Fri Dec 27 03:22:35 UTC 2024: **WHO Chief Narrowly Escapes Israeli Airstrikes in Yemen; Escalating Conflict Claims Lives in Gaza and West Bank**

JERUSALEM, December 27, 2024 – A new wave of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on December 26th, 2024, targeted Houthi-controlled areas, narrowly missing World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his team as they prepared to depart Sanaa airport. The airstrikes damaged the airport’s control tower, departure lounge, and runway, injuring a UN Humanitarian Air Service crew member. While the WHO chief and his colleagues are safe, their departure is delayed pending repairs. At least three people were killed and dozens injured in the airport attack.

The Israeli military claimed the strikes targeted infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis to smuggle weapons and facilitate the entry of Iranian officials. These attacks, over 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, followed several days of Houthi missile launches into Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the Houthis would face consequences for their actions. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalating attacks, calling Thursday’s strikes “especially alarming.” The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on December 30th to address the situation.

The escalating conflict has resulted in significant casualties elsewhere. Overnight, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in Gaza, identified by Israel as militants. The Israeli military’s ongoing ground and air offensive in Gaza has claimed the lives of over 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, while Israel reports killing over 17,000 militants. Separately, eight Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank on December 24th. The ongoing conflict has devastated Gaza, forcing approximately 90% of the population from their homes.

The situation in Yemen, already facing a humanitarian crisis, is further complicated by the airstrikes on key ports used for humanitarian aid delivery. The UN has expressed concerns about the impact on the country’s vulnerable population. International condemnation of the escalating violence continues as the conflict shows no signs of abating.

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