Houthi chief of staff dies from wounds suffered in Israeli airstrike

He was the highest-ranking official within the group to be killed by Israeli strikes that targeted the rebels over their attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea corridor.

By The Associated Press

An Israeli airstrike targeting the top leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebels in August killed the chief of staff of its military, officials said Thursday, further escalating tensions between the group and Israel even as a ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have acknowledged the killing of Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, who had been sanctioned by the United Nations over his role in the country’s decade-long war.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed the killing, saying that al-Ghamari died of wounds he suffered in the attack and had joined “his fellow members of the axis of evil in the depths of hell.”

Katz referred to the strike as “the strike of the firstborn,” likely a reference to a series of strikes Israel conducted on Aug. 28.

That attack killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and others.

However, analysts suggested al-Ghamari may have been wounded in a different attack targeting the secretive group.

He was the highest-ranking official within the group to be killed by Israeli strikes that targeted the rebels over their attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea corridor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also acknowledged Israel killing al-Ghamari.

“Another chief of staff in the line of terror chiefs who aimed to harm us was eliminated,” Netanyahu said. “We will reach all of them.”