Israel attacks Sanaa international airport as WHO Director-General prepares to board plane

On December 26, the Israeli military said it had attacked several targets linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport and three ports along the west coast.

Smoke rises after an Israeli attack on Hodeidah on December 26. (Al Mayadeen/X)

The attack targeted Yemen's Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants as well as military infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib, Al Jazeera news channel reported.

The Houthi group's al Masirah TV channel also reported the incident, saying two people were killed in Israeli attacks on Sanaa International Airport and another person was killed in Ras Issa port.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he and his colleagues at the United Nations (UN) were preparing to board a plane at Sanaa airport when it was bombed by Israel.

“One of the crew members of the plane we were on was injured. At least two people died at the airport. The control tower, departure lounge and runway were damaged,” Tedros said in a post on social media platform X.

UN and WHO teams have arrived in Yemen “to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and to assess the health and humanitarian situation” in the Middle Eastern country, Tedros said.

The Israeli airstrikes came a day after the Houthi movement, which controls northwest Yemen, including Sanaa and the Red Sea coast, launched a ballistic missile and two drones toward Israel.

The Israeli military said the rocket "fell into wasteland" in southern Israel after sirens sounded in areas near the Gaza Strip. There was no information about the other aircraft.

Last weekend, another Houthi missile attack injured 16 people in Tel Aviv, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn that the movement would face the same price as other anti-Israel groups.

Since October last year, the Houthis have carried out sporadic missile and drone attacks on Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded with several large-scale airstrikes.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/yemen-israel-tan-cong-san-bay-quoc-te-sanaa-khi-tong-giam-doc-who-chuan-bi-len-may-bay-298779.html