Yemeni media outlets opposed to the Houthi rebels reported early Friday that Ahmed al-Rahawi, the Houthi-backed Prime Minister, was killed in an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) airstrike on the city of Sanaa on Thursday.
According to Al-Jumhuriya, a Yemeni channel broadcasting from Aden, al-Rahawi was reportedly killed while in an apartment in the Bayt Baws neighborhood of Sanaa.
The newspaper Aden al-Ghad also claimed that the strike killed several of his associates.
Al-Rahawi, who had served as Prime Minister under the Houthi administration for about a year, held an administrative role with limited military or political influence.
The Houthi government, which is not internationally recognized, has been a central player in the ongoing Yemeni conflict.
Additionally, the Yemeni security-focused website Defence Line reported that senior officials within the Houthi government were also killed in a separate strike targeting a building in a security complex near the presidential palace compound in Sanaa.
This location was reportedly one of several targets hit during Thursday’s Israeli Air Force operations.
The strikes coincided with an address by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement. According to a security official, the primary target was a gathering of senior Houthi leaders, described as a “cabinet meeting” that included both military commanders and government ministers.
“We estimate that we succeeded”, the official stated. Among those believed to have been killed were the Houthi Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, the latter of whom had reportedly been wounded in a previous Israeli strike.
However, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was not present at the location.
The IDF later confirmed that it had conducted a strike on a Houthi military target in Sanaa. Defense Minister Israel Katz, alongside IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and senior military officials, approved the operation after discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Katz issued a stern warning following the strike, stating: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen, after the Plague of Darkness comes the Plague of the Firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel his hand will be cut off.”
The strike, part of Israel’s broader operations in the region, underscores escalating tensions and Israel’s determination to counter threats posed by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.