The Iran-backed Houthis said Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. He was the most senior Houthi official killed in the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels.
Ahmed al-Rahawi, who was appointed to the role in August 2024, died Thursday along with a number of ministers, the rebel group said in a statement. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added, without providing further details.
It said he was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop, held by the government, to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year.
Thursday’s strike took place as the rebel-owned television station was broadcasting a speech by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive leader of the rebel group, in which he was sharing updates on the latest Gaza developments and vowing retaliation against Israel. Senior Houthi officials used to gather to watch al-Houthi’s prerecorded speeches.
The strike that killed the prime minister targeted a meeting for Houthi leaders in a villa in Beit Baws, an ancient village in southern Sanaa, three tribal leaders told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions.
Israel confirms killing senior officials
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, the military in a statement confirmed killing al-Rahawi “along with additional senior officials.” It said senior officials among the dozens at the facility struck were responsible for “terror actions” against Israel.
“Yemen endures a lot for the victory of the Palestinian people,” al-Rahawi had said last week. He spoke after an Israeli strike that hit an oil facility owned by the country’s main oil company, which is controlled by the rebels in Sanaa, and a power plant.
That Aug. 24 strike came three days after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Israel, which its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at it since 2023.
WATCH | How the Houthis became major regional disruptors:
How the Houthis became major Middle East disruptors
Once a rag-tag group in Yemen — one of the world’s poorest countries — Iran has helped the Houthis become major players capable of disrupting global shipping traffic in the Red Sea. CBC’s Paul Hunter breaks down the rise of the Houthis and what the world needs to watch for. [Correction: In a previous version of this video, we reported that Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by several countries and entities, including the United Nations. In fact, the UN does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.]
Al-Rahawi was from the southern province of Abyan and an ally to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Al-Rahawi allied himself with the Houthis when the rebels overran Sanaa and much of the north and centre of the country in 2014, initiating the country’s long-running civil war.
The United States and Israel began their air and naval campaign in response to the rebels group’s missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis targeted ships in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods pass each year.
The U.S. and Israeli strikes killed dozens of people in Yemen. One attack by the U.S. in April hit a prison holding African migrants in the northern Sadaa province, killing at least 68 and wounding 47.
Houthi fighters take part in a weekly anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, on Friday. On Saturday, the Iran-backed Houthis said the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the capital. (Osamah Abdulrahman/The Associated Press)Killing of PM a ‘serious setback’ for rebels: analyst
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 escalation 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 U.S. administration under President Donald Trump announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping. The rebels, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.