Houthis Threaten Revenge After Israeli Strike Kills Yemen’s Prime Minister
Yemen's Houthi movement threatens retaliation following an Israeli strike that killed Prime Minister al-Rahawi and multiple cabinet ministers in Sana'a, marking major escalation.
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The Houthi movement has issued its first official response to the killing of Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, warning that Israel has “crossed all red lines” and that revenge is inevitable.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior figure in the Houthis’ political bureau, spoke to the Al-Mayadeen network on Sunday, one day after the group confirmed that al-Rahawi and several cabinet ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital, Sana’a.
“The attack on the prime minister’s meeting by Israel is a crossing of all the red lines in this campaign, and there is no escaping revenge,” al-Bukhaiti declared.
He further accused Israel of spreading its military campaign across multiple fronts:
“We remind Israel that, in the end, they will pay the price for all the crimes they are committing in Yemen, in Palestine, in Lebanon, or in Syria. Once Israel crossed the red lines, the war entered a new stage.”
High-Level Casualties
According to Israeli security assessments, the strike eliminated a large part of the Houthi leadership. In addition to al-Rahawi, the dead reportedly include the head of the political bureau, the prime minister’s chief of staff, the cabinet secretary, the justice minister, the economy and trade minister, the foreign minister, the agriculture minister, and the information minister.
However, conflicting reports suggest that the Houthi Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Omari and Defense Minister were wounded but not killed, contrary to earlier claims issued immediately after the strike.
A New Escalation Point
The assassination marks one of the most significant blows to the Houthis in years. Analysts warn it may escalate regional tensions further, as the group has vowed retaliation and threatened to expand its campaign against Israel beyond Yemen.