A HOUTHI official has vowed “vengeance” against Israel after the Yemeni group confirmed that an Israeli air strike earlier this week killed the prime minister of the Houthis’ government in the capital, Sanaa.
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike on Sanaa along with “several” other ministers, the Houthis said in a statement on Saturday.
Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister in areas of the divided country that the group controls, was targeted along with other members of the Houthi-led government during a workshop, the statement said.
The Houthis did not specify how many other ministers were also killed in the Israeli attack.
“We shall take vengeance, and we shall forge from the depths of wounds a victory,” Mahdi al-Mashat, a Yemeni politician and military officer who serves as the chairman of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthis, said in a video message later in the day.
Israel’s attack on Sanaa, which the Israeli military had said struck “a Houthi terrorist regime military target”, came as tensions in the region continue to escalate amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly targeted Houthi positions in recent months as the Yemeni group has launched attacks on Israel and on Western vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in what it says is a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza.
The group has repeatedly said that Israeli attacks will not deter its military operations.
On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel, which the country said was intercepted.
In its statement on Saturday, the Houthi presidency said its government and institutions would still be capable of carrying out their duties after the deadly Israeli attack.
“The blood of the great martyrs will be fuel and a motivator to continue on the same path,” it said.
Al-Mashat also said the Houthis will “continue the path of building our armed forces and developing their capabilities”.
“To our people in Gaza, our stance is steadfast, and will remain so until the aggression ceases and the siege is lifted, no matter the scale of the challenge,” he said.
It remains unclear how many people were killed in Thursday’s air strike on Sanaa.