Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida. The director-general of the World Health Organization said the bombing occurred as he was about to board a flight to Sana’a, injuring a crew member.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, adding that he and WHO colleagues were safe.

“We will have to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.”

He did not mention the source of the bombing.

The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches that set off sirens in Israel. Israel’s military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at Sana’a International Airport and the ports of Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power plants. He did not immediately respond to questions about Tedros’ statement.

It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others have learned.”

Netanyahu was monitoring the new strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthi media outlet confirmed the attacks in a post on Telegram, but did not provide immediate details.

The US military has also been targeting the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that ports are important gateways for humanitarian aid.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets targeted Sana’a and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks.

The Houthis have also targeted ships in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

Five journalists who the IDF claims were militants were killed in the Israeli attack

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health. The Israeli military said all five were militants posing as journalists.

The strike hit a car in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group.

The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and participated in its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli military identified the four men as militant propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups run political, media and charity operations in addition to their armed wings.

Footage from the Associated Press showed the van’s burned shell, with press markings visible on the back door. Weeping young men attended the funeral in front of the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, and blue journalist vests were draped over them.

Doctors said the five were among at least 21 people killed in pre-dawn Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war began. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters into Gaza except on military transports.

Israel has regularly denied attacks on journalists and says it takes steps to avoid attacks on civilians.

Israel and Hamas blame each other for the delayed ceasefire

On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel traded blame for failing to reach a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.

Hamas said Israel had set further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of backing away from agreements already reached.

“The occupation imposed new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners and the return of the displaced, which delayed the achievement of an agreement that was available,” Hamas said.

Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The terrorist organization Hamas continues to lie, renege on agreements already reached and continue to create difficulties in negotiations.”

Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced, and much of Gaza is in ruins.

The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.