WHO Chief Tedros Recalls Narrow Escape During Deadly Airstrike On Yemen Airport

Yemen: World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared his horrific experience of a terrifying airstrike that hit Yemen’s main airport, while he was present inside the airport. The strike was reportedly carried out by Israel during a series of attacks on the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Tedros stated that the explosions were so loud that his ears kept ringing for more than a day after the incident. He recalled the moment when it became clear that the airport was under attack. People were seen running in panic, and he mentioned that the blasts were so intense that one of them was dangerously close to where he had been sitting near the departure lounge.

Tedros said it quickly became apparent the airport was under attack, describing people "running in disarray" through the site after approximately four blasts, one of them "alarmingly" close to where he was sitting near the departure lounge.

Tedros Says, He Was Few Metres Away From Strike Site

I was not sure actually I could survive because it was so close, a few metres from where we were," a foreign media quoted him saying, adding, "A slight deviation could have resulted in a direct hit."

Tedros said he and his colleagues were stuck at the airport for the next hour or so as what he thought were drones flew overhead, feeding concern they could open fire again. Among the debris, he and colleagues saw missile fragments, he said.

He further added that there was no shelter one could hide himself in. "Nothing. So you're just exposed, just waiting for anything to happen," he said.

The Israeli strikes on Yemen occurred after the Houthis launched multiple drone and missile attacks on Israel, citing their support for Palestinians in Gaza.

According to the Houthi-controlled Saba News Agency, as many as three people were killed in Hodeidah, with 40 others injured in the accident.

Speaking about the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was "just getting started" with the Houthis.

While speaking by phone from Jordan, where he flew on Friday to aid in the evacuation of a UN colleague seriously wounded at the airport, Tedros noted that he had not received any warning about an Israeli strike on the airport.

The injured man, who worked for the UN Humanitarian Air Service, was now "OK" and in a stable condition, he said. Tedros travelled to Yemen over Christmas to negotiate the release of UN staff and others held there. He acknowledged that he and his colleagues knew the trip was risky in light of the high tension between Israel and the Houthis.