Israel hit back at Yemen with multiple airstrikes following several days of Houthi missile launches. The Houthis said airstrikes targeted the country’s main airport and a military base in Sanaa on Thursday, Dec. 26. More strikes hit a power station in Hudaydah.
According to Houthi-run media outlets, three people were killed in the strikes and another 11 were wounded.
It’s not clear whether they were civilians or Houthi rebels.
The World Health Organization’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was at the airport at the time of the attack.
“As we were about to board our flight from Sanaa, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment,” Ghebreyesus said.
He said one of the plane’s crew members was injured, but that he and his colleagues are safe.
Our mission to negotiate the release of @UN staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in #Yemen concluded today. We continue to call for the detainees' immediate release.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 26, 2024
As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport… pic.twitter.com/riZayWHkvf
The director general was in Yemen to negotiate the release of UN staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation there.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The IDF said fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime.
During the week of Dec. 23, Israel’s Defense Minister said the country was preparing to strike at the Houthis, which are a part of Iran’s axis of resistance, a group of terrorist proxies the Mullah regime uses to carry out attacks on Israel.
The Houthis said their attacks against Israel and ships in the Red Sea are a show of solidarity with Palestinians.