Health Ministry: Sanaa Airport Blockade Violates Humanity
By Staff, Agencies
Yemen’s Sanaa Health and Environment Minister, Ali Shaiban, condemned the UN Security Council’s renewed sanctions on Thursday, saying they intensify the blockade and put thousands of patients’ lives at risk.
Shaiban described the continued obstruction of Sanaa International Airport as a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of humanitarian and international law.
His remarks followed the UN Security Council’s one-year extension of Yemen sanctions under Resolution 2801, maintaining freezes, bans, and the UN Panel of Experts’ mandate. Sanaa called it collective punishment and retaliation for supporting Gaza.
Shaiban told the Yemeni News Agency [SABA] that the sanctions have sealed Sanaa Airport, which was targeted by the Zionist enemy, causing severe shortages of medicines and supplies needing special transport.
He explained the blockade and airport closure have left thousands of patients without essential treatments, including transplant drugs, hormones, immune therapies, anesthesia, anticoagulants, and diagnostic supplies.
Shaiban called for urgent access for life-saving medicines and equipment through Sanaa Airport, urging the UN and humanitarian groups not to ignore a crisis that has already killed thousands and threatens many more.
He warned that the crisis “speaks for itself,” highlighting how the deprivation of vital medical supplies endangers patients, especially those with chronic illnesses, and accused the aggressors of showing no humanitarian concern amid “shameful international and UN silence.”
Shaiban said the blockade’s indirect effects far outweigh visible damage, making it “impossible to quantify” the harm from denying medicines and basic health care.
He cited rising deaths from epidemics, higher child and maternal mortality, and chronic patients’ lack of treatment, noting that the health sector cannot meet Yemen’s needs due to sanctions and ongoing military aggression.
Shaiban said the Sanaa Airport flight suspension blocks thousands of patients from seeking treatment abroad and prevents delivery of temperature-sensitive medicines, calling the resumption of medical cargo flights an “urgent humanitarian necessity” to save thousands, especially children.
"Israel" has targeted Sanaa International Airport multiple times since October 7, 2023. The most significant strikes occurred in May 2024, when two bombardments on May 6 and May 28 crippled aviation operations.
Yemen’s health system, already near collapse, leaves 17.8 million needing care. Millions rely on aid amid extreme poverty and food insecurity, with malnutrition reaching crisis levels in some coastal regions.
Yemen faces one of the largest modern cholera outbreaks, with over 2.5 million suspected cases since 2016 and 22,000 new infections from January to May 2024. Children, the displaced, and the poorest suffer most as preventable diseases strike a health system lacking medicines, equipment, and electricity.
Moreover, Yemen’s naval blockade on “Israel” sparked a sharp escalation, with the US, UK, and "Israel" launching hundreds of air and missile strikes since January 2024, targeting civilian infrastructure under the pretext of “protecting shipping.”
Yemeni officials say the US-"Israeli" escalation has worsened the blockade, cutting fuel and life-saving medicines reliant on cold-chain transport, deepening a humanitarian crisis the UN calls among the world’s worst.
