Middle East latest: WHO chief says he was at Yemen airport as Israeli bombs fell nearby

A wave of Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's main airport Thursday just as the World Health Organization’s director-general said he was about to board a flight there. One of the U.N. plane’s crew was wounded, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by Yemen's Houthi rebels at the international airport in the capital Sanaa, as well as power stations and ports, alleging they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials.

Last week, Israeli jets bombed Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Israel's latest wave of strikes in Yemen follows several days of Houthi launches setting off air-raid sirens in Israel. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

Here’s the latest:

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. says at least three people were reportedly killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes on the international airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

A high-level U.N. delegation led by U.N. World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was at the airport Thursday waiting to depart when the airstrikes took place, and a U.N. Humanitarian Air Service crew member was among the injured, U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said.

The rest of the U.N. team left the airport and are “safe and sound” in Sanaa, and the injured crew member is being treated in a hospital, she said.

Tremblay said an assessment of damage to the airport will be made Friday morning to see whether Tedros and the U.N. team can leave Yemen.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the escalation in attacks between Yemen and Israel and says Thursday’s attacks on Sanaa International Airport, Yemen’s Red Sea ports and power stations in the country “are especially alarming,” Tremblay said.

The U.N. chief appealed to all parties to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, as required under international law, she said.

Guterres called for a halt to all military actions, and for “utmost restraint,” she said.

UNITED NATIONS – An estimated 730,000 people living in tents in camps for the displaced in northwest Syria are experiencing dire conditions this winter including from flooding, the U.N. humanitarian office said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said Thursday that more than 200 family tents in camps in Idlib and northern Aleppo were damaged by flooding from heavy rainfall on Dec. 23.

“Since the start of 2024, flooding and strong winds have damaged more than 8,800 family tents – including nearly 2,000 that were fully destroyed – across 260 camps," OCHA said.

On another issue, OCHA quoted a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in Britain, that since Dec. 8 – when Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted -- episodes involving explosive ordnance have killed more than 70 civilians including a dozen children and five women, with scores more injured.

OCHA said mine experts have identified 109 new minefields across Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Latakia since Nov. 26. So far, it said experts have destroyed more than 850 individual items of explosive ordnance.

Elsewhere, OCHA said Israeli forces on Wednesday reportedly wounded six civilians when they opened fire in Al-Suweisah town in Quneitra province, which includes the Golan Heights. It said residents were ordered to evacuate and Israeli forces imposed a curfew.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and witnesses in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the Uvda investigative program into Sara Netanyahu.

The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Sara Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aid to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial.

The announcement did not mention Sara Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment.

However, earlier Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the Uvda report as “lies.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor’s warning of imminent famine in north Gaza.

The Famine Early Warning System Network issued the warning this week. The new report had warned that starvation deaths in north Gaza could reach famine levels as soon as next month. It cited what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade” of food and water.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, criticized the finding as inaccurate and irresponsible. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the famine-monitoring group, told The Associated Press it had asked for and gotten the report’s retraction.

USAID officials tell AP that it had asked the group for greater review of discrepancies in some of the data.

Humanitarian and human rights officials expressed fear of U.S. political interference in the world’s monitoring system for famines. The U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department declined comment. FEWS officials did not respond to questions.

FEWS Net said in its withdrawn report that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects the number of people dying of starvation and related ailments in north Gaza to reach between two and 15 per day sometime between January and March.

The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people.

FEWS was created by the U.S. development agency in the 1980s and still receives funding from it. But the monitor is intended to provide independent, neutral and data-driven assessments of hunger crises, including in war zones.

By Ellen Knickmeyer

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on the main airport in Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital as well as key energy and port infrastructure.

Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, said Thursday's Israeli strikes were part of a policy for "destroying and weaking Islamic countries” and urged “immediate action” by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as well as other regional and international bodies.

Baghaei said the U.S. and Britain were “accomplices” in the strikes and had supported them, adding that the attacks were a breach of all international regulations and norms, particularly the U.N. Charter. It also criticized the “passivity” by U.N. about Israel allegedly breaching international law.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched drones and missiles at Israel in recent days, setting off air-raid sirens, and Israeli strikes on Yemen last week killed nine people. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Israel said the strikes Thursday targeted infrastructure used for military purposes by the Houthis, as well as smuggling in Iranian weapons and the entry of senior Iranian officials.

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the U.N. health agency says he and his team were about to board a flight in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa when the airport came under aerial bombardment.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters (yards) from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

He said one of the U.N. plane’s crew was injured but he and his WHO colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.”

The Israeli military said Thursday it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport as well as power stations and ports in rebel-controlled areas. Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to questions about Tedros’ comments but issued a statement saying it had “capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory — precisely, powerfully, and repetitively.”

Tedros said the U.N. team was in Yemen to negotiate the release of U.N. staff detained by the Houthis and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in the country, which faces one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

JERUSALEM — Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, following several days of Houthi launches that set off air-raid sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with power stations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”

The Iran-backed Houthis’ media outlet reported the strikes in a Telegram post, but gave no immediate details. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv.

Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

QAMISHLI, Syria — Thousands of people in northeastern Syria attended a funeral Thursday for six fighters from a Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed force who were killed in ongoing clashes with Turkish-backed militias.

The Turkish-backed groups are launching attacks to take the Arab cities west of the Euphrates River that are under the control of the Kurdish group . The Turkish-supported groups helped overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s rule of Syria, and have since kept pushing eastward against the Kurdish groups.

“We thought that Syria today has entered a new stage after the fall and escape of Assad. We thought that we got rid of all of this, but this attack on us changed everything and those who came in are taking orders from Turkey,” said Nihayet Hassan, the uncle of a killed fighter.

The fighters were killed during attacks on Tishreen Dam near the strategic city of Manbij in recent days. The bodies were returned to the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria where the U.S.-backed group, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, has a strong presence.

Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization. Turkish-backed armed groups backed by Turkish jets have for years attacked positions where the SDF are present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the Turkish border.

“It is obvious that Turkey’s issue is with the Kurds. It is not about an organization, or the PKK, no, their target are the Kurds,” said Ahmad Ammo, a Qamishli resident who attended the funeral.

The U.S. has about 2,000 soldiers in eastern Syria to help fight the Islamic State group and protect critical oil fields there.

BEIRUT — The Lebanese military said Thursday that Israeli troops encroached on areas of southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended the war between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect a month ago called for Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon over a 60-day period as Lebanese army soldiers gradually deploy in the country south of the Litani River. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported incident.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli bulldozers are setting up dirt barricades that would close off the road between Wadi Slouqi and Wadi Hujeir.

Lebanon’s military said it brought reinforcements into the areas entered by Israeli troops. NNA said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, sent a patrol unit to an area near the southern town of Qantara where Israeli forces are present.

UNIFIL in a statement expressed its “concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (Israeli military) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon.”

Lebanese army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier Thursday as part of ongoing efforts by the cash-strapped military to find financial support to deploy in larger numbers.

The Lebanese military and government have complained about Israeli strikes and overflights in the country to a new monitoring committee headed by the U.S. that also includes France.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said Thursday. The Israeli army said it had targeted a group of militants.

The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group.

The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press video showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

This post has been corrected to show that the name of the local news outlet is Al-Quds Today, not the Quds News Network.

BEIJING — China has pledged two more shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in an indication of support for the Palestinian Authority, state media reported Thursday. The agreement was overseen in Cairo by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh.

“To ease the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, the Chinese government has continued to provide assistance to Palestine,” Liao was quoted as saying. The types and quantities of aid to be delivered via Egypt were not given, but China has previously shipped food and medicine to Gaza. China has longstanding ties with the Palestinian Authority but has also sought to strengthen economic and political relations with Israel.

Al-Louh “voiced appreciation for China’s consistent and firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and for raising this issue on international occasions," state media said.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at Israel’s request to discuss recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Israel’s U.N. Mission said Wednesday the meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Monday.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said he expects the council will condemn the Houthi attacks.

He urged the council “to enforce international law and hold Iran, the Houthis’ patron, accountable.”

Alluding to Israeli retaliation for the attacks, Danon said ”It seems that the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the state of Israel.”

Smoke rises from the area around the International Airport following an airstrike, as seen from Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. The Israeli military reported targeting infrastructure used by the Houthis at the Sanaa International Airport, as well as ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif, and Ras Qantib, along with power stations.(AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

A mourner cries while she takes the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Locals stand next to a damaged building after the latest Israeli military operation, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Syrian fighters travel on vehicles, as they patrol at a highway, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Security forces of the newly formed Syrian government patrol in downtown Homs, Syria, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The coffins of two of six Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed in ongoing clashes with Turkish-backed militias in northern Syria are carried during their funeral in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)

A mourner cries after taking a last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Locals stand next to a damaged building after the latest Israeli military operation, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A mourner cries while she takes the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Mourners carry the bodies of killed Palestinians, some wrapped with the Islamic Jihad flag, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A mourner cries after taking the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Mourners react as they carry the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians, mostly journalists, gather around the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A woman reacts during the funeral of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives and friends mourn over the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts may sit out a potential NFC East clincher against Dallas because of the lingering effects of a concussion.

The Eagles could also just rest Hurts to play it safe -- even if he’s medically cleared ahead of Sunday’s game -- and protect their franchise QB from additional injury over the final two games.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni kept quiet this week on which QB will start Sunday, in large part, of course, because of the head injury suffered by Hurts in last week’s loss to Washington that forced him into the concussion protocol. The issue was complicated by backup Kenny Pickett’s rib injury suffered in relief of Hurts in his first real game competition in nearly a year.

Tanner McKee, the third-string QB, could move into a backup role — or maybe even get the start against the Cowboys.

Philadelphia's starting quarterback situation has surged past Saquon Barkley's chase at Eric Dickerson's season rushing record as the most intriguing talking point in the final two games.

The Eagles (12-3) appear certain to win the division title — they're two games ahead of Washington (10-5) — and a No. 2 seed in the conference no matter the quarterback headed into the playoffs. Even with an unsettled QB spot, the Eagles are are still 7½-point home favorites to beat division rival Dallas, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

Sirianni appreciated that quarterback depth has been a strength for the Eagles.

“We feel good about that room,” he said.

So why risk Hurts against the Cowboys? There's little reason to make Hurts play only a week after absorbing a pair of blows to the head and the extra week off — maybe two if the finale against the Giants is truly meaningless — could add to his recovery time ahead of a home playoff game.

The Eagles were burned in a similar situation last season when Hurts and star wide receiver A.J. Brown were both injured in the final game against the Giants with little at stake. With both players hampered by unnecessary injuries, the Eagles were dumped the next week by Tampa Bay in the NFC wild-card playoff game.

The Eagles have options if Hurts is inactive. Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards in relief, throwing a touchdown pass to Brown and an interception. Pickett, a first-round pick out of Pitt in 2022, went 14-10 as a starter for the Steelers before he was traded to the Eagles in the offseason.

McKee was the Eagles’ 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound quarterback has yet to take a snap in a regular-season game. He's mostly used in practice on the scout team or in developmental periods — at best, he'll stay late after practice to get some reps in with the top receivers.

“Every week, every opportunity, it's knowing it could be my shot, my chance,” McKee said.

He could finally get that shot against Dallas.

With the Cowboys out of playoff contention, the questions persist for coach Mike McCarthy about bypassing Cooper Rush for a look at Trey Lance before both QBs hit free agency. McCarthy’s answer hasn’t wavered: Rush gives Dallas the best chance to win.

Rush is 4-3 since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring tear after going 5-1 over two previous stints as an injury replacement.

That’s 9-4 total. Half the losses came in both of Rush’s starts against Eagles – the last of five games filling in during the 2022 season and the first game this season.

“The mindset is to win,” McCarthy said. “We’re going to Philadelphia to win the game.”

Barkley leads the NFL with 1,838 yards rushing for the season through 15 games. He still needs two big outings in the final games of the season against Dallas and the New York Giants to top Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.

Barkley is 268 yards away from passing Dickerson for the season mark and 162 shy from becoming the ninth player in NFL history with 2,000 yards rushing in a season.

He ran for only 66 yards in the first game this season against Dallas.

Dallas ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, surrendering 135.9 yards per contest. Philadelphia, behind Barkley’s stellar play, tops the league at 187.9 yards per game on the ground.

The Eagles have already have set a team record for yards rushing in a season with 2,818, and they are within four rushing touchdowns of tying the club’s single-season mark of 32, set in 2022. Barkley needs four more rushing touchdowns to tie LeSean McCoy’s Eagles record, set in 2011 and just 33 yards from scrimmage to break McCoy’s mark of 2,146 set in 2013.

Star Dallas edge rusher Micah Parsons needs half a sack to reach double digits in each of his first four seasons despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain, the first injury absence of his career.

The 2021 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year would be the fifth player to reach 10 sacks in each of his first four seasons. The other four — Claude Humphrey, Reggie White, Derrick Thomas and Dwight Freeney - are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed from Arlington, Texas.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) throws a pass under pressure from Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Yaya Diaby (0) in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys' Buddy Johnson, left, and Andrew Booth Jr. (25) celebrate with C.J. Goodwin (29) after Goodwin made a stop on a punt coverage in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) is slow to get up after being hit by Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson (6), while trying to catch a pass in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Linval Joseph celebrates a sack of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) on the field before the start of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks back to the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrating his touchdown with teammate Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrating his touchdown with his teammate Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) walking off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) running with the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)