Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says he was close to the departure lounge when it was hit.

General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he and colleagues "escaped death narrowly" when an Israeli airstrike targeted Yemen's main airport.

Israeli airstrikes targeted Sanaa's international airport and other locations in Yemen. Israel termed the attacks as 'military targets'

Israeli forces unleashed a series of strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the western city of Hodeidah on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more, the Houthi militant group said in a statement.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war triggered by the major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Houthi have repeatedly fired rockets at Israel. Since then, the militia has also been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden - according to its own statements "in solidarity" with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was about to board a flight from Sanaa International Airport when "the airport came under aerial bombardment". The Israeli military said it also struck other targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.

The head of the World Health Organization said he narrowly escaped death in fatal Israeli strikes on the airport in Houthi rebel-held Sanaa.

"It was the departure lounge next to us that was hit, and later on the control tower. It was very chaotic. People were in disarray and running everywhere and no shelter: we were completely exposed."

A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization's director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus escaped Israeli aerial attack at Sanaa International Airport in Yemen’s capital