Abdul-Malik al-Houthi

Overview

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is the leader of the Houthi movement, a terrorist organization rooted in the Zaidi Shia community of northern Yemen. He succeeded his brother Hussein al-Houthi after Hussein’s death in 2004 and became the movement’s spiritual and political leader. During his leadership, the Houthis seized Sanaa, fought Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition, and extended their attacks to Israel and international shipping.

Early life

Abdul-Malik belongs to the al-Houthi family, which remains central to the movement’s leadership. The movement emerged among Zaidis in and around Saada in northern Yemen. Hussein al-Houthi initially organized it around grievances concerning the Zaidi community’s marginalization. Both brothers studied in Qom, Iran. Following Hussein’s death in 2004, Abdul-Malik assumed leadership as the movement became increasingly militarized. Other members of the family later held senior political and organizational roles, while military commanders and tribal alliances supported its expansion.

Career

The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and declared control over the country in February 2015. Their advance helped precipitate the Yemeni civil war. From 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition fighting the Houthis in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Hezbollah aided the Houthis’ rise, while the Iranian regime supplied funding, weapons and training. That support expanded Houthi military capabilities, though the group has also pursued its own operational priorities rather than acting under every directive from Tehran.

Houthi rule reshaped Yemen’s state institutions. After taking Sanaa, the movement worked to remove public employees unaffiliated with it, particularly decision-makers. It came to control around one million of Yemen’s 1.2 million public-sector employees and forcibly imposed a Code of Conduct on state agencies. Mandatory cultural courses included material devoted to Hussein al-Houthi; employees who refused faced punishment, dismissal or accusations of treason. Public employees outside the movement went more than seven years without salaries, while senior Houthi-associated officials received monthly payments. These policies made control of employment a means of consolidating the movement’s authority.

Ideology and statements

Abdul-Malik’s speeches link the Houthis’ campaign in Yemen to hostility toward Israel and the United States. He declared his determination to defeat what he called a plan against Israel’s enemies and to drive America from the Persian Gulf. The movement’s rhetoric includes antisemitic language, and Houthi rule has intensified pressure on Yemen’s remaining Jews and other religious minorities. Abdul-Malik’s standing as a televised movement leader also became a model for Iraqi militia politics: an Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq-affiliated channel compared leader Qais al-Khazali’s speeches with those of Abdul-Malik and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

In 2026, Abdul-Malik claimed that the war had caused more than $57 billion in Yemeni oil-sector losses as the Houthis pressed Saudi Arabia for compensation. After reports that the Iranian regime had instructed the group to close the Red Sea, his next speech focused on Saudi Arabia and did not address the reported instruction. The distinction reflected the group’s simultaneous reliance on Iranian support and pursuit of demands tied to its war in Yemen.

Role in attacks or conflicts

The Houthis attacked Saudi infrastructure during the war with the Saudi-led coalition. In 2022, they struck a refinery at the Saudi port of Yanbu, temporarily reducing its output. Their reach also extended to shipping farther north than their usual area of operations: in September 2025, they launched a missile at an Israeli-owned ship about 40 nautical miles from Yanbu. In July 2026, the group announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Within 48 hours, five vessels turned around to avoid Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea with routes to the Indian Ocean. In September, Houthi forces seized Mocha, Mayyun Island and Zuqar Island, strengthening their position near that strategic waterway.

After Hamas perpetrated the October 7 massacre in Israel in 2023, the Houthis began launching ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel. Their attacks first targeted the Eilat area and later reached metropolitan Tel Aviv. The group also hijacked and attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea, threatening international trade. Its campaign of frequent missile launches toward central Israel was intended to exhaust Israel’s population. In December 2024, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saria claimed 21 drone and ballistic-missile attacks on Israel, including six conducted with an Iranian-aligned armed network in Iraq.

Israel responded to repeated Houthi attacks with strikes on the group’s military infrastructure. On December 19, 2024, the Israeli Air Force struck targets near Sanaa and along Yemen’s coast. A further strike on December 26 included Sanaa International Airport. American forces also struck Houthi command facilities and missile storage sites amid attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

Within Yemen, the Houthis detained humanitarian personnel and accused aid agencies of espionage. In January 2025, they detained eight UN personnel; one died in Houthi custody. At the end of August, they kidnapped at least 18 more. Abdul-Malik accused the World Food Programme and UNICEF of operating espionage cells for Israel and the United States. Houthi forces later raided a UN compound in Sanaa, detaining 15 international staff members and at least five Yemeni employees. By October 30, the group held 59 UN staff members in illegal detention. Acting foreign minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras announced plans to try 43 detainees over accusations of assisting Israel. The Houthis also sentenced 17 people to death for alleged espionage on behalf of Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel; reports differed on whether those sentenced included UN employees.

Death or current status

Abdul-Malik remained the Houthi movement’s leader in 2026. His statements that year addressed the confrontation with Israel and the United States, losses claimed from Yemen’s war, and pressure on Saudi Arabia. The group continued to hold territory in Yemen and to threaten shipping near Bab el-Mandeb.

Legacy

Abdul-Malik’s leadership transformed a movement rooted in Saada’s Zaidi community into a force governing much of Yemen and conducting attacks across regional borders. Its seizure of Sanaa, control of state employment, detention of aid workers and attacks on shipping have shaped both Yemen’s civil war and security in the Red Sea. Iranian assistance contributed to that expansion, while the Houthis’ choices over targets and timing demonstrated their capacity to act on their own priorities.