Yemenis mourn killed Houthi prime minister as rebel group targets ship in Red Sea

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Hundreds of Yemenis mourned Monday the death of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, killed last week along with several officials by an Israeli strike, as the group targeted an oil tanker in the Red Sea, renewing their attacks in the crucial global waterway.

The Israeli attack came three days after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the Iranian-backed rebels had launched at it since 2023.

In the capital city of Sanaa, mourners attended the funeral, held at Shaab Mosque and broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel.

Crowds inside the mosque chanted against Israel and the United States as they grieved the deaths of the officials, including the foreign affairs, media and culture, and industrial ministers.

Funeral attendees Ahmed Khaled and Fathy Mahmoud told The Associated Press the families of the slain officials arrived in ambulances for the funeral, where the bodies were placed in caskets inside the mosque.

Footage showed 11 coffins with individual photos of the killed officials on each and wrapped in Yemeni flags.

“We’re participating in this funeral because Israel killed those officials and that’s enough reason to attend their funeral,” Ahmed Azam, another attendee, told the AP.

Al-Rahawi was the most senior Houthi official to be killed since an Israeli-U.S. campaign against the rebel group started earlier this year. Other ministers and officials were wounded, confirmed a Houthi statement on Thursday, following the Israeli attack.

“We entered a huge and influential war and clashed with the U.S. This war was not only military-focused but also economic as Israel targeted everything,” Acting Houthi Prime Minister Mohamed Muftah said in his address at the funeral on Monday.

He confirmed that despite Israeli attacks, Yemeni ports controlled by the group are still functioning and that there is no food or fuel crisis.

The Yemeni rebels said Monday they launched a missile at an oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed responsibility in a prerecorded message aired on Al-Masirah. He alleged the vessel, the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray, owned by Eastern Pacific, had ties to Israel.

The maritime security firm Ambrey described the ship as fitting the Houthis' “target profile, as the vessel is publicly Israeli owned.”

Eastern Pacific is a company that is ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and had been previously targeted in suspected Iranian attacks.

In a statement, the company said “the vessel has not sustained any damage and continues to operate under the command of its Master. All crew members onboard the Scarlet Ray are safe and accounted for.”

The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods pass each year.

The Iranian-backed Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on board, with others believed to be held by the rebels.

The Houthis’ fresh attacks come as a new, possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war remains in the balance. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program is in question after Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic sites.

A U.N. official said the world body was unable to contact many of its staff in Houthi-held areas as of Monday morning.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said 11 U.N. staffers, who were detained on Sunday during a Houthi raid on their offices, include international and local workers, and a senior international official. The rebel group also seized documents and other materials from the U.N. offices, according to the official.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Magdy and Khaled from Cairo.

Coffins of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and other officials killed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday are carried on military vehicles during a funeral procession in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Honor guards carry the coffin of Houthi Minister of Culture and Tourism Ali al-Yafei, and the coffins of other officials killed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, during a funeral ceremony at the Shaab Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Coffins of Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and other officials killed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, are carried on military vehicles during a funeral procession in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

People gather as officers stand guard beside the coffins of Houthi officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, during their funeral inside the Shaab Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Houthi officers carry the coffin of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, who was killed along with others in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, out of the Shaab Mosque during his funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon knew it was unlikely that defenseman Rasmus Andersson would last through the Olympic break, and if he wanted to bolster his defensive pairings, he’d have to act quickly.

Thus, as he’s done so many other times since the team entered the league in 2017, McCrimmon made a mid-season splash by acquiring a highly sought-after player in time for another playoff push.

Vegas added the 29-year-old offensive blue liner Sunday in exchange for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in 2027 and a conditional second-rounder in 2028.

“I think in Rasmus, we get a high-end defenseman,” McCrimmon said Monday before the Knights took the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers. “He’s drives possession, he can make plays, he’s good in transition, he’s aggressive in the offensive zone — we think he’s really going to add to our hockey club.”

The Flames agreed to retain 50% of the remainder of Andersson’s salary in the final season of a six-year, $27.3 million contract.

“To be able to get it done with Vegas, they were willing to do it and do it without a contract because that was one thing that was made clear to us just in the last, maybe 12 hours, was there wasn’t going to be an extension signed with any of the teams,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “That definitely changed the way we had to negotiate and what we got back in return.”

McCrimmon said Andersson was someone the organization became interested in during the offseason, and when the 10-year veteran’s conversations with Calgary about an extension failed, trade discussions began.

Knowing Vegas was interested, and recognizing Andersson is representing Sweden in next month’s Olympics, it became imperative for the Flames to make a move before the break.

“He plays a hard game,” McCrimmon said. “An injury, I think, became a real issue for Calgary. I felt for a while that the longest Calgary would go before trading Rasmus would be the Olympic break. Because I don’t think if you’re in their position, you want the player going to the Olympics, potentially risking injury, and cost them a significant opportunity.”

McCrimmon said the team is “working through (Andersson’s) immigration right now,” and until it is clarified, there is no timetable for when he will make his debut with the Knights.

When he does, Andersson should reunite with defenseman Noah Hanifin, who spent five-plus seasons in Calgary, before being traded to Vegas in March 2024.

Andersson has played in all of Calgary’s 48 games this season, recording 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) while boasting a plus-3 rating. Andersson’s 30 points were the most among Calgary’s defensemen, while his 10 goals are tied for eighth among all NHL defensemen.

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Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) checks Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98), left, and Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) fight for control of the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)