The Houthi movement in Yemen announced Saturday that its prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the week, marking the highest-level political casualty in the group’s ongoing confrontation with Israel.
According to a statement released by the Houthi-controlled presidency in Sanaa, al-Rahawi and other senior government officials were attending a performance review workshop on Thursday when the strike occurred. The number of other officials killed has not been confirmed.
Al-Rahawi, who had held the post of prime minister since August 2024, is the most senior Houthi figure to be killed since the group began launching drone and missile attacks toward Israel in support of Gaza.
In a televised address Saturday, Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, vowed retaliation. “We will avenge our martyrs, and from our wounds, we will build triumph,” he said. Al-Mashat also reaffirmed the group’s continued backing for Palestinians in Gaza, promising to maintain pressure on Israel until its military campaign ends and the blockade is lifted.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Friday that the strike had targeted “strategic Houthi assets,” and Israeli sources initially suggested that high-ranking military figures may have been present at the site.
Houthi officials, however, disputed those claims, insisting that no military personnel were involved in the meeting that was hit.
The Houthis have escalated attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza intensified last October, launching cross-border strikes from Yemen in what they describe as solidarity operations with Palestinians. Israel has responded with intermittent strikes on what it identifies as Houthi military infrastructure.
