Operating on several fronts: Israel targets Houthi military leader in Yemen

Israel launched a targeted assassination attempt on Saturday night against Muhammad al-Ghamari, the Yemen-based Houthi military chief of staff, according to unnamed Israeli officials.

The IDF has not commented on the strike, and it remains unclear whether al-Ghamari was killed in the operation. Ynet News reported that he had been wounded. A security source in Yemen told Ynet that the strike targeted the military chief’s command headquarters in an upscale neighborhood of Sanaa.

Several Hebrew media outlets also reported that al-Ghamari was expected to be in a meeting with other Houthi leaders at the time of the Israeli operation.

After the strike, the Houthis reportedly called ambulances and set up roadblocks in the affected area, according to the Yemeni source. The source also noted that al-Ghamari, who was trained by the Iranian regime, was responsible for coordinating between the Houthis and Iran, as well as overseeing the Houthis’ missile program.

“If confirmed, his death would be a serious blow to both Iran and the Houthis,” the source said.

Houthi official Amin al-Barai, deputy director of the group’s “moral guidance” department, denied, however, that Ghamari had been injured or even targeted. He published a statement on Saturday night in which he alleged that Israel had made everything up “to distract from recent Iranian attacks on strategic sites in Israel.” He also claimed that Ghamari was “healthy and supervising the management of attacks against Israel.”

On Sunday, the Houthis said that they had targeted Israel in coordination with Iran, reportedly the first time that an Iranian proxy terrorist group has publicly stated that it is jointly cooperating on attacks together with Iran. In a televised address, Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said they had targeted Jaffa with several ballistic missiles. 

The Houthis, an Iranian proxy terrorist organization that has been threatening Israel, have been attacking Israel and international maritime traffic since November 2023, following the Hamas invasion and massacre of Israelis and others on Oct. 7, 2023. The Houthi slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews.” The Houthis control much of western Yemen.

Last July, a Houthi attack against Tel Aviv killed one person, a 50-year-old man who was hit by shrapnel, and injured several others, in addition to causing significant damage to several buildings. This lead to Israel’s first strike on Yemen. In all, the Houthis have sent around 100 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones targeting Israel, sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters on an almost daily basis.

The Houthis have recently and repeatedly targeted Ben Gurion International Airport. Earlier this month, they also vowed to target civilian planes. Several Houthi missiles aimed at the airport have been successfully intercepted, but on May 4, one missile struck Ben Gurion Airport, prompting immediate Israeli retaliatory strikes on Sanaa Airport and other Houthi-held infrastructure in Yemen.