Sanaa, Yemen – Yemen’s Huthi rebels on Saturday said their prime minister had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the most senior official known to have died in a series of attacks during the Gaza war.
Israel has been striking Huthi targets for months in response to missile attacks by the rebels, who claim solidarity with the Palestinians and have also been harassing shipping in the Red Sea.
“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,” a Huthi statement said.
“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.
On Thursday, Israeli forces said they “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”. Unsourced Yemeni media reports of Rahawi’s death were not confirmed at the time.
The Huthis called the gathering that was hit “a routine workshop organised by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”.
US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed Al Basha said the Israeli operation pointed to a change in strategy after previously targeting infrastructure such as ports and power stations.
“The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure toward targeted assassinations of high-value personnel,” Basha, author of the Basha Report, told AFP.
It is “an escalation that, regardless of the final casualty count, is likely to shake the Houthi leadership at its core”, he added.
“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.”
Rahawi had made a public appearance on Wednesday, attending an event organised by the Huthi Ministry of Endowments in Sanaa.
He came from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Huthi control.
The rebels have traditionally reserved the premiership for southerners in an attempt to win hearts and minds in the south.
Deputy prime minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed as interim prime minister following Rahawi’s death, the Huthis announced separately.
The rebel group is part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”, an anti-Israel alliance of militant groups across much of the Middle East.
