UN official denies Israeli claim Yemen airport was military target

The top UN official for humanitarian aid in Yemen, who narrowly dodged an aerial bombing raid by Israel on Sanaa's airport, denied Friday that the facility had any military purpose.

Israel said that it was targeting "military infrastructure" in Thursday's raids and that targets around the country were used by Huthis to "smuggle Iranian weapons" and bring in senior Iranian officials.

UN humanitarian coordinator Julien Harneis said the airport "is a civilian location that is used by the United Nations. Parties to the conflict have an obligation to ensure that they are not striking civilian targets," he added.