Prime minister of Yemen's Houthi-run government killed in Israeli strike

By Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba

(Reuters) -The prime minister of Yemen's Houthi-run government and several other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sanaa, the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council said on Saturday, in the first such attack to kill senior officials.

A number of others were wounded in Thursday's strike, Mahdi al-Mashat added, without providing details.

Israel said on Friday that the airstrike had targeted the Iran-aligned group's chief of staff, defence minister and other senior officials and that it was verifying the outcome.

Mashat's statement did not make clear whether the Houthi defence minister was among the casualties.

Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi was appointed as prime minister a year ago, but the de facto leader of the government was his deputy, Mohammed Miftah, who was assigned on Saturday to carry out the prime minister's duties.

Rahwi was seen largely as a figurehead who was not part of the inner circle of the Houthi leadership.

He was an ally to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom the Houthis ousted from Sanaa in late 2014 triggering a decade-long civil war, but later joined forces with the group. Yemen has been split between a Houthi administration in Sanaa and a Saudi-backed government in Aden since then.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

They have also frequently fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.

During the last year, Israel carried out a series of assassinations targeting senior leaders and commanders of Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, significantly weakening both groups.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the strike was "a crushing blow" against the Houthis, adding that "this is only the beginning."

The Houthi-run news agency Saba ran a statement from Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi shortly after the prime minister's death was confirmed and quoted him as saying the group was ready to confront Israel.

The statement did not mention Thursday's airstrike and it was unclear if it was made before or after the attack.

Atifi runs the Houthis' Missiles Brigade Group and is considered their leading missiles expert.

Sources confirmed to Reuters that the energy, foreign and information ministers were among those killed.

On Thursday, Israeli security sources had said the targets had been various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

"Our stance remains as it is and will remain until the aggression ends and the siege is lifted, no matter how great the challenges," Mashat said in a televised speech, adding that the group "shall take revenge."

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Aden and Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)