flags-during-a-mass-protest-against-israeli-airstrikes-on-yemen-amid-growing-tensions-between-the-israel-and-the-houthis-followi Houthi rebels held anti-Israel and anti-US rallies earlier this week. Alamy Alamy

A number of ports used by Houthi rebels and two power plants were also targeted in the bombardments by Israel today, its military confirmed.

In a post to X, Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he and WHO staff were in Yemen to negotiate the release of UN staff who have been captured in the country and were due to leave from the airport in Sana’a this morning.

“As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment,” he said. “One of our plane’s crew members was injured.”

200519-geneva-may-19-2020-xinhua-world-health-organization-who-director-general-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-speaks-at-the-73rd-world-health-assembly-at-the-who-headquarters-in-geneva-swi Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other WHO staff were negotiating the release of UN staff in Yemen. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

He detailed that all WHO and UN staff, including himself, are safe and well but will not be able to leave from the Sana’a airport due to the extensive damage that was cause after the strike.

He sent his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the strikes. 

Israel’s military has confirmed it carried out strikes. It claimed it was targeting Houthi positions and infrastructure located in the area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s strikes on them Yemeni rebels would continue “until the job is done”.

“We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil. We will continue until the job is done,” he said in a video statement released after the strikes.

Additional reporting by AFP

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