Yemen’s Huthi rebels announced that their Prime Minister, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this week—marking the highest-ranking official confirmed dead in a series of Israeli attacks linked to the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The Israeli military later confirmed the operation, stating that Al-Rahawi was among the targets killed in Thursday’s strike.
The Huthis, who are backed by Iran and have launched multiple drone and missile attacks against Israel since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023, vowed retaliation for the killing.
Al-Rahawi, appointed to the role last year, was killed along with several other government officials in the attack, according to a statement from the rebel group.
For several months, Israel has carried out strikes on Huthi positions in response to the group’s sustained aerial attacks, which the rebels claim are an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi... along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” the Huthis said in a statement.
“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.
On the day of the strike, the Israeli army reported hitting “a Huthi terrorist regime military target.” However, initial Yemeni media reports about Al-Rahawi's death remained unverified until Saturday.
Confirming the operation, Israel's military stated, “Among the senior officials present at the site during the strike was the Huthi Prime Minister, Ahmed Al-Rahawi, who was eliminated in the strike, along with additional senior officials.”
The Huthis described Thursday’s gathering as “a routine workshop organised by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year.”
Mehdi al-Mashat, head of the rebels’ supreme political council, pledged to avenge the killings. “We promise to God, to the dear Yemeni people and the families of the martyrs and wounded that we will take revenge,” he declared in a video posted on Telegram, also warning foreign firms to leave Israel “before it's too late.”
Commenting on the strike, US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed Al Basha said that while Israeli strikes previously targeted infrastructure like ports and power stations, the latest operation signals a shift in strategy.
“The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure toward targeted assassinations of high-value personnel,” Basha told AFP, adding that the move could deeply unsettle the Huthi leadership.
“This operation bears the hallmarks of a signals intelligence-driven strike, and it is possible that additional senior Huthi leaders were en route to the location,” he added.
Al-Rahawi had made a public appearance just a day before the strike, attending an event hosted by the Huthi endowments ministry in Sanaa.
Originating from Abyan province in the south—which lies outside of Huthi-controlled territories—Al-Rahawi’s appointment reflected the rebels' tradition of assigning the premiership to southerners in a bid to garner broader support in southern Yemen.
Following his death, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah has been named interim prime minister, according to a separate statement by the group.
The Huthi movement is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” an alliance of anti-Israel actors in the region.
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