(BBC News) The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN staff were at Yemen’s international airport in Sanaa on Thursday during Israeli air strikes that are reported to have killed at least six people.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said they were about to board a plane when the attacks began.
Houthi-run Saba news agency said three people were killed at the airport and 30 injured. It said another three people were killed and 10 wounded in the western Hodeidah province.
The Iran-backed rebel group described the attacks — which also hit power stations and ports — as “barbaric”. Israel’s military said it carried out “intelligence-based strikes on military targets.”
It is unclear whether the fatalities were civilians or Houthi rebels.
In a statement on X, Dr. Tedros said he was in Yemen “to negotiate the release of UN staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation” in the country. He provided no further details about the UN detainees.
Referring to the strikes on Sanaa’s airport, he said: “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few metres 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. Tedros added.
