Thousands gather for funeral of Houthi leaders killed by Israeli strike

Mourners attend the funeral procession of Houthi government in Sanaa, Yemen, 1 Sept., 2025.
Reuters

Thousands of mourners gathered in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Monday for the funeral of 12 senior Houthi officials, including their prime minister, killed in an Israeli airstrike. The group vowed revenge and pledged intensified action against perceived enemies and spies.

Last Thursday's attack, the first to kill top officials, struck a large number of people who had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by top Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, and it left most members of the group's cabinet dead.

Acting head Mohammed Miftah, now leading the Houthi government, promised retaliation and a crackdown on alleged intelligence operations.

Mourners chanted anti-Israel and anti-U.S. slogans as Houthi leaders accused foreign powers and internal spies of orchestrating the strike.

Israel confirmed the attack targeted top military and political leaders, though the fate of powerful Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi remains unclear.

The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have intensified attacks in the Red Sea since the Gaza war, targeting vessels linked to Israel.

The Houthis said on Monday they had launched a missile towards the Liberia-flagged Israeli-owned tanker 'Scarlet Ray' ship near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

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