“Close Call: WHO Leader Survives Harrowing Yemen Airport Assault”

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned that he and his associates “narrowly avoided death” while being caught in an Israeli air strike on an airport in Yemen.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared feelings of being “entirely open to danger” during the attack that resulted in at least six fatalities, in a discussion with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He and other UN personnel were departing Sanaa, in western Yemen, on Thursday after a visit to negotiate the liberation of UN detainees and evaluate the humanitarian condition in the nation when the airport was struck.

Israel’s armed forces reported they executed “intelligence-driven strikes on military objectives” linked to Houthi rebels supported by Iran.

“It was extremely chaotic; people were in confusion and running in all directions,” Dr. Tedros stated on Saturday.

He remarked there was “no form of cover, thus we were entirely exposed. It’s merely fortunate; if the missile drifted just minutely, it could have landed on us”.

“Therefore, my colleague remarked, following everything, we narrowly dodged death,” he added.

The WHO leader – who has guided the organization since 2017 and frequently appeared publicly during the Covid outbreak – noted that his presence at the airport was known to the public before the strike occurred.

However, he continued: “It doesn’t matter if I am present or not. Every civilian life is valuable – my existence carries no more significance than that of another.”

Dr. Tedros indicated that the airport is a civilian establishment and, consequently, should not have been targeted by Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the airport had been utilized by Houthi rebels “to facilitate the smuggling of Iranian arms into the area” which were used to assault Israel, as well as to receive “high-ranking Iranian officials”.

“This further illustrates the Houthis’ misuse of civilian infrastructure for military goals,” it added.

The Houthi-operated Saba news agency announced that three individuals lost their lives at the airport, with 30 more injured.

It reported an additional three people were killed, and 10 were hurt in other attacks, which targeted power facilities and a port in the area.

It remains uncertain if the deceased were civilians or Houthi rebels.

The group backed by Iran condemned the strikes as “savage” and “aggressive”. They pledged to persist in their attacks on Israel until the unrest in the Gaza Strip ceased.

Houthi insurgents have been targeting Israel since the initial months of the conflict, which ignited in October 2023 when Palestinian militants executed a surprise offensive on Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths.

Israel has retaliated against Houthi strikes with sporadic attacks.

On Saturday, the Houthis declared they had executed a strike on the Nevatim airbase in central Israel. The IDF stated a missile from Yemen was intercepted by the air force before it could enter Israeli airspace.

The Houthis are an armed political and religious collective supported by Iran. This faction has controlled substantial regions of western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since they overthrew the internationally recognized administration in 2015.