A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured, writes NPR.

"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.

He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave", he said, without mentioning the source of the bombardment.

At least three people were later reported killed and dozens injured in the airport strike. The U.N. team members left the airport and were "safe and sound" in Sanaa while the injured crew member was being treated at a hospital, she said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation in attacks between Yemen and Israel.

The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, asserting they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. Israel’s military added it had "capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory - precisely, powerfully, and repetitively".