Hello there, welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service.

We're coming to you live from London. I'm Ben James.

The head of the World Health Organisation has told the BBC

that he assumes Israel knew he was at Yemen's international airport on Thursday

when they hit it with airstrikes.

The presence of someone with his global profile has thrown a new spotlight

on the escalating conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Houthi group.

After months of Houthi attacks, including on Tel Aviv a week ago,

Israel says it was targeting military infrastructure at the airport in Sanna.

Footage from inside a terminal building appears to show passengers abandoning trolleys piled with suitcases and running outside.

The WHO is a UN agency and its head, Dr. Tedros Adhanem Gabriyasos, was in the airport on a trip to negotiate

the release of UN staff members detained by the Houthis. He's been giving his account of what's

happened to the BBC's Sean Farrington. We didn't want to miss the window of opportunity

we got in order to have our colleagues be released from detention.

And, you know, it's a holiday season also when almost everybody is having resting.

But we prefer to prioritize our colleagues.

And that's why I accepted the mission and representing the Secretary General and travel to negotiate.

And the discussion was actually good and we agreed on very important four points for

their release.

But then on Thursday, after we concluded our mission, left for the airport,

and while waiting to board, and almost close to walking to the airport, to the airplane,

actually, to board, we had a heavy explosion nearby. And then, I think, repeated, I saw actually a video that surfaced now, colleagues,

...