Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced Thursday that their chief of staff, Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari, has died “in the line of duty,” weeks after Israeli airstrikes targeted him in the capital, Sanaa. Shortly after, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israel had killed al-Ghamari.
Al-Ghamari had been attacked by Israel on at least two occasions. The Houthis did not specify the circumstances of his death but confirmed he is no longer alive. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that he was killed in an August 28 airstrike that also killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmad al-Rahawi and several ministers. It remains unclear whether al-Ghamari died immediately or later of his wounds.
In a statement Thursday, the Houthis said the “rounds of confrontation with the enemy are not over,” vowing that “the Zionist enemy will receive punishment for its crimes until Jerusalem is liberated.” The group described al-Ghamari’s death as a source of strength for its fighters.
A Yemeni security source said al-Ghamari was not wounded in the August strike on the Houthi government but in a separate, precise airstrike that “demonstrated Israel’s success in destroying the Houthi intelligence system.” Several aides were killed with him, the source said. Al-Ghamari was wounded and later died in a hospital. “This is an achievement for Israel, Yemen and all Arabs,” the source added, describing him as one of the Houthis’ top military figures. According to the source, al-Ghamari was killed in the June 14, 2025 strike south of Hada and had been responsible for coordinating Houthi missile attacks.
Al-Ghamari, considered one of the closest aides to Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, was a key figure in the group’s military operations. According to reports, he traveled to Lebanon in 2012, where he trained under Hezbollah supervision in Beirut’s southern suburb and received instruction from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The U.S. Treasury Department has accused al-Ghamari of overseeing the deployment and purchase of weapons in Yemen, including drones, and of directing attacks on Saudi targets. Washington sanctioned him for “activities that threaten the peace, security and stability” of Yemen.
Throughout the war, al-Ghamari played a central role in Houthi operations against Israel. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, joined the conflict shortly after the Hamas-led assault, initially targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and later launching drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel. Some of those projectiles exploded in Israeli territory, most recently in the southern city of Eilat last month.
The Israeli strike in Sanaa on Aug. 28
(Video: Defense Ministry)
The last statement attributed to al-Ghamari appeared on Sept. 20, in a message of congratulations issued with Yemen’s Houthi defense minister. However, Israeli sources said a month earlier that he was “buried under the rubble” following an airstrike that hit Houthi government offices in Sanaa.
Two days after the August strike, the Houthis’ SABA news agency quoted al-Ghamari as saying that “the escalation against Yemen is not a sign of strength but of failure.” Israeli officials maintained at the time that their assessment of his condition had not changed.
Al-Ghamari had also been targeted in June during the war with Iran. While Israel believed he had been wounded, he survived that attack, though the Houthis provided no evidence.
Israel has launched multiple strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, often alongside the United States and its coalition partners. Despite a worsening humanitarian crisis and widespread hunger in Houthi-controlled areas, the group has continued its attacks as long as the war in the Gaza Strip persists.