Houthis bury senior leaders killed in Israeli airstrike, vow revenge amid new Red Sea attack
Hundreds of mourners filled the streets of Sanaa on Monday for the funeral of top Houthi officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, who was killed in what the group says was an Israeli airstrike last week. The ceremony, marked by anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli chants, coincided with a fresh missile strike on a Red Sea oil tanker, signaling a sharp escalation in regional hostilities.
The funeral procession for al-Rahawi and several ministers—among them the heads of foreign affairs, media and culture, and industry—was held at the Shaab Mosque in the Yemeni capital and broadcast live on Al-Masirah TV, the Houthis’ media outlet.
Symbolic Loss for the Movement
Al-Rahawi is the highest-ranking Houthi official to be killed since the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the Iran-aligned group began. The August 24 airstrike reportedly struck a government workshop, wounding other officials whose identities remain undisclosed. The Houthis said the meeting was meant to evaluate the administration’s annual performance, suggesting a deliberate strike on the group’s leadership.
Escalating Cycle of Conflict
The deadly strike followed a Houthi claim of launching a ballistic missile with a cluster warhead toward Israel—its first deployment of such a weapon since 2023. The back-and-forth underscores the intensifying cycle of retaliation between the Houthis and the Israeli-U.S. alliance.
Renewed Threat to Global Shipping
On the day of the funeral, the Houthis announced they had fired a missile at an oil tanker in the Red Sea, near Saudi Arabia. The incident raises concerns of a revived campaign targeting commercial shipping lanes in one of the world’s most critical trade routes, after months of relative restraint.
Together, the high-profile funeral and the new strike highlight the Houthis’ resolve to answer the deaths of their leaders with force, deepening fears of a broader regional conflagration.
