The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros has Ghebreyesus, revealed he narrowly escaped death in Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Huthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
Speaking to BBC radio, Ghebreyesus described how his ears were still ringing from the impact of Thursday’s attack, which occurred as he was preparing to board a flight at Sanaa International Airport.
Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of protecting civilian infrastructure, urging all parties to respect international law that safeguards such installations. The attack has drawn international attention to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the growing tensions in the region.The UN health agency’s chief described the scene as the first strike hit.
“We heard a heavy explosion nearby, and then I think repeated,” Tedros said.
“The sound was so, so loud… So deafening, actually. Still my ear rings. It’s already more than 24 hours now. I don’t know if it affected my ear. The explosion was so heavy.
“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.
“It’s a matter of luck. Otherwise, if the missile deviated just slightly, it could have been on our heads… my colleague actually said after all that, we escaped death narrowly.”
Huthi Deputy Transport Minister Yahya al-Sayani said four people were killed and 20 wounded in the strikes.
Tedros was visiting Yemen on behalf of UN chief Antonio Guterres as part of a mission to seek the release of detained UN staff and assess the health and humanitarian situations in the war-torn country.
The Israeli strikes targeted the airport and other locations in Yemen, hitting what Israel’s military described as rebel “military targets.” This marked the second time since December 19 that Israeli forces had struck Yemen in retaliation for rebel missile fire aimed at Israel.
