Prime minister of Yemen's Houthi government killed in Israeli strike

(Reuters) -The prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi government and several other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sana, the news agency run by the group said on Saturday, citing a statement by the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat.

A number of others were wounded in Thursday’s strike, it said, without providing details.

Israel said on Friday that the airstrike had targeted the Iran-aligned group’s chief of staff, defence minister and other senior officials and that it was verifying the outcome.

Mashat’s statement did not make clear whether the Houthi defence minister was among the casualties.

Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi became prime minister nearly a year ago but the de facto leader of the government was his deputy, Mohamed Moftah, who was assigned on Saturday to carry out the prime minister’s duties of Prime Minister.

Rahwi was seen largely as a figurehead who was not part of the inner circle of the Houthi leadership.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets had struck a compound in the Sanaa area where senior Houthi figures had gathered, describing the attack as a “complex operation” made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority.

On Thursday, Israeli security sources said the targets had been various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Aden and Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Timothy Heritage)