Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed to take revenge after the death of Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, who served as the “prime minister” in their administration. Al-Rahawi was killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
His death is considered the most significant loss for the Houthis since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in Gaza in October 2023, as he is their highest-ranking official to have been killed in an Israeli strike since then.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
The Houthi leadership announced the deaths of Al-Rahawi and “ministers” during an “attack launched by the Israeli enemy on Thursday at their meeting point in Sanaa.” The announcement, broadcast on the Houthi-affiliated television channel Al Massirah, also stated that “several officials were injured, some seriously.”
According to Israeli media, almost the entire cabinet of the Yemeni rebels has been neutralised. On Saturday night, the Israeli army confirmed that it had killed Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi “along with high-ranking officials” during an attack on a building where “senior military and other officials of the Houthi terrorist regime” had gathered. The operation was reportedly planned using intelligence gathered and was carried out within a few hours.
The Houthis later announced that Mohammed Ahmed Muftah had been appointed “acting prime minister,” a position that Al-Rahawi had held since August 2024.
The Houthis’ Vow of Revenge
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) frequently launch airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen in retaliation for the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory. Backed by Iran, the Houthis say they are launching these attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli attacks have been raging since the unprecedented bloodshed caused by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel.
“We swear to God, to the dear people of Yemen, and to the families of the martyrs and the injured, that we will take revenge,” said Mahdi al-Mahat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council, in a video message on the Telegram platform. “Dark days await you,” he said, addressing Israel. He also warned all foreign companies operating in Israel to leave “before it’s too late.”
The Palestinian Hamas condemned the Israeli attacks that claimed the lives of Houthi leaders as a “heinous crime.”
An official from the security services in Sanaa told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the Houthis have arrested dozens of suspects for “collaborating with Israel” in Sanaa, Amran (north), and Dhamar (southwest).
The Houthi rebels control large parts of Yemen, which has been engulfed in a civil war since 2014, including the capital Sanaa. The internationally recognised government, which was expelled from Sanaa, is based in Aden, a major city in the southern part of Yemen.
On Wednesday, the Houthis had claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel, which the Israeli army intercepted, just a few days after last Sunday’s Israeli airstrikes in Yemen that killed 10 people, according to the rebels. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the time that “the Houthi terrorist regime will pay a very heavy price for their attacks against Israel.”
