Israeli warplanes struck multiple targets across Yemen on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said, including ports, power stations and the international airport serving the capital, Sanaa, as the director general of the World Health Organization was about to board a flight.
Israel strikes Yemen airport as WHO head was present
Updated
December 26, 2024 The Washington Post
Tedros, who was in Yemen to negotiate the release of U.N. staff held there and assess the humanitarian situation, said he and his team would be stranded until the airport could be repaired.
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it knew Tedros was at the airport when it launched the strike.
The IDF said it targeted military infrastructure used by the Houthi militant group at the Sanaa International Airport and at the Hezyaz power station, south of the capital, and the Ras Kanatib power station on Yemen’s west coast. It also struck two ports on the coast it alleged were used by the Houthis to smuggle in weapons and officials from Iran, which backs the movement.
The Houthis control large parts of Yemen and have staged frequent attacks on Israel, as well as Western shipping and naval vessels in the Red Sea, since the start of the war in Gaza. The group says its attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinian people and will cease when Israel halts its war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli air defense systems have intercepted most of the missiles and drones launched by the Houthis. But in the past week, two missiles struck Israel, causing injuries and damage.
Israel informed the United States of the attacks in Yemen before they were carried out, an Israeli individual familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.