Sanaa —Thousands of Yemenis filled the streets of the capital on Monday to bury senior Houthi leader Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi, killed in an Israeli airstrike, a dramatic escalation that has inflamed regional tensions and triggered vows of revenge in solidarity with the Gaza war.
The funeral, held at the city’s Al-Saleh Mosque, drew crowds chanting “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam,” a familiar slogan of the Iran-backed Houthi movement. Draped in flags and posters of fallen officials, the procession underscored both grief and defiance as the Houthis framed the attack as an attack not just on their leadership but on Yemen itself.
Among the dead was Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi, the Houthi prime minister, along with several cabinet members who were killed when Israel targeted a televised rally over the weekend. The attack, which shattered one of the movement’s most visible public events, marked the first time Israel eliminated top officials of the Houthi political structure.
The Houthis quickly appointed Mohammed Miftah, the deputy prime minister, to lead in the aftermath. Standing before the mourners, he pledged retribution and vowed to intensify efforts to root out what he described as “spies working for the strongest intelligence empire.” His rise consolidates power at a volatile moment and signals a hardened posture against Israel and its Western allies.
The attack has widened the scope of Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, dragging the Houthis deeper into a brutal Gaza war that already stretches from Gaza to Lebanon and the Red Sea. Hours after the funeral, the Houthis fired a missile at the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray off Saudi Arabia’s coast, continuing their campaign against commercial shipping. The attack caused no damage, but it reinforced the threat posed to vital trade routes.
For Saudi Arabia, which has navigated a fragile ceasefire with the Houthis in recent years, the developments heighten risks along its maritime borders. For Iran, a key backer of the group, the killings may strengthen the narrative of resistance against what Tehran views as Israeli and American aggression in the region.
Analysts warn that the elimination of much of the Houthi cabinet could provoke both internal consolidation and external escalation. “The Houthis will use this moment to galvanize their base while projecting themselves as the spearhead of anti-Israel resistance,” said one regional expert. “The question is how far they will go in translating grief into long-term strategy.”
According to Reuters, the Israeli attack that killed the Houthi leaders has already triggered a surge of retaliatory rhetoric and fresh warnings of wider escalation, with thousands turning the funeral into a rallying point for resistance.
