Group says its Chief of Staff Mohammed Abdulkarim al-Ghamari was killed ‘while fulfilling his duties’.

Yemen’s Houthis say that their Chief of Staff Mohammed Abdulkarim al-Ghamari, one of the most senior military officials of the group, has been killed “while fulfilling his duties”.

Shortly after the Houthi announcement on Thursday, Israel claimed responsibility for the killing, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying al-Ghamari was attacked in an Israeli strike.

The Houthis said in a statement that the conflict with Israel had not ended. Israel will “receive its deterrent punishment for the crimes it has committed”, it said.

In August, Israel said it targeted senior figures from the group, including al-Ghamari, in air strikes on the capital Sanaa, killing the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi-run government and several other ministers.

In a social media post on Thursday, Katz said that al-Ghamari was attacked in an Israeli strike.

“We will do the same against any threat in the future as well”, he added.

Al-Ghamari’s death was announced six days into a fragile US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The truce has halted Israel’s two-year war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians and triggered a dire humanitarian crisis. Israel has been accused by rights groups and a United Nations Commission of Inquiry of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.

Since Israel launched the war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have carried out drone and missile attacks against Israel, saying that they have been conducted in solidarity with Palestinians under fire. The group has also targeted vessels in the Red Sea.

In response to the Houthi attacks on shipping lanes, the United States and the United Kingdom have attacked Houthi sites in Yemen.

‘Brutal’ attacks

In its statement announcing al-Ghamari’s death, the group condemned repeated “brutal” attacks by Israel against the Yemeni people, residential neighbourhoods, economic facilities and other civilian infrastructure, which have been faced “with patience, strength, steadfastness and resilience”.

Operations carried out by Yemen’s armed and naval forces were “great victories” that would not have happened without the “support, guidance, and sacrifice” of fighters like al-Ghamari, the statement added.

Their statement said the Houthis had carried out 758 military operations deploying 1,835 munitions, including drones and missiles, during their campaign.

Israeli strikes on war-torn Yemen happen regularly and are often devastating, targeting vital infrastructure including the main international airport, while killing dozens at a time.

The Houthis’ leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, praised al-Ghamari’s major role in Yemen’s military operations in support of Gaza.

In a televised address on Thursday, he said the armed forces had offered their leaders as a “sacrifice to God” as part of what he described as a sincere and steadfast stance of resistance.

Al-Houthi said Yemen had acted despite US attempts at “isolating” the Palestinian people. He added that since al-Ghamari’s death, others in leadership and the military will “continue the path”.

Last week, after the ceasefire in Gaza was announced, al-Houthi said the group would monitor Israel’s compliance with the agreement and resume its support for Gaza if Israel failed to adhere to it.