Yemen’s Houthi rebels say the prime minister and a number of other ministers in their government were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.
The rebels said Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in the strike on the capital Sanaa, which also left others seriously wounded. Rahawi is the most senior figure in the Iran-backed Houthis to be killed in Israeli’s campaign against the group.
The ministers were targeted during “a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activity and performance over the past year,” the presidency said in a statement carried on Houthi-run television.
The gathering of top Houthi officials, reportedly to watch a speech by the group’s secretive leader, appears to have been a prime opportunity for Israel to target the Iran-backed rebels leaders in one operation.The Houthi Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Nasser al-Atifi, said the Houthis are ready “at all levels to confront the US-backed Zionist enemy” in a statement carried on Houthi-run television soon after the news was announced.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, but officials on Thursday said the military had targeted Houthi leaders days after the group fired a missile that contained a new type of cluster sub-munition.
The Houthis have been targeting Red Sea shipping in solidarity with Palestinians following the October 7 attacks, and have fired a number of missiles at Israel, most of which have been intercepted.
A shift in strategy
Since the start of the war in Gaza nearly two years ago, Israel has used its robust intelligence advantage to eliminate the leaders of Iran’s closest proxies in the Middle East.Last year, Israel assassinated Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Two months later, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut. And last October, Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.
In December, Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly threatened that Israel would go after the Houthi’s top leaders as well.
“We will hit the strategic infrastructures of the Houthi terrorist organization and we will behead its leaders - just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah - in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon. This is what we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa as well,” he said.Thursday’s strike marks the first time Israel has successfully targeted Houthi leadership.
In the past, Israel has largely attacked military targets in Yemen and civilian infrastructure that the Israeli military says is being used by the Houthis.
In an indication that Israel may have been shifting its strategy, the Israeli air force struck a military base on which the presidential palace is located. The Air Force also attacked two power plants and a fuel storage site.The Houthis control much of northern Yemen, having stormed Sanaa in 2014 and ousted the internationally recognized government. Since then a Saudi-backed coalition has been unable to dislodge the Houthis, who have further consolidated their power.
This story has been updated with additional information.