Yemen’s Houthis: Houthis have confirmed that their military chief of staff, Mohammed al-Ghamari, has been killed by Israeli forces. They released a statement confirming the death of their army chief along with his teenage son in what they describe as the “honourable battle against the Israeli enemy.” However, the statement doesn’t describe how he was killed. In response to repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping linked to the Gaza war, the Israeli military has carried out many rounds of strikes in Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The group described him as “a steadfast fighter who fell while performing his religious and national duty on the path to Jerusalem.”
What Israel said about Houthi military chief Mohammed al-Ghamari’s death
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Ghamari died from injuries he sustained in an Israeli air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, in late August. The same air strike also killed the Houthi government’s prime minister and other ministers. According to the Israeli ministry, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) argued that the strikes were conducted in response to repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping linked to the Gaza war.
“Another chief of staff in the line of terror chiefs who aimed to harm us was eliminated,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will reach all of them.”
Who was Mohammed al-Ghamari?
Al-Ghamari was considered the second most powerful figure in the Houthi hierarchy. He was seen as the second most powerful leader in the Houthis, after Abdulmalik al-Houthi. He played a key role in the group’s regional military operations and was on Israel’s list of priority targets.
He was born between 1979 and 1984 in Izla Dhaen, Washhah district, Hajjah Governorate, Yemen. He studied at the Hussain Badr al‑Din al‑Houthi Institute circa 2003. He rose through the Houthi ranks from the early 2000s, trained by Hezbollah and Iran’s IRGC in Syria and Lebanon. News reports suggest that he established Houthi suicide units and military camps. He oversaw training in Hajjah, and by 2016, he was appointed as Houthi Chief of Staff.
Al-Ghamari planned and directed military attacks, including missile and drone strikes across borders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and later in Israel. He also led battles in Marib province in 2021–22, which put nearly a million displaced people at risk.
