The prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi-run government and several ministers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the capital Sanaa, Houthi officials said on Saturday, marking the first time a strike has killed senior figures of the Iran-aligned group.
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, confirmed the deaths in a televised address, saying other officials were also wounded in Thursday’s raid, without giving details.
Israel said it had targeted the Houthis’ chief of staff, defence minister and other top commanders, and was still assessing the outcome. It was unclear if Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi was among the casualties.
Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi, appointed as prime minister last year, was considered a largely symbolic figure, with his deputy Mohammed Miftah handling most government duties. Following Rahwi’s death, Miftah was named acting prime minister.
Rahwi was once allied with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh before joining the Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, plunging Yemen into a protracted civil war. Since then, the country has been divided between the Houthi administration in Sanaa and the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government in Aden.
The Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, firing missiles toward Israel in what they describe as solidarity with Palestinians. Israel has launched repeated strikes on Houthi-held territory in response.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz hailed the latest strike as “a crushing blow” against the group, vowing further action.
The Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted Defence Minister Atifi, described as the group’s leading missile expert, pledging to confront Israel, though the timing of his statement was unclear.
Sources told Reuters that Yemen’s energy, foreign and information ministers were also killed in the strike, which hit locations where senior officials had gathered to watch a recorded speech by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
“Our stance remains as it is and will remain until the aggression ends and the siege is lifted, no matter how great the challenges,” Mashat said, vowing revenge.