Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says he was close to the departure lounge when it was hit.

Israeli warplanes on Thursday bombed the airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa, as well as a military airbase, power stations and port facilities in areas controlled by the country's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Israeli air strikes hit rebel-held Sanaa's international airport and other targets in Yemen on Thursday as the head of the UN's World Health Organization said he and his team prepared to fly out.Yemen's civil aviation authority said the airport planned to reopen on Friday after the strikes that it said occurred while the UN aircraft "was getting ready for its scheduled flight".