The attacks between Israel and the Houthi rebels in Yemen have escalated recently.
On Thursday, Israel carried out attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen, including the airport in the capital Sanaa.
At least six people are said to have been killed in the attacks and around 40 were injured.
The Huthi rebels responded, according to their own statement, by sending a robot and drone towards Tel Aviv during the night of Friday. The robot was shot down by Israel’s defense forces, but no drone strikes were reported.
The head of the WHO was at the airport
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, was about to board a flight from Sanaa when the Israeli attacks began.
At least two people were reportedly killed at the airport and a crew member on Adhanom’s plane was seriously injured.
The man works for the UN’s humanitarian air service UNHAS. He had to be treated in a hospital in Yemen, but on Friday, Adhanom announced that the employee had been evacuated to Jordan for further treatment.
“I am very grateful for the UNHAS team’s help and quick evacuation from Yemen. We were there on a UN mission to negotiate the release of colleagues who had been arrested,” writes Adhanom on X.
The UN condemns the escalation
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation between Israel and the Houthi movement on Thursday. In particular, Guterres expressed concern about attacks on infrastructure in Yemen, which he believes are hampering humanitarian aid efforts.
“I repeat my appeal to all parties: Stop military actions and show the greatest possible restraint. International law must be respected. Civilians and aid workers must never be targeted,” he concluded the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a few days before Christmas that they will continue to attack the Houthi rebels, “just as we have acted against the terrorist groups that belong to Iran’s evil axis”.
The statement came after several were injured in a Houthi attack on Tel Aviv, to which the US responded by attacking targets in Yemen-