Yemen's Houthi rebel movement has confirmed that its self-proclaimed Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi was killed in an Israeli air strike earlier this week.
The Iran-backed group said several other senior officials were killed when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Thursday.
The IDF stated that Rahawi and other senior Houthi officials were 'eliminated' when Israeli fighter jets struck a gathering in the Sanaa area.
The Houthis have controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, after ousting the internationally recognized government from Sanaa and triggering a devastating civil war.
The Houthis claimed Rahawi had been killed alongside several ministers, though it did not provide names. Reports suggest that the Houthis' foreign minister, as well as ministers for justice, youth and sports, and social affairs, were among those killed.
The office of Mahdi al-Mashat, the Houthis' president, noted that several other ministers 'sustained moderate and serious injuries' in the strike.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ahmed Miftah is expected to take over Rahawi's role.
Rahawi had held his position since August 2024 and was seen more as a figurehead than an active decision-maker.
Notably, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group's ultimate leader, and other top military officials were not reported among the casualties.
The IDF indicated that the strike was executed shortly after receiving intelligence about the gathering.
Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have regularly launched missiles at Israel and targeted commercial ships in the region, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has retaliated with air strikes on Houthi-held areas, aiming to prevent further attacks.
Last week, Israel claimed it had struck Houthi targets in Sanaa in response to missile attacks purportedly involving cluster munitions.
