SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi fighters claimed fresh attacks against Israel on Friday, after Israeli air strikes hit Sanaa’s international airport and other targets in the country.

The Israeli strikes on Thursday landed as the head of the UN’s World Health Organisation said he and his team were preparing to fly out from Sanaa, injuring a UN crew member.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it knew at the time that WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was there.

The strikes left the top of the control tower a bombed-out shell and large windows in the airport building were shattered, with glass littering the ground.

Hours later on Friday, the Houthis said they fired a missile at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and launched drones at the city as well as a ship in the Arabian Sea.

Israel’s military had earlier on Friday reported a missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted “before crossing into Israeli territory”. Sirens sounded because of possible falling debris after the interception, it said.

Houthis have stepped up their attacks against Israel since late last month when a ceasefire took effect between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Israeli “aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people”, a Houthi statement said.

Despite the damage, flights from Sanaa airport resumed on Friday.

“The airport tower has been directly hit in addition to the departure lounge and airport navigation equipment. The attack resulted in four dead until now and around 20 wounded from staff, airport and passengers,” a Houthi spokesperson said.

Israel’s attack came a day after the Houthis claimed the firing of a missile and two drones at Israel.

The strikes against what Israel’s military called “rebel military targets” marked the second time since Dec 19 that Israel has hit targets in Yemen.

The targets included “military infrastructure” at the airport and power stations in Sanaa and Hodeida, as well as other facilities at Hodeida, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports, an Israeli statement said.

Similar strikes in September followed a Houthi claim to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport. At that time Israel also said it targeted sites used to “transfer Iranian weaponry”. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the latest Israeli strikes as a “clear violation of international peace and security”.

In his latest warning to the Houthis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “continue until the job is done”.

Relief operations under threat UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres denounced the escalation in hostilities and said bombing transportation infrastructure threa­tened humanitarian operations in Yemen, where 80 per cent of the population is dependent on aid.

Tedros was in Yemen to seek the release of United Nations staff detained for months by the Houthis, and to assess the humanitarian situation.

On Friday he said that a member of UN’s Humanitarian Air Service “who was injured yesterday due to the bombardment underwent successful surgery and is now in stable condition”.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024