SANAA: A second medical evacuation flight carrying 24 critically ill Yemenis left the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Saturday, the World Health Organization said.
"The flight just took off from Sanaa headed to Amman," a WHO spokesperson told AFP.
The plane was carrying men, women and children in need of medical treatment, along with their companions, the spokesperson added.
The flight had been due to leave Sanaa on Friday but was rescheduled for "technical reasons," according to the WHO.
A first "mercy flight" evacuated seven children from Sanaa on Monday for medical treatment in Jordan.
The United Nations is eager to build the necessary confidence between the warring parties in Yemen to enable more such evacuations.
The WHO said Friday it was " committed and working very hard to ensure these Yemeni patients receive the treatment they need."
An Arab coalition that has been fighting in support of the Yemeni government has kept Sanaa airport closed to commercial flights since 2016.
But in November, the coalition announced that it was prepared to allow medical evacuations from the airport as a confidence-building measure to support UN peace efforts.
"This is the first of what we hope will be a number of flights in the medical air bridge," the UN resident coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, told AFP after Monday's flight.
The reopening of Sanaa airport is a key demand of the Houthi militia fighting the government and one of the issues being pursued by UN mediators as they seek to relaunch peace talks.
New ‘mercy flight’ leaves Houthi-held Yemen capital: WHO
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New ‘mercy flight’ leaves Houthi-held Yemen capital: WHO
- A first "mercy flight" evacuated seven children from Sanaa on Monday for medical treatment in Jordan
- The United Nations is eager to build the necessary confidence between the parties in Yemen to enable more such evacuations
Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country
- Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading toward the country from Iran and had activated air defenses, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens sounding in Jerusalem and the sound of explosions in the distance.
A short time later, Israel’s military said it was permitted to leave shelters.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications center in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the Middle East including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.
