Reports emerged on Friday that Ahmed al-Rahawi, the prime minister of the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the capital, Sanaa. According to Al-Jumhuriya, an anti-Houthi channel broadcasting from Aden, al-Rahawi was struck while inside an apartment in the Bayt Baws neighborhood, along with several close associates.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, describing it as targeting a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the Sanaa area. An Israeli security official stated, “We estimate that we succeeded” in hitting senior leadership. This strike appears to be part of a broader Israeli operation against Houthi leaders, following another attack on Thursday that reportedly targeted a gathering of senior Houthi leaders during a speech by group leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi ¹ ².
The Thursday attack allegedly hit a cabinet meeting that included ministers and top military figures, resulting in the deaths of ten officers, including the Houthi defense minister and the chief of staff. The chief of staff had previously been wounded in an earlier strike attributed to Israel.
Al-Rahawi had served as the Houthis’ prime minister for about a year, holding a largely administrative position within the unrecognized government. His government is not internationally recognized, with the legitimate government based in Aden. The Houthis have been engaged in a campaign against Israel and Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea for over 22 months in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The Houthi movement has not officially confirmed the assassination, and officials have denied reports in Hebrew media that a strike had successfully targeted their leaders. A source close to al-Rahawi’s family confirmed his death to Russian news agency Izvestia, stating that “Israeli fighter jets bombed a house in the Hadda area south of Sanaa, killing four people, including the Prime Minister of the government, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, and several of his associates.