The Sana'a airport after the Israeli air strikes today
Sana’a/New York/Jerusalem: The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his colleagues at WHO and the United Nations Organization had a close shave at Sana’a airport where they were just a few metres away when Israel bombarded the airport today.
As the UN high-level delegation, headed by the WHO Director-General, was about to board our flight from Sana’a, around 5 pm local time, the airport came under aerial bombardment from Israel. At least two people were reported killed at the airport and one of their plane’s crew members -a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service crew member – was also injured when the airport was hit.
“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,” Dr Ghebreyesus said. He informed that he and his UN and WHO colleagues were safe, and offered their condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack.
Dr Ghebreyesus and his team were in Sana’a on a mission to negotiate the release of the United Nations staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in Yemen. The delegation had just concluded discussions on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the release of UN and other detained personnel. It concluded today apparently without any tangible results and Dr Ghebreyesus said, “We continue to call for the detainees’ immediate release”.
The WHO Director-General arrived in Aden on December 24, 2024, and had two full days of meetings with the health and humanitarian colleagues of the WHO and the UN team as well, who were working through the holidays to help people in need there.
He also met with Yemen’s Foreign Minister Shaiaa Al Zendani to discuss the humanitarian situation and needs across the country. “We will continue to support Yemen’s people in need of assistance,” he said.
Israelis today had air strikes on Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen, and the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres termed the situation to be “especially alarming”. He said the air strikes reportedly resulted in numerous casualties, including at least three killed and dozens more injured.
Today’s air strikes follow around a year of the escalatory actions by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the region that threaten civilians, regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation. On Christmas Day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned, and this will also take time”. He asserted, “This lesson will be learned across the Middle East.”
The UN Secretary-General emphasized in New York that international law — including humanitarian law, as applicable — must be respected at all times, and he appealed to all to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. “Humanitarian relief personnel must not be targeted and must be respected and protected at all times,” he stated. He said he remained “deeply concerned” about the risk of further escalation in the region and reiterated his call for all parties concerned to cease all military actions and exercise utmost restraint. He also warned that air strikes on Red Sea ports and Sana’a Airport posed grave risks to humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people require life-saving assistance.
“Further escalation in the region also continues to undermine the mediation efforts led by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to reach a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Yemen,” Guterres said and renewed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN and other personnel arbitrarily detained by the Houthis.
– global bihari bureau
