Israel targets Houthi chief of staff and defence minister in Sanaa, awaits outcome

Israel targeted the Houthi group's chief of staff, defence minister and other senior figures in airstrikes on Sanaa in Yemen on Thursday, and was still verifying the outcome, an Israeli military official said on Friday.

Yemeni government sources told Reuters that Asaad al-Sharqabi, who oversaw the group's defence ministry, was killed in the strikes.

They added that another Israeli raid targeted a military site frequented by the Houthis' chief of staff, Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari.

The Houthi group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Israeli military said fighter jets struck a compound in the Sanaa area where senior Houthi figures had gathered, describing the attack as a "complex operation" made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority.

"We took advantage of an intelligence window of opportunity to carry out the strike and acted with precision and speed at the right moment," a military official said in a statement.

On Thursday, Israeli security sources said forces had targeted various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.

A source from the Houthi Ministry of Defence had denied on Thursday reports of leaders being targeted in Sanaa, the news agency run by the group reported.