The Israeli military said airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebels– the capital city of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida. The director general of the World Health Organization said that the bombing occurred while he was about to board a flight in Sanaa, injuring a member of the crew. The Israeli army later told The Associated Press that it was not aware that the WHO chief was at the location.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged,” said WHO's Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. X saidsaying he and his colleagues were safe. “We have to wait until the damage to the airport is repaired before we can leave.” He did not mention the source of the explosion.
Tedros said at least two people were killed in the attack at the airport. according to BBC Newsvideo from inside the airport shows panicked people running out of the airport.
Khaled Abdullah / REUTERS
The latest strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis will also learn what the Hamas regime and Hezbollah and Assad and others have learned.” Netanyahu reviewed the new strikes with military leaders, his government said.
The Israel Defense Forces said the targets included “military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities both in Sana'a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, ” as well as other military infrastructure at several ports.
The Iran-backed Houthis' media group confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but did not immediately provide details. Houthi media reported that three people were killed in the strikes and 14 wounded.
The US military has also targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.
The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entry points for humanitarian aid. According to BBC News, Tedros was in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and assess the humanitarian situation.
Over the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets hit Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis have also targeted shipping on the Red Sea corridor, saying it is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel strikes outside a hospital in Gaza
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinians outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the region's Health Ministry said. Gaza officials said they were journalists working at a local news outlet. The Israeli military said they were terrorists posing as reporters.
The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The Palestinian Union of Journalists said the victims were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group. Reuters reported.
Ramadan Abed/REUTERS
Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more isolated ally of Hamas and participated in the attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, which ended the war. The Israeli military identified four of the men as militant propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed the five were linked to the group.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups in Palestine operate political, media and charitable activities in addition to their armed wings.
Associated Press photos showed the burned-out shell of a van, with news signs visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in linen, with blue bush robes draped over them.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says that more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military bases.
Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network while accusing six of its Gaza reporters of being terrorists. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.
Separately, the Israeli military said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza early Thursday. 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground campaign began more than a year ago.
The war began when Hamas-led militants crossed the border in an attack on nearby military bases, farming communities and a music festival. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, and it is believed that at least a third are dead.
Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health. The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with very little protection from the cold, wet winter.
Also on Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians who were killed by Israeli military operations in and around the city of Tulkarem in the people involved. West Bank Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and said they were aware of unconnected civilians who were injured in the attack.
