Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, recounts his harrowing experience during Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa airport in Yemen. He stresses the importance of protecting civilian installations under international law.
The head of the World Health Organization said Saturday he only narrowly escaped death in fatal Israeli strikes on the airport in Yemen ’s Huthi rebel-held capital. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told BBC radio his ears were still ringing following Thursday’s attack as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, and stressed that the protection for civilian installations under international law must be respected.
Israeli air strikes hit Sanaa’s international airport and other targets in Yemen on Thursday. The attacks 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. 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 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. As for whether Israel knew he was at the airport at the time, Tedros said: “Our flights and so on are internationally known. So I would assume that the people who like to know, know. I would assume that”
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES YEMEN WHO TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS CIVILIAN SAFETY
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