Yemen's Houthis hold funeral for PM killed in Israeli strike

Yemen's Houthi rebels held a funeral on Monday for their prime minister and 11 other senior officials killed in an Israeli air strike that penetrated the Iran-backed group.

Twelve coffins draped in flags were displayed at Sanaa's Al-Shaab mosque, as masked gunmen patrolled the area and thousands of mourners flooded in.

Houthi prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area on Thursday.

It was the highest profile assassination to be announced in months of attacks by Israel during the Gaza war. The United States also waged an intense bombing campaign against Huthi targets from March to May this year.

On Sunday, the Houthis detained at least 11 United Nations workers as part of a round-up, prompting a protest from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Coffins of Foreign Minister of Yemen's Houthi-led government Jamal Amer, Justice Minister Mujahid Ahmed Abdullah and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources Radwan Ali Al-Rubai are placed during the funeral procession of Houthi government officials killed in an Israeli strike, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Monday. Reuters

A Yemeni security source told the media on Saturday that Houthi authorities had arrested dozens of people in Sanaa and other areas "on suspicion of collaborating with Israel".

The Houthis also fired a missile at an Israeli tanker in the Red Sea on Sunday, reprising a campaign they have waged throughout the Gaza war.

The missile landed close to the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray with a "loud bang", the UK Maritime Trade Operations monitoring agency said.

Agence France-Presse