Yemen’s Houthi movement has announced that its self-proclaimed Prime Minister, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, was killed in an Israeli air strike on the capital, Sanaa, earlier this week. The group, backed by Iran, said several other senior officials were also killed in the attack, which targeted what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described only as a “military site.”
The strike, carried out on Thursday, reportedly killed a number of Houthi ministers. Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath claimed the victims included the Houthis’ foreign minister, along with the ministers of justice, youth and sports, social affairs, and labour. The Houthis confirmed that several other ministers sustained “moderate and serious injuries.”
Rahawi, who assumed the role of prime minister in August 2024, was regarded largely as a symbolic figure rather than a key decision-maker in the movement’s military operations. His death comes as a significant blow to the Houthis’ political leadership but is unlikely to affect the group’s military command, which remains under the tight control of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the movement’s leader. The group’s defence minister and chief of staff were not reported among the casualties.
Following Rahawi’s death, the Houthis announced that his deputy, Muhammad Ahmed Miftah, would take over the role of prime minister.
The IDF has yet to issue an official comment on the reported deaths. However, the strike is part of a broader pattern of Israeli operations targeting Houthi-held territory since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. The Houthis have regularly launched missiles at Israel and attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, declaring their actions as part of their support for Palestinians.
Last week, Israel confirmed it had struck Houthi positions in Sanaa in response to a missile attack it said involved cluster munitions. The continuing tit-for-tat escalation highlights the widening regional scope of the conflict, drawing in actors far beyond Gaza.
The death of Rahawi underscores the growing risks for the Houthi leadership as Israel intensifies its strikes on Yemeni territory in response to the group’s cross-border attacks.
