Israeli air strikes hit Yemen airport with passenger jet on runway

The control tower at Sanaa International Airport was damaged in Israeli air strikes on Thursday Picture: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP

Israeli air strikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers was landing and a United Nations delegation was waiting to leave, the UN’s top humanitarian official in Yemen has said.

Julien Harneis told reporters the most frightening thing about the two air strikes on Thursday was not their effect on him and about 15 others in the VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, including the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO).