An Israeli airstrike has killed Ahmed al-Rahawi, the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen, the Houthis have confirmed. The strike occurred in Sana’a on Thursday and also killed several other ministers, according to a rebel statement released on Saturday. The statement added that additional ministers and officials were wounded, though no further details were provided.
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi supreme political council, vowed revenge, stating: “We promise to God, to the dear Yemeni people and the families of the martyrs and wounded that we will take revenge.” He also warned foreign companies to leave Israel “before it’s too late”. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the strike as “a crushing blow” against the Houthis, adding, “this is only the beginning”.
The Israeli military 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. The Houthi statement said the prime minister was targeted during a “routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”. The strike took place as rebel television broadcast a speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, during which senior officials typically gather to watch.
Three tribal leaders told the Associated Press that the strike hit a villa in Beit Baws, an ancient village in southern Sana’a, where Houthi leaders were meeting. Al-Rahawi, who hailed from the southern province of Abyan, was an ally of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and aligned with the Houthis after they seized Sana’a in 2014. He was appointed prime minister in August 2024.
Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the Crisis Group International, called the killing a “serious setback” for the rebels, noting that it marks an Israeli shift from targeting infrastructure to targeting leaders, posing a greater threat to the Houthi command structure. The Houthis have launched attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war, disrupting a key maritime route.
