Yemen's Houthi rebel movement has confirmed that its self-proclaimed Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi was killed in Israeli air strikes 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 announced that it attacked a Houthi 'military target' in the Sanaa area, but did not provide further details.
The Houthis have controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, after ousting the internationally recognized government from Sanaa, triggering a devastating civil war.
The group stated that Rahawi had been killed alongside other ministers, although their identities remain unconfirmed. Reports suggest that several key officials, including the foreign minister and ministers for justice and social affairs, were among those who lost their lives.
The office of Mahdi Al-Mashat, the Houthis' president, stated that several other ministers sustained moderate to severe injuries as a result of the strike.
In the wake of Rahawi's death, it has been announced that Muhammad Ahmed Miftah, the deputy prime minister, will assume his role. Rahawi had held his position since August 2024.
The IDF has yet to respond publicly to the situation following the attacks.
With the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles towards Israel and attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Israel has responded with air strikes targeting Houthi-controlled regions in Yemen. Earlier in the month, Israel stated that it conducted air strikes against Houthi positions in Sanaa as a response to a missile attack on Israel that involved cluster munitions.
