Iran-backed Houthi PM killed in Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's capital

Iran-backed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's capital Thursday which targeted senior military officials including the group's defence minister, according to Yemeni media reports and Israeli officials.

Al-Rahawi died in his Sanaa apartment during the Israeli strikes, Yemeni Al-Jumhuriya outlet reported, with the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper adding that several of his associates were killed in the same strike.

Israeli officials said they believe the strikes eliminated Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi and Chief of Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari during a cabinet meeting of senior officials outside Sanaa. Al-Ghamari had previously been wounded in an earlier Israeli attack.

Israel is still assessing whether further deaths among the Houthi leadership can be confirmed, according to media reports.

The airstrikes coincided with a planned speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. However, Israeli sources said the group's leader was not present at the targeted location.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who approved the strikes along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli military Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir, said the Houthis were aware of the consequences of targeting Israel.

“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," Katz said.

The IDF confirmed striking "a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa" on Thursday.

The Tehran-backed group "has been operating under Iranian direction and funding in order to harm the state and its allies ... undermining regional stability and disrupting global freedom of navigation," the IDF said.

The Houthis, who control most of the country's northwestern region including the Red Sea coast and the capital Sanaa, have regularly launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea throughout the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a United States-led coalition pounded areas in Yemen held by the group, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida, with heavy strikes for months.

Israeli strikes knocked Sanaa airport out of service in May.

The Trump administration announced a deal with the Houthis to end the strikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping in May.

However, the group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.