UN condemns “escalation” between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Israel

MADRID Dec. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, condemned this Thursday the “escalation” between the Houthi rebels of Yemen and Israel after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the airport in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, as well as the coastal city of Hodeida, among other objectives of the group.

“The airstrikes have reportedly caused numerous casualties, including at least three dead and dozens injured,” the Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson, Stéphanie Tremblay, said in a statement.

Guterres has also indicated that the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport at the time of the attack, which comes after nearly a year of attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, actions that “threaten civilians, regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation.”

In this sense, he recalled that International Law must be respected, while calling on the parties to respect and protect both civilians and civil infrastructure. “Humanitarian personnel should not be objective and should be respected and protected at all times,” he added.

Likewise, he has said he is “deeply concerned” about a “further escalation in the region”, while asking the parties to cease their military actions and to exercise maximum restraint, since air attacks against ports and airports put humanitarian operations in the country at “risk.”

The IDF has bombed Sana’a airport, other civilian facilities such as power plants, also in the capital, and some of the key ports located in the west of the country. Israel has justified attacks on this type of infrastructure by the “military” use that the Houthis make of them.

The Houthis, who have controlled the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and other areas of the north and west of the country since 2015, have launched several attacks against Israeli territory and against ships with some type of Israeli connection as a result of the offensive against the Strip. Gaza following the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).