NEW YORK – World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus narrowly escaped from an Israeli airstrike at Yemen’s Sanaa airport.
The WHO head said he was at the airport when when it was hit by Israeli air strikes, killing two people.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros said in a post on the social media platform X.
He was visiting Yemen to negotiate the release of UN officials who have been held hostage by the Houthis for several months, and assess the health and humanitarian situation in the country.
Tedros said he was about to board a flight from Sanaa airport with UN and WHO staff when “the airport came under aerial bombardment”.
“One of our plane’s crew members was injured,” he added. “At least two people were reported killed at the airport’.
The WHO chief confirmed that he and his colleagues were safe and sent “our heartfelt condolences” to the relatives of those who lost lives in the incident.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it had hit multiple targets linked to Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday – including Sanaa International Airport and three ports along the western coast.
