The United Nations air crew member hurt in an Israeli air strike on Yemen’s main international airport Thursday sustained serious injuries and is recovering in a hospital, a World Health Organization spokesperson said Friday.
Israel said it struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen, including Sana’a International Airport. Houthi media reported that at least six people were killed and 40 others injured.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was in the airport waiting to depart when the aerial bombardment took place. A member of his plane’s crew was wounded and required surgery as a result of his injury, the WHO spokesperson said.
The injured man, who worked for the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, seemed to be recovering well, the spokesperson added.
Tedros was in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained U.N. staff and address the humanitarian situation. He will continue working in Yemen until his flight can leave, the WHO spokesperson said. That may be Friday, but no official decision has been made, the spokesperson said.
The U.N. secretary-general condemned Israel’s attack on the Yemen airport and said escalations between Israel and Yemen were concerning.
“Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming,” the U.N. chief’s spokesperson said in a press briefing Thursday.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recent interview with Channel 14 that Israel was just beginning its offensive against the Houthis. “We are just getting started with them,” he said.
Following Hamas’ deadly October 7 cross-border attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza, the Houthis began carrying out drone and missile attacks in what they say is a display of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Friday, Houthis claimed responsibility for a strike launched against Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
The Houthis also launched drones at Tel Aviv and a ship in the Arabian Sea, saying that “Israel aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people.”
Israel’s military early Friday said “one missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing Israeli territory.”
The French government condemned the Houthi attack.
The U.N. Security Council is set to meet Monday to discuss Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, said Wednesday.
Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
