The Israeli strikes on Thursday landed as the head of the UN’s World Health Organization said he and his team were preparing to fly out from Yemen’s Huthi rebel-held capital, injuring a UN crew member.
Israel’s military had earlier on Friday reported a missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted “before crossing into Israeli territory.” Sirens sounded because of possible falling debris after the interception, it said.
Israeli “aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people”, a Huthi statement on Friday said.
“The airport tower has been directly hit in addition to the departure lounge and airport navigation equipment. The attack resulted in four dead until now and around 20 wounded from staff, airport and passengers”, Sayani said.
The strikes left the top of the control tower a bombed-out shell and large windows in the airport building were shattered, with glass littering the ground.
The strikes against what Israel’s military called rebel “military targets” marked the second time since December 19 that Israel has hit targets in Yemen after rebel missile fire towards Israel.
“We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil,“ he said in a video statement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the escalation in hostilities and said bombing transportation infrastructure threatened humanitarian operations in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population is dependent on aid.
On Friday he said that a member of the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service “who was injured yesterday due to the bombardment underwent successful surgery and is now in stable condition.”
Following rebel attacks against Israel this year, Israeli strikes had twice before hit Hodeida, a major entry point for humanitarian aid to the country ravaged for years by its own war.
Huthi media said those strikes killed nine people.
‘Iranian weapons’
Huthi rebels used the targets “to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,“ the statement said.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the latest Israeli strikes as a “clear violation of international peace and security”.
The Huthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war began in October last year, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
In July, a Huthi drone attack on Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting the first Israeli retaliation on Hodeida.
A Saudi-led coalition in March 2015 began a military campaign against the Huthis that the Yemen Data Project, an independent tracker, said involved more than 25,000 air raids.
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