Yemen Houthi military chief dies from wounds in Israeli strike

Yemen Houthi military chief dies from wounds in August Israeli strike — Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, Chief of staff of Yemen Houthi rebel’s military. Photo: Ansar Allah Media/via AP

SANAA, Yemen,— An Israeli airstrike in August killed Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, the chief of staff of Yemen’s Houthi military forces, officials confirmed Thursday.

The strike marks another major blow to the Iran-backed group and heightens tensions between the Houthis and Israel, even as a fragile ceasefire continues in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis publicly acknowledged al-Ghamari’s death this week through the SABA news agency, which they control.

The report said the commander was killed along with his 13-year-old son Hussain and several companions, though it did not give the exact date of the attack or name the other victims.

“His soul ascended while he was performing his jihadi duty,” the statement said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said al-Ghamari succumbed to wounds sustained in the strike, calling it “the strike of the firstborn.” Katz suggested the operation was part of a series of Israeli attacks conducted on Aug. 28 that also killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and others.

Analysts, however, said al-Ghamari might have been injured in a separate, undisclosed strike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also confirmed Israel’s role. “Another chief of staff from the line of terror leaders who sought to harm us was eliminated,” Netanyahu said. “We will reach all of them.”

Al-Ghamari had been sanctioned by both the United Nations and the United States for his role in directing the Houthi military campaign, which has fueled Yemen’s decade-long conflict.

The U.N. described him as the main strategist behind Houthi operations that threatened Yemen’s stability and launched cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. Treasury accused him in 2021 of organizing attacks that harmed civilians and of receiving training from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“As head of the Houthi general staff, he was directly responsible for operations that damaged civilian infrastructure in Yemen and neighboring countries,” the Treasury said at the time.

Israel’s military described al-Ghamari as a leading figure behind “hundreds of missile and drone attacks” directed at Israel. Before his death, he also oversaw the Houthi push on Marib province, a region rich in energy resources.

The Houthis announced that Maj. Gen. Yusuf Hassan al-Madani would succeed al-Ghamari as chief of staff. Al-Madani was also sanctioned by the United States in 2021 for his role as a senior commander of the group’s fifth military zone, which includes the strategic port of Hodeida on the Red Sea.

Al-Ghamari’s year of birth was listed as either 1979 or 1984 when he was sanctioned. Details about his other surviving family members remain unknown.

The killing comes as the Gaza ceasefire, which began Oct. 10, remains largely intact. The Houthis have not carried out attacks against Israel or commercial shipping since the truce took effect, after months of launching missiles and drones at vessels in the Red Sea.

The campaign disrupted global trade and killed at least nine sailors, sinking four ships. The latest attack occurred Sept. 29 when a missile hit the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht, killing one crew member and injuring another.

Recently, the Houthis have also detained dozens of U.N. and aid organization employees, accusing them of espionage without presenting evidence.

In a televised address, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi claimed that “some of the most dangerous spy networks” were operating inside humanitarian groups, naming the World Food Program and UNICEF.

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric rejected the allegations. “The accusations are extremely disturbing,” he told reporters in New York. “Statements labeling U.N. personnel as spies or terrorists put their lives in danger and are completely unacceptable.”

(With files from AP)