Israel Is Targeting Civilians in Yemen as Well as Gaza
Israel claimed that its bombing of a cabinet meeting in Yemen last month struck a “crushing blow” against the Ansar Allah movement. But the movement’s real leaders were not affected by the strike, and they have vowed to continue their attacks on Israel.
Israeli warplanes struck several sites in Sana’a, Yemen, on September 10, 2025. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said the attacks targeted a medical facility, the central bank headquarters, and a government complex. (Stringer / Anadolu via Getty Images)
On August 28, Israel launched an air strike on the Yemeni capital Sana’a that assassinated much of the Houthi-appointed cabinet, including the prime minister, Ahmad al-Rahawi, nine other ministers, and two senior officials. Most likely others were killed and their names will eventually emerge.
The bombing is certainly the most successful Israeli attack on the organization’s senior personnel to date, striking civilian officials who were holding a meeting to evaluate “the government’s activities and performance over the past year.”
The Israeli defense minister Israel Katz boasted that his country’s forces had “dealt an unprecedented crushing blow to the top security-political leadership of the Houthi terror organization.” However, this overstated the significance of what had happened, since the prime minister and his cabinet were more like civil servants, carrying out government tasks on behalf of the real Houthi leadership.
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