The Houthi statement said the prime minister was targeted along with other members of his government during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year"
Ahmed al-Rahawi was the highest-ranking Houthi official to be killed in the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels. PIC/AFP
An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, the Houthis said on Saturday. Ahmed al-Rahawi was the highest-ranking Houthi official to be killed in the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels, news agency AP reported.
Al-Rahawi was killed in Thursday’s strike in Sanaa along with several ministers, the Houthis said in a statement. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added, without providing further details.
The Houthi statement said the prime minister was targeted along with other members of his government during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”, reported AP.
Thursday’s strike occurred as the rebel-owned television station was broadcasting a speech by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive leader of the group, in which he updated viewers on Gaza developments and vowed retaliation against Israel. Senior Houthi officials traditionally gather to watch al-Houthi’s pre-recorded speeches.
Al-Rahawi was not part of the inner circle around al-Houthi that oversees the military and strategic affairs of the group. His government, like previous ones, handled day-to-day civilian administration in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas, reported AP.
The strike that killed the prime minister hit a meeting of Houthi leaders at a villa in Beit Baws, an ancient village in southern Sanaa, three tribal leaders told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisals.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.” Late on Saturday, it confirmed in a statement that al-Rahawi had been killed “along with additional senior officials,” saying those targeted were responsible for “terror actions” against Israel.
“Yemen endures a lot for the victory of the Palestinian people,” al-Rahawi had said after an Israeli strike last week hit a facility owned by the country’s main oil company, controlled by the rebels, as well as a power plant.
The August 24 strike came three days after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile towards Israel, which its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had used against it since 2023.
Al-Rahawi hailed from the southern province of Abyan and had been an ally of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He joined the Houthis when they overran Sanaa, along with much of northern and central Yemen in 2014, marking the start of the long-running civil war. He was appointed prime minister in August 2024.
The United States and Israel launched air and naval strikes against the Houthis in response to their missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis said their attacks were in solidarity with Palestinians, and their strikes over the past two years have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea, through which about USD 1 trillion of goods pass annually.
The US and Israeli strikes have killed dozens of people in Yemen. One US strike in April hit a prison holding African migrants in northern Sadaa province, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others.
Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst with Crisis Group International, a Brussels-based think tank, called the killing of the Houthi prime minister a “serious setback” for the rebels.
He said the operation marks an Israeli shift from striking the rebels’ infrastructure to targeting their leaders, including senior military figures, which “poses a greater threat to their command structure.”
In May, the Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end airstrikes in exchange for halting attacks on shipping. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not cover attacks on targets they considered aligned with Israel.
(With AP inputs)
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