Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, widely referred to in the West as the “Houthis,” has confirmed the death of Ahmad Ghaleb Al-Rahwi, Prime Minister of the Supreme Political Council, following a series of Israeli airstrikes on Thursday.
In a statement released Saturday, the group, which controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sana’a, announced that Al-Rahwi was killed alongside several government ministers whose identities have yet to be disclosed. The strikes were part of a wider Israeli operation that targeted multiple sites across Ansarallah-held territory.
According to local sources, Israeli warplanes struck near the Presidential Palace in Sana’a and hit an apartment in the Bayt Baws neighborhood, where Al-Rahwi had been meeting with senior officials. Additional airstrikes were reported in the ‘Amran and Hajjah governorates, though details regarding those attacks remain limited.
The timing of the assault coincided with a televised address by Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Analysts suggest Israeli forces may have sought to exploit the gathering of key figures during the broadcast to maximize the strike’s impact.
The attack marks a significant escalation in a conflict that has already seen extensive maritime and aerial confrontations. Since October 2023, Ansarallah has enforced a naval blockade in the Red Sea targeting Israeli shipping, crippling operations at Israel’s Port of Eilat and leading to the sinking and seizure of several vessels, including the high-profile capture of the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader in November 2023.
In response, the former Biden administration launched a prolonged bombing campaign in early 2024 in an effort to end the blockade, but failed to do so. Operations ceased only after a ceasefire was reached in Gaza on January 17, 2025, days before Donald Trump assumed office.
However, tensions flared again in March 2025 when Ansarallah reinstated the blockade following Israel’s renewed restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Trump administration launched a two-month air campaign against Yemen, during which two U.S. fighter jets were lost and significant costs incurred. That campaign ended in May, but the Red Sea remains a volatile flashpoint.