A senior Houthi liaison commander, Brig. Gen. Abd al-Malik al-Murtada al-Houthi, was reportedly killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel—an apparent hit on the “glue” linking the Houthis in Yemen with Iran’s wider proxy network.
Open-source reporting assessed al-Murtada as a high-level coordinator rather than a field commander. He was described as a trusted figure who helped synchronize Houthi drone and missile launches with Hezbollah and other Iran-backed forces, aiming to strain Israel’s air defenses through multi-front timing.
He was also reportedly involved in moving know-how and components along logistics routes connected to Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, and is said to have spent extended periods in Beirut as part of this coordination effort.
While earlier estimates suggested he may have been killed in Lebanon or during strikes in the Beirut area, the latest assessments cited here point to Damascus, Syria—possibly a safe apartment or an Iranian-militia facility in areas associated with heavy Iranian activity.