Israeli airstrike kills Yemen’s Houthi PM Ahmed Al-Rahawi in Sanaa

Israeli strikes hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa on last Sunday in retaliation for Houthi missiles fired towards Israel, with a Houthi health official saying the attack killed six people and wounded 86.

The Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday announced that the prime minister of Yemen's rebel administration, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this week along with several officials.

"We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi... along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy," the Houthi statement said.

"Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon," it added.

Earlier,  Israeli strikes hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa on last Sunday in retaliation for Houthi missiles fired towards Israel, with a Houthi health official saying the attack killed six people and wounded 86.

The strikes are the latest in over a year of direct attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.

On Thursday, Israeli forces said they "struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target". Unsourced Yemeni media reports of Rahawi's death were not confirmed at the time.

The Houthis called the gathering that was hit "a routine workshop organised by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year".

US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed Al Basha said the Israeli operation pointed to a change in strategy after previously targeting infrastructure such as ports and power stations.

"The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure toward targeted assassinations of high-value personnel," Basha, author of the Basha Report, told AFP.

It is "an escalation that, regardless of the final casualty count, is likely to shake the Houthi leadership at its core", he added.

"This operation bears the hallmarks of a signals intelligence–driven strike, and it is possible that additional senior Houthi leaders were en route to the location."

Rahawi had made a public appearance on Wednesday, attending an event organised by the Houthi Ministry of Endowments in Sanaa.

He came from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Houthi control.

The rebels have traditionally reserved the premiership for southerners in an attempt to win hearts and minds in the south.

Deputy prime minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed as interim prime minister following Rahawi's death, the Houthis announced separately.

*With Agency Inputs