Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida. The director-general of the World Health Organization said the bombing occurred as he was about to board the plane in Sanaa, injuring a crew member.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure hall – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Program X, adding that he and his WHO colleagues were safe.
“We will have to wait until the damage to the airport is repaired before we can leave.”
He made no mention of the source of the bombing.
The Israeli attacks followed several days of Houthi gunfire that set off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at Sana'a International Airport and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, as well as power plants. She did not immediately respond to questions about Tedros' statement.
This came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned.”
His government said Netanyahu and military commanders were monitoring new strikes. Iran-backed Houthi media confirmed the attacks in a Telegram post but provided no immediate details.
In recent days, the US military has also attacked the Houthis in Yemen. The United Nations has noted that ports are important entry gates for humanitarian aid.
Over the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi rocket hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks.
The Houthis also targeted shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Five journalists, whom the IDF considers militants, were killed in the Israeli strike
Meanwhile, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health, five Palestinian journalists were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said all five were militants posing as reporters.
The strike resulted in a car crash in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists worked for the local news website Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Iran-backed Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli military identified the four men as militant propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups conduct political, media and charitable activities in addition to their armed wings.
Associated Press footage showed the burned shell of the van with visible newspaper inscriptions on the rear doors. Weeping young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds and blue press vests were placed over them.
Medics said the five were among at least 21 people killed in pre-dawn Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the war began. Israel did not allow foreign reporters to enter Gaza except at military facilities.
Israel regularly denies targeting journalists and says it takes steps to avoid attacks on civilians.
Israel and Hamas blame the delayed ceasefire
On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel blamed each other for failing to reach a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.
Hamas said Israel had set further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of backing away from agreements already reached.
“The occupation established new conditions regarding withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners and the return of displaced persons, which delayed reaching an available agreement,” Hamas said.
Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, withdraw from agreements already reached and continue to create difficulties in negotiations.”
According to health officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave, more than 45,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Most of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced and much of the Gaza Strip is in ruins.
According to Israeli data, the war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in Gaza.
