Multiple Yemeni media outlets reported Thursday that Ahmed al-Rahawi, the Houthi-appointed prime minister, was killed in an air raid on the capital Sanaa, allegedly carried out by Israel where several of his close aides were also said to have been killed.
The Houthi leadership has not confirmed his death, nor has Israel’s military officially acknowledged the strike.
Initial claims surfaced through anti-Houthi platforms including Al-Jumhuriya TV and the newspaper Aden al-Ghad, before being echoed in Hebrew-language outlets.
An Israeli Air Force official, without naming al-Rahawi, said: “We estimate that we succeeded” in hitting senior Houthi figures. Houthi representatives dismissed Israeli media reports that their senior leadership had been eliminated.
The reports coincided with a televised address by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, which continued uninterrupted despite the alleged assassination.
Unlike a series of earlier Israeli strikes on Sunday that damaged power plants and an oil company facility in Sanaa, this attack was described as more narrowly focused, reportedly targeting al-Rahawi’s location.
The escalation follows the Houthis’ launch of a newly developed cluster munition missile toward Israel. Israeli officials labeled the weapon a “new threat,” pointing to Iranian support in its development and warning that such missiles are more difficult to intercept.
Although al-Rahawi held the title of prime minister, his position was largely administrative and lacked significant military or political weight. His administration, based in Sanaa, is not internationally recognized, with Yemen’s UN-backed government operating from Aden.
The Houthis, aligned with Iran’s “axis of resistance,” have waged attacks on Israeli interests and commercial shipping in the Red Sea for nearly two years, declaring the campaign an act of solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
