A senior Houthi official has pledged “vengeance” against Israel after the group confirmed that its prime minister in Sanaa was killed in an Israeli air strike earlier this week.
The Houthis announced on Saturday that Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed on Thursday in the Yemeni capital, along with “several” other ministers. According to the statement, al-Rahawi and other members of the Houthi-led administration were hit during a workshop. The group did not specify how many other officials died in the strike.
“We shall take vengeance, and we shall forge from the depths of wounds a victory,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, chairman of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, in a video message later that day.
The Israeli military described the strike on Sanaa as hitting “a Houthi terrorist regime military target,” amid intensifying regional tensions linked to Israel’s war in Gaza. Over the past months, Israel has repeatedly attacked Houthi sites after the Yemeni group launched operations against Israel and Western vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying the actions were in solidarity with Palestinians.
On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed a missile strike on southern Israel, which Israeli authorities said was intercepted, reports Al Jazeera .
Following Saturday’s announcement, the Houthi presidency said its institutions remain functional despite the loss of senior officials. “The blood of the great martyrs will be fuel and a motivator to continue on the same path,” the statement said.
Al-Mashat vowed that the group would “continue the path of building our armed forces and developing their capabilities,” while reaffirming support for Palestinians. “To our people in Gaza, our stance is steadfast, and will remain so until the aggression ceases and the siege is lifted, no matter the scale of the challenge,” he said.
The exact death toll from Thursday’s strike is still uncertain. Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported that the attack targeted the entire Houthi cabinet, including al-Rahawi and 12 other ministers.
Just four days earlier, Israeli strikes on the Yemeni capital killed 10 people and wounded over 90, according to health officials. The Israeli army said those attacks struck Houthi military facilities and the presidential palace.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdah Salhut said Israel has signaled it will “continue to target Houthi-related targets, meaning that anything that could be used militarily or politically by the rebel group” is at risk.
She added that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged earlier that strikes on Yemen had not been sufficient to deter the Houthis. Katz argued that Israel should go after the group’s leadership, similar to past assassinations of figures from Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.