Yemen’s Houthis say chief of staff Muhammad al-Ghamari was killed

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By Ahmed Elimam

DUBAI (Reuters) -Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that their Chief of Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, one of the most senior military officials of the Iran-backed group, was killed “while fulfilling his duties”.

Without directly blaming Israel for his killing, Houthis said that the conflict with Israel had not ended. Israel will “receive its deterrent punishment for the crimes it has committed”.

In August, Israel targeted the Houthi group’s chief of staff, defence minister and other senior figures in airstrikes on Sanaa in Yemen in which the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi-run government and several other ministers were killed.

Israel had said then that the airstrike had targeted the al-Ghamari, defence minister and other senior officials and that it was verifying the outcome.

Ghamari was a member of the Houthis’ “Jihad Office,” led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, which is responsible for overseeing military operations.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Ghamari was attacked in an Israeli strike. “We will do the same against any threat in the future as well”, he added.

The Houthis had fired missiles towards Israel in what they said were acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The Houthis’ leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said last week that the group will monitor Israel’s compliance with the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and will resume support for Gaza if Israel fails to comply.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam, Elwely Elwely and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Mohammed al Ghobari in Aden; Steven Scheer in Jerusalem Writing by Ahmed Elimam Editing by Toby Chopra and Ros Russell)