The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated on Saturday December 28 that he narrowly escaped death during Israeli strikes Thursday on the airport of the capital of Yemen, held by the Houthi rebels. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the BBC that his ears were still ringing since the attack which occurred as he was preparing to board a plane in Sanaa.
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“ The noise was so loud… so deafening, in fact. I still have ringing in my ears. It’s already been over 24 hours. I don’t know if it affected my ear “, he commented in an interview with the BBC (read here in English).
“ The departure lounge next to us was hit, then the control tower », indicated Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“ The situation was chaotic. People were lost and running in all directions without being able to protect themselves: we were completely exposed “, he described.
“It’s just a matter of luck. Otherwise, if the missile had deviated just a little bit, it could have fallen on our heads,” he explains, while adding: “ My colleagues said, after all this, that we narrowly escaped death “.
“ A very dangerous attack »
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted a video of the strikes on X and thanked his colleagues and airport staff who tried to protect him during ” the very dangerous attack “.
“ Thank you to all my friends, colleagues and everyone who wished me well during the ordeal of the last few days. I am especially grateful to my colleagues and airport staff, who were selfless in trying to protect me. We faced a very dangerous attack, but my colleagues and I are now safe. We managed to evacuate our injured colleague to Amman, and he is stable. My thoughts are with our frontline colleagues and civilians who face such dangers every day. », he wrote on his X account.
On Thursday, Israel announced that it had struck “ military targets » Houthi rebels, including Sanaa airport, with the army claiming to have responded to “ repeated attacks » of these insurgents who have been launching numerous attacks against Israel for months, “ in solidarity » with the Palestinians. The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen including the capital, are supported by Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy.
Also readNew Israeli raids in Yemen targeting Houthis, several dead at Sanaa airport
“ A civil installation, it must be protected »
On whether Israel knew the WHO boss was at the airport at the time of the bombings, Tedros said: “ Our flights, etc., are internationally known. So I guess people who want to know know that. It would be good to ask Israel the question “.
But, the WHO chief stressed, the protection of civilian installations provided for by international law must be respected. “ Whether they know it or not, it doesn’t matter “. “ It doesn’t matter whether I’m there or not (…) If it’s a civilian installation, it must be protected, based on international law “, he stressed.
Mr. Tedros said he saw a departure lounge full of civilians and civilian planes parked on the tarmac. “ What I know is that it is a civilian airport. If there is anything else, I haven’t seen it. But I know that it was used, at the time, for civilian flights “.
He and his team flew to safety in Jordan. “ My heart goes out to our colleagues on the front lines and civilians who face such dangers every day “, he added.
The WHO boss was visiting Yemen on behalf of UN chief António Guterres as part of a mission to secure the release of detained UN staff and assess the health and humanitarian situation in this war-ravaged country.