The Houthis confirmed Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several ministers were killed in an Israeli strike, as questions remain over whether their defense and military chiefs also perished.
The Houthi rebel group announced Saturday that its Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed earlier this week in an Israeli strike on Sana’a, alongside a swath of senior ministers.
According to Houthi reports, the dead include the Foreign Minister, Justice Minister, Welfare and Labor Minister, Youth and Sports Minister, government secretary, Deputy Interior Minister, and two of al-Rahawi’s aides.
The Houthis said the officials were struck during a “routine situation assessment meeting”. In their statement, the group acknowledged that several ministers had also been severely injured but vowed that governance would continue.
“We wish to reassure the Yemeni people… the government will not be affected by any deaths, no matter how many,” the Houthis declared.
Uncertainty remains over whether Houthi Chief of Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari and Defense Minister Mohammad Nasser al-Atifi were also killed, as Israel had intended. Al-Ghamari previously survived an Israeli assassination attempt in June.
The Israeli strike on Thursday marked one of the most significant attacks on the Houthi leadership since the outbreak of the regional conflict. An Israeli source confirmed that the operation’s objective was to eliminate the top brass of the Houthi military.
Following the strike, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a chilling warning:
“Just as we warned the Houthis in Yemen—after the Plague of Darkness comes the Plague of the Firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel will have his hand cut off.”
The elimination of al-Rahawi and his cabinet marks a crippling blow to Houthi governance, though the group insists its institutions remain functional. Analysts warn, however, that if the deaths of al-Ghamari and al-Atifi are confirmed, it could decapitate Houthi command and alter the trajectory of the Yemen front in the Israel-Iran-Houthi conflict.
