He was leaving Sanaa airport.. The Director of the World Health Organization escaped Israeli raids

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus survived an Israeli airstrike on Sanaa International Airport on Thursday, and a crew member was injured while leaving with a UN mission that had concluded a visit to Sanaa.

“As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a about two hours ago, the airport was hit by an airstrike. One of our crew members was injured. At least two people were reportedly killed at the airport,” Ghebreyesus said in a post on Twitter.

"The air traffic control tower, the departure hall - just a few metres away from us - and the runway were damaged," the WHO director added.

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.

As we were about to board our flight from Sana'a, about two hours ago, the airport… pic.twitter.com/riZayWHkvf

- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 26, 2024

"I and my colleagues at the United Nations and the World Health Organization are fine," Ghebreyesus reassured. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of those who lost loved ones in the attack," he said.

He explained that they had to wait until the damage to the airport was repaired so that they could leave, and expressed his condolences to the families of the Yemenis killed in the attack.

The WHO director was on a mission to Yemen to negotiate the release of UN workers held there and assess the health and humanitarian situation in Yemen. The mission concluded on Thursday, coinciding with the Israeli airstrikes.

Israel launched a series of aggressive raids on Thursday, targeting Sana'a International Airport and Hodeidah Port. The aggressive attacks resulted in the death and injury of a number of civilians. It targeted the Sana'a International Airport hall and the airport runway, destroying large parts of them, in addition to the Haziz power station, and targeted other infrastructure in Hodeidah Port.