Houthi PM and ministers killed by Israeli strikes on Yemen, rebel group says
Israel has killed several members of the Houthi government in an air strike, the Yemeni rebel group has claimed.
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The Yemeni terror group has told reporters that an Israeli air strike on the capital Sannaa killed the prime minister of their government on Thursday.
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed alongside a number of ministers, the Houthis said in a statement on Saturday.
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Al-Rahawi served as prime minister in areas of the divided country that the group controls before his apparent death.
He was reportedly targeted during a workshop for the administration.
The strikes were the latest in Israel's war against the Iran-backed rebel group and amid their escalation of the war in Gaza.
The Israeli Defence Force said on Thursday that it had struck “a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa”.
A Houthi statement said: "We announce the martyrdom of the mujahid Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, prime minister of the Government of Change and Construction, along with several of his fellow ministers, on Thursday."
It claimed its governmental functions would still be able to take place despite the deaths.
“The blood of the great martyrs will be fuel and a motivator to continue on the same path,” it said.
Israeli media claims there were 12 fatalities in the strikes.
The Houthis have been hit frequently by Israel in recent months while they have been attacking Western vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The latest strikes came after the Houthis launched a missile attack on southern Israel on Wednesday which was reportedly intercepted.