Israeli strike endangers World Health Organization director-general in Yemen

Israeli strike endangers World Health Organization director-general in Yemen

Israel launched a wave of air strikes against Yemen on Thursday, several of which struck the country’s main airport, where Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was preparing to board a flight. One member of the UN airplane crew was injured, and at least six people were killed in the air raids.

A man looks at the damage in the control tower of Sana’a International Airport following Thursday’s Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. [AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman]

There are only two possible explanations for the air assault on the Yemen airport while Tedros was present there. Either Israel deliberately tried to assassinate him, or the Zionist regime was indifferent to his possible death and considered it acceptable collateral damage.

The air assault on Sanaa International Airport, where a United Nations delegation including Tedros was getting ready to leave the country, also takes place within the context of continuous denunciations of the UN by Israel, as well as repeated military attacks on UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

Speaking to Reuters, Tedros said the UN delegation was about to board a plane when the Israeli attacks began. Tedros said he was not sure he would survive when missiles struck the terminal just meters from where he was standing.

He said the explosions rocked the building and were so deafening that his ears were still ringing more than a day later.

The Reuters report continued:

Tedros said it quickly became apparent the airport was under attack, describing people “running in disarray” through the site after approximately four blasts, one of them “alarmingly” close to where he was sitting near the departure lounge.

“I was not sure actually I could survive because it was so close, a few meters from where we were,” he told Reuters. “A slight deviation could have resulted in a direct hit.”

Tedros said he and his colleagues were stuck at the airport for the next hour or so as what he thought were drones flew overhead, feeding concern they could open fire again. Among the debris, he and colleagues saw missile fragments, he said.

“There (was) no shelter at all. Nothing. So, you’re just exposed, just waiting for anything to happen,” he said.

Al Jazeera reported that the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said three people were killed at the airport, and another three were killed after Israel hit the key port city of Hodeidah, a city on the Red Sea about 240 kilometers (149 miles) southwest of Sanaa. The news agency also reported 40 others were wounded in the Israeli attacks.

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