On Saturday, August 30, a communication agency operated by the Houthi armed group in Yemen cited a statement from the Chairman of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthi armed group, Mahdi al-Mashat, confirming that Israeli airstrikes on the capital Sanaa resulted in the death of the Houthi Prime Minister Mujahid Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi and several other ministers.
According to the agency, the Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, August 28, also resulted in multiple injuries, although specific details were not provided.
The statement from the Houthi armed group mentioned that Rahwi had been serving as the Prime Minister of the Houthi-led government since August 2024.
During a routine seminar held by the government to evaluate the activities and performance of the past year, Rahwi and several other ministerial colleagues of the Houthi government were attacked. The statement did not explicitly state whether the Minister of Defense of the Houthi group was among the casualties.
Israel has not yet commented on this news, but Israeli media Channel 12 reported on Friday that the Israeli Defense Forces assessed that members of the Houthi armed group’s cabinet, including the Prime Minister and 12 other ministers, were likely killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Thursday. Channel 12 did not cite any sources but mentioned that the assessment was not final, and efforts were ongoing to gain a clearer understanding of the outcome of the airstrikes.
Israel stated on Friday that the target of Thursday’s airstrikes was Houthi armed group leaders allied with Iran, and the Israeli military is currently verifying the results of the airstrikes. In the days leading up to the airstrikes, the Houthi group had launched a missile carrying a new type of cluster bomb towards Israel.
According to Reuters, despite Rahwi holding the position of Prime Minister in the Houthi armed group’s government, the actual leader of the government is his deputy, Mohamed Moftah, who was appointed to assume the responsibilities of the Prime Minister on Saturday. Rahwi was largely seen as a puppet leader and not a core member of the Houthi armed group’s leadership.
The Israeli military stated that their fighter jets targeted a compound in Sanaa where senior Houthi armed group figures were gathering, and described the operation as a “complex mission” benefiting from intelligence gathering and air superiority.
On Thursday, Israeli security sources mentioned that the targets of the airstrike included multiple locations of the Houthi armed group where a large number of senior officials had gathered to watch a televised speech by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
The Houthi armed group, allied with Iran, is an ally of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas. Following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, the Houthi armed group carried out attacks on Red Sea vessels to pressure Israel to cease war with Hamas. The group also launched missiles towards Israel, most of which were intercepted. Israel, in turn, conducted strikes on the areas in Yemen controlled by this organization.