News - Yemen: The Ministry of Health and Environment, together with patients suffering from cancer, kidney failure, and thalassemia, organized a protest on Wednesday in front of the UN office in Sana’a, calling for the immediate reopening of Sana’a International Airport to civilian air traffic.

Protesters urged the United Nations to allow continuous humanitarian and commercial flights across multiple destinations, stressing that the airport’s closure — targeted previously by the Zionist entity — has caused severe shortages of essential medicines, especially those requiring cold-chain transport.

They warned that keeping the airport closed is exacerbating a humanitarian disaster, noting that thousands of patients have already died due to the blockade, while others remain at risk.

Participants held the US-Saudi aggression responsible for the catastrophic health and humanitarian consequences of the “aggression and blockade,” criticizing what they described as a shameful silence from the UN and international community.

Ali Taysir, head of the National Human Rights Authority, said the closure has caused immense suffering, particularly in the health sector.

He urged the world to take a “responsible stance,” warning that silence amounts to complicity in the aggression. He added that the United States and the Zionist entity directly influence UN decisions, contributing to harmful outcomes for patients in urgent need of treatment abroad.

Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Environment, emphasized that the continued closure of the airport constitutes a war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute.

He noted that over 50 percent of health facilities have halted operations due to shortages in medicines and life-saving supplies. More than 1,362 essential medicines are out of stock, with import levels dropping by 60 percent. Over 83 companies and medical suppliers have exited the market due to “arbitrary measures by the aggression.” At least 250,000 patients have been denied the ability to travel abroad for treatment.

The closure, he added, has blocked entry of specialized medical missions. Severe acute malnutrition now affects over 10 million children and more than 6 million mothers. 40,000 patients with thalassemia and hereditary blood disorders face life-threatening shortages in essential drugs.

Al-Asbahi noted that disability rates have surged by more than 300 percent as a result of injuries caused by airstrikes, shelling, and explosive remnants. The ministry warned that the compounded impact of the blockade, economic collapse, and interrupted salary payments has further fueled mental-health disorders, as documented in recent WHO reports.

Sana’a International Airport has been largely closed to regular flights since the escalation of the conflict, with only limited UN flights permitted. The shutdown—linked to the blockade imposed by the US-Saudi aggression and then targeted by the Zionist entity—has severely disrupted medical evacuations and the import of essential pharmaceuticals.

Yemen’s health system, already weakened by years of war, depends on international travel for patients and on steady medical supply chains, making the airport closure one of the most damaging humanitarian restrictions facing the country.