The Israel Defense Forces launched a strike on Saturday targeting the military leader of the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group, according to multiple reports from Israeli media.
According to a report from the Jerusalem Post, Muhammad Abd al Karim al Ghamari, the chief of staff for the Houthis, was the main target of the strike. It is unclear at this time whether al Ghamari was killed in the attack.
“We will soon know if it succeeded,” an Israeli source told the outlet.
Multiple Arabic news outlets also reported that the strike targeted a Houthi Supreme Military Council meeting, with other Houthi figures present.
The strike on Houthi leadership comes amid Israel’s mission to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities, dubbed “Rising Lion,” which has included numerous drone and missile strikes targeting Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists.
Iran has responded with strikes of its own, some of which landed over the weekend, resulting in at least three deaths and 20 injuries in the Northern District of Israel.
The Houthis, who are a part of Iran’s proxy network and who the regime supplies with weapons and intelligence, have been a thorn in Israel’s side since disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea at the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
In early May, the rebel group launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben-Gurion International Airport, the main airport in Israel, and now reportedly plan to target commercial aircraft as well.
And while the shipping attacks were largely stamped out after extensive U.S. strikes earlier this year and an eventual ceasefire deal, the group continues to receive support from the Iranian regime.
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A Houthi source also signaled to Newsweek that its leaders are easily replaceable and the Israeli strike would not halt its attacks on Israel.
“We are all projects of martyrdom, and we are not afraid of being targeted. Every leader is succeeded by a thousand leaders,” the source said.