Houthis Say Prime Minister Is Killed in Israeli Attack

Israel killed the prime minister of the Houthi-controlled government in Yemen, Ahmed al-Rahawi, in an attack this past week that hit the capital, Sana, a Houthi spokesman said on Saturday. He was the most senior official in the Iranian-backed militant group to be killed in the conflict so far.

In a statement, the Houthi government said that a number of Mr. al-Rahawi’s colleagues were also killed and wounded, without naming them. It said Israel had attacked while they had gathered in Sana for a government workshop on Thursday afternoon.

The killing of Mr. al-Rahawi was unlikely to cripple the Houthis, given that his role in the group was largely symbolic and power is concentrated in the hands of its leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Yet it marked an escalation in Israel’s efforts to stop Houthi missile attacks.

Soon after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the war in Gaza, the Houthis began firing missiles and drones at Israeli cities. The group, which has ruled much of northwestern Yemen since a civil war a decade ago, says its attacks are in solidarity with Hamas and their Palestinian allies.

Houthi fighters have also fired on ships passing by in the Red Sea in what they call an effort to enforce a blockade on Israel, even though many of the boats targeted had no clear ties to the country. The attacks have disrupted global trade, often forcing ships to reroute.

Israel has responded by sending fighter jets hundreds of miles to Yemen to bombard power stations and ports in Houthi-controlled areas. But the sorties failed to quell the Houthis’ attacks, which the group says will continue until Israel ends its military campaign in Gaza.