The list of Houthi ministers killed in the Aug. 29 strikes by Israel includes, besides Prime Minister Ahmed Ghalib Al-Rahawi, the ministers of information and foreign affairs along with various others, particularly economics-related functions. In total, nine ministers were killed, in addition to the prime minister and the director of the prime minister’s office.
The murderous Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a “fatal blow” to the group, which has launched consistent attacks on Israel since the beginning of the Israeli warfare on the occupied territory of Gaza, U.A.E.’s The National reported from Jerusalem this morning. “We are doing what no one has done before us, and this is just the beginning of the blows to the senior officials in Sanaa—we will reach everyone,” Netanyahu said, adding that the strike hit the group while they were watching a speech by Abdul Malik al Houthi, the leader of the Ansarallah movement.
The Aug. 28 strike does not appear to have killed officials who oversee attacks on Israel—in particular the group’s chief of staff, reportedly the main target of the bombing, and the defense minister. Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, reported on Aug. 31 that Israel held its weekly cabinet meeting at a secure location following the attack.
The group has vowed revenge. “We promise to God, to the dear Yemeni people and the families of the martyrs and wounded that we will take revenge,” the head of the group’s supreme political council Mehdi Al Mashat said in a video message posted on Telegram.
This morning, the Houthi military claimed an attack on a vessel in the northern Red Sea called the Scarlet Ray, which they identified as an Israeli-owned, Liberian-flagged oil tanker. “The operation resulted in a direct hit on the ship, thanks be to Allah,” the military said in a statement.
The company managing the tanker denied the ship had been damaged. “We are aware of security reports alleging that our managed vessel Scarlet Ray was the target of a suspected Houthi attack,” Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping said in a statement, reported Reuters. “We confirm that the vessel has not sustained any damage and continues to operate under the command of its master,” adding that all crew members were safe and accounted for.
According to Reuters, Eastern Pacific Shipping is owned by Israeli magnate Idan Ofer, whose late father Sami Ofer built Israel’s shipping industry.
