UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday condemned the recent escalation of violence between Yemen and Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least three people and injured dozens. New Israeli airstrikes targeted critical civilian infrastructure, including Red Sea ports, power stations, and Sana’a International Airport. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was at the airport with a high-level UN delegation when the strikes occurred.

According to a UN spokesperson, Stéphanie Tremblay, the airstrikes pose a significant threat to regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation. “Today’s airstrikes follow around a year of escalatory actions by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the region that threaten civilians,” she said. The UN warned that further escalation in the region could undermine mediation efforts led by Special Envoy Hans Grundberg to reach a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Yemen.

The WHO Director-General, who was at Sana’a airport during the airstrikes, described the scene on X saying “As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a…the airport came under aerial bombardment,” he wrote “One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave. My [UN and WHO] colleagues and I are safe.” The strikes damaged the air traffic control tower and the departure lounge, just meters from where Tedros and his team stood.

The World Food Program Director Cindy McCain, said that the WFP had been forced to suspend operations from the airport “which will negatively impact the humanitarian response at a time of immense & growing needs.“

Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep concern about the risk of further escalation and urged all parties to cease military actions and exercise restraint. He also emphasized the importance of respecting international law, including humanitarian law, and protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which form the core of international humanitarian law, prohibit attacks on civilians, hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure. They also require parties to conflict to respect the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in their military operations.

The international community has been urged to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure amidst what has been described as a “deepening humanitarian catastrophe” in Yemen. Yemen’s civil aviation authorities said in a press conference that flights have resumed at Sana’a International Airport, a day after the Israeli strikes.