Yemen claims Israel airstrike kills Houthi Prime Minister
Photo: The incident occurred on Thursday, August 28 (Getty Images)
Yemen has announced that Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, CNN and The Times of Israel report.
Rebels confirmed that Rahawi died on August 28 when Israel launched an airstrike on the capital, Sana’a. He was the highest-ranking official among the Iran-backed Houthis. In addition to Rahawi, other ministers were also reportedly killed, according to CNN.
The Houthi-run television stated that the ministers were targeted during “a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activity and performance over the past year.”
The gathering of high-ranking Houthi officials, which was organized to listen to speeches from the group's secretive leader, appeared to present Israel with an excellent opportunity to eliminate the leaders of the Iran-backed rebels in a single operation.
Meanwhile, the Houthi Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Nasser al-Atifi declared that the Houthis are ready “at all levels to confront the US-backed Zionist enemy.”
Meanwhile, Israel did not comment directly on the incident, but officials confirmed that military forces had targeted Houthi leaders in an airstrike.
Recent Israeli strikes on Yemen
Earlier, Israeli Air Force jets struck Houthi positions in Yemen's capital, Sana’a, during a speech by the Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Among the targets of the attack were high-ranking officials.
Over 10 strikes hit Sana’a, as well as the provinces of Arman and Hajjah. Senior Israeli officials confirmed the attack.
