Israeli fighter jets attacked locations in Yemen on Thursday, including the capital Sana’a’s international airport, in response to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
The Houthi-controlled Health Ministry said at least six people were killed and 42 injured.
“Fighters carried out intelligence-driven attacks against Houthi terrorist regime military targets on the west coast and interior of Yemen,” an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) statement said.
The IDF said one of the targets was Houthi militia infrastructure at the airport in Sana’a. Several ports, including Hodeidah, and two of the country’s power stations were also affected.
Israel accused the Houthi militia of using civilian infrastructure for military purposes, such as smuggling weapons from Iran.
The Houthis said the airport was hit along with a power plant and the oil port of Ras Isa, in the western province of Hodeidah.
Anis Al Asbahi, the spokesman for the Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health, told dpa that the bombing of Sana’a airport killed three people and injured 30 others, while the attacks on Ras Issa port left one person died and twelve others were injured.
“This toll is still preliminary,” he added.
An airport official told dpa that the attacks targeted the waiting lounge, the facility’s control tower and large parts of the runway.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bombing was carried out five minutes before a national airline Yemenia flight from Amman, Jordan, was due to land.
A World Health Organization (WHO) team, including its director general, came under fire during the Israeli attack on Sana’a airport.
“As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a about two hours ago, the airport was hit by aerial bombardment, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
“One of the crew members of our plane was injured. At least two people were killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged.”
The members of the UN and WHO delegations were unharmed and safe, he said. “Our sincere condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack,” Tedros wrote.
The strikes coincided with a televised speech by militia leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.
The militia’s spokesman, Mohammed Abdel-Salam, responded defiantly.
“As the Zionist enemy [Israel] thinks his crimes will stop Yemen from supporting Gaza is delusional. Yemen will not give up its religious and humanitarian principles,” Abdel-Salam said on social media platform X.
UN Secretary General António Guterres called for de-escalation late on Thursday.
“Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are particularly alarming,” Guterres said, according to a spokeswoman.
“The Secretary General condemns the escalation between Yemen and Israel,” the statement added.
The Israeli airstrikes followed about a year of “escalatory actions” by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the region “that threaten civilians, regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation,” Guterres said. He called on all parties to protect the civilian population and civilian infrastructure.
Following recent rocket attacks by the Houthis in the Tel Aviv area, the Israeli air force chief announced heavier counterattacks against the Islamist militia in Yemen, an impoverished, war-torn country.
The Houthis are allied with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
Since the start of the Gaza war over a year ago, Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Israel and merchant ships in the Red Sea, declaring these actions in solidarity with Gaza.
