Houthi PM Ahmed al-Rahawi killed in Israeli strikes: Reports

Ahmed al-Rahawi, the Prime Minister of Houthis-run Yemeni government, has been killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Yemeni media.

Yemen has been torn apart by an ongoing civil war since 2014. The control of the country is divided between Houthis backed by Iran in the country’s north that control the capital Sanaa and the internationally-recognised government of President Rashad al-Alimi in the south that has its seat at . Houthis are part of the regional anti-Israel bloc comprising the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israel conducted airstrikes in Houthis-controlled Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday — the second round of attacks in less than a week. Israel’s Hebrew-language media previously reported that Thursday’s airstrikes targeted a gathering of Houthi political and military leaders.

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Multiple Yemeni media outlets have reported that Houthi President Al-Rahawi and several of his associates have been killed. There has not been any official confirmation or denial so far.

Yemen’s Al-Jumhuriya channel reported that Al-Rahawi was killed in an apartment in Sanaa in an Israeli strike. And the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper reported that Al-Rahawi was killed along with several of his associates.

Separately, Israeli officials believe that airstrikes killed Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi and Chief of Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, according to Euronews.

Houthis largely control Yemen’s northern parts, including the capital Sanaa, and Al-Alimi’s internationally-recognised government largely controls the country’s south and has its seat in the port city of Aden.

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Houthis, as part of the Iran-backed ‘Axis of Resistance’ joined fellow anti-Israel groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the war on Israel after the October 7 attack. Israel, and a Western coalition led by the United States, have conducted several rounds of airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen as they have also continued to fire missiles at Israel and terrorise the Red Sea.