MADRID 28 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations (UN) has demanded that Yemen’s civil infrastructure be respected after the Israeli Army bombed the airport in Sana’a, the capital, the day before, and has warned that “any damage that interrupts the operation of that port would paralyze relief activities in the country.
“Yemen’s bays, airports and roads are crucial for assistance in this country, which is suffering one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world,” the UN coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, said this Friday at a conference. press from Sana’a, from where he acknowledged that this incident could lead to “a further escalation between Israel and the Houthis.”
Harneis has highlighted the UN’s concern about the possibility of “further damage to civilian infrastructure due to Israel’s bombings”, not only because “it could paralyze humanitarian operations”, but also because “it is the place where thousands of “Yemenis who cannot access decent and advanced medical care in the country leave for other countries such as Jordan and Egypt.”
Along with the Sanaa airport, the Hudaydah port is another of the fundamental points for the food supply of the Yemeni population, according to the UN coordinator, who fears that “the entire population of northern Yemen – between 65 and 70 percent of the national population– would suffer an even more acute humanitarian crisis” if it were disabled. “It is an absolutely crucial port,” he added.
The risk of new attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is especially worrying in a country where “the humanitarian situation is terrible and could be much worse if violence increases.”
In total, 18 million people have required humanitarian assistance in Yemen this year, according to United Nations data, which predicts that this figure will rise to 19 million in 2025. Given this forecast, Harneis has reiterated that “all parties to the conflict” They must respect the population and civil infrastructure and recalled that “they are obliged to do so under International Law.”
These statements come after the Israeli Army bombed the Sana’a International Airport and the Hodeida governorate this week, causing at least six deaths and 40 injuries, according to authorities controlled by the insurgency.
The attack occurred during the departure of a UN plane. Among the injured was the co-pilot carrying the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as well as the resident representative of said organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the director of communications.
The Houthis, who have controlled 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 unleashed against the Gaza Strip after the aforementioned attacks of October 7, 2023.