UN Chief Guterres condemns Israeli strikes on Houthi-controlled Yemeni airport and ports

UN Sec.-Gen. António Guterres has expressed concerns about the growing escalation between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and the State of Israel. However, instead of condemning the Houthis, who initiated the hostilities over a year ago with unprovoked missile and drone attacks on Israel, Guterres blasted the recent Israeli aerial retaliatory strike on Houthi-held sites, including Sana’a International Airport and Red Sea ports in Yemen.

"Israeli airstrikes today on Sana'a International Airport, the Red Sea ports, and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming," the UN chief’s spokesperson stated while warning that the conflict could potentially escalate further.

The latest Israeli strike on Houthi targets in Yemen was a retaliation for a recent increase in Houthi attacks against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that they had struck “military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sana’a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations.”

Like Iran’s other regional terror proxies – Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – the Houthis systematically embed themselves in civilian structures, and this is considered a war crime under international law. The Iranian regime has used the airport and the Houthi-held ports to smuggle weapons to the terror groups in Yemen.

Guterres accused Israel of injuring a member of the UN aircrew at the Yemeni airport, saying in his statement that, "A United Nations Humanitarian Air Service crew member was also injured when the airport was hit."

"A high-level UN delegation, headed by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport when the strikes occurred. The delegation had just concluded discussions on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the release of UN and other detained personnel," Guterres continued.

The statement from the UN chief further warned that "airstrikes on Red Sea ports and Sana’a Airport pose grave risks to humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people are in need of life-saving assistance. Further escalation in the region also continues to undermine the mediation efforts led by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg aimed at reaching a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Yemen."

The director of WHO recalled the attack on the airport:

"One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport," Ghebreyesus stated in a message on 𝕏. "We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave."

The UN chief has a history of hostility against Israel. Following last year’s Hamas Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, Guterres claimed that the atrocities did not happen in a vacuum.

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," Guterres argued, adding that Gazans have been living for "56 years of suffocating occupation.” The UN leader did not acknowledge that Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005 and that Hamas has been running the coastal enclave since 2007.

The Iranian regime condemned the Israeli retaliatory strikes on the Houthis in Yemen.

“These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated.