Israeli strike kills Houthi PM Ahmed Al-Rahawi

Ahmed al-Rahawi, the Prime Minister of Yemen's Huthi-led Government, was killed in an Israeli air strike. Photo / AFP

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say their Prime Minister was killed in an Israeli air strike this week.

Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi is the most senior official known to have died in a series of attacks during the Gaza war.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have launched repeated drone and missile attacks on Israel since the war erupted in October 2023, vowed to avenge the premier’s death.

Rahawi, who was appointed last year, was killed along with other officials in Thursday’s attack (local time), the rebels said.

Israel has been striking Houthi targets for months in response to the rebels’ attacks, which they say are in support of the 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,” a Houthi statement said.

“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care.”

On Thursday (local time), Israeli forces said they “struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target”. Unsourced Yemeni media reports of Rahawi’s death were not confirmed at the time.

Vows of revenge

The Houthis called the gathering that was hit “a routine workshop organised by the Government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”.

The head of the rebels’ supreme political council, Mehdi al-Mashat, vowed to avenge the killing of the Prime Minister and his colleagues.

“We promise to God, to the dear Yemeni people and the families of the martyrs and wounded that we will take revenge,” Mashat said in a video message posted on Telegram.

He warned foreign companies to leave Israel “before it’s too late”.

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.

Change of focus

“The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure towards 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 Huthi leadership at its core”, he added.

“This operation bears the hallmarks of a signals intelligence–driven strike, and it is possible that additional senior Houthi leaders were en route to the location.”

Rahawi had made a public appearance on Wednesday (local time), attending an event organised by the Huthi endowments ministry in Sana’a.

He came from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Houthi 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 after Rahawi’s death, the Huthis said.

The rebel group is part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”, an anti-Israel alliance.

– Agence France-Presse