The Israeli Air Force on Thursday struck targets in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The strikes were conducted during an address by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
A security official said the primary target was a gathering of senior members of the organization, described as a sort of cabinet meeting attended by both military leaders and Houthi ministers. The official added, “We estimate that we succeeded.”
Israel believes that among those eliminated in the strike were the Houthi Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, the latter of whom had previously been wounded in an earlier attack attributed to Israel. However, the group’s leader was apparently not present at the site.
The IDF confirmed that it struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.
"The Houthi terrorist organization has been operating under the Iranian direction and funding in order to harm the state and its allies since the beginning of the war, undermining regional stability and disrupting global freedom of navigation," the IDF stated.
It added: "The IDF is operating decisively against the Houthi terrorist regime, while simultaneously intensifying strikes against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, and will continue to act to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel."
According to foreign reports, the strike targeted safe houses where senior Houthi officials were hiding. A defense official confirmed that several Houthi officials were meeting at the site that was targeted.
Hezbollah affiliate al-Mayadeen reported over ten strikes in the capital.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, together with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and the senior IDF command spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved the IDF strike in Yemen.
Katz stated: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen, after the Plague of Darkness comes the Plague of the Firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel — his hand will be cut off.”
The strike is the second in Yemen this week, after a series of strikes on Houthi targets on Sunday.
During Sunday's attack, 14 fighter jets dropped approximately 40 munitions on Houthi military targets in the Sanaa area.
Among the targets that were struck were the military complex that contains the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a fuel storage site used by the Houthi military.
The IDF stated on Sunday that "the strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days."
"The presidential palace in the Sanaa area is located within a military site from which the military forces of the Houthi terrorist regime operate," the IDF added. "In addition, the Hizaz and Asar power plants, which served as a significant electricity supply facility for military activities, were struck."