What was claimed
Israel killed Yemen’s Prime Minister.
Our verdict
This is missing context. Israel killed the Prime Minister of the Houthi rebel group, not Yemen’s internationally-recognised Prime Minister, who is still alive.
Yemen’s internationally-recognised Prime Minister has not been killed
Independent MP Zarah Sultana and Labour MP Kim Johnson have recently claimed that “Yemen’s Prime Minister” was killed by Israel.
This claim needs some context. Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, was the Prime Minister of the Houthi rebel movement, which controls parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, but is not internationally recognised as the country’s legitimate government (except by Iran).
The UK recognises Yemen’s Prime Minister Salem Saleh Salem bin Braik, who has not been killed.
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Yemen’s civil war
Since 2014, a civil war has been waged in Yemen between the country’s internationally-recognised government (backed by an international Saudi-led coalition) and the Houthis.
The Houthis control the capital Sanaa, as well as much of the north-west of the country, where they operate a de facto government. According to the BBC, a majority of Yemen’s population lives in the areas under Houthi control.
The group has appointed its own Prime Minister and Cabinet, several of whom were killed alongside Mr al-Rahawi in an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering in Sanaa on 28 August.
However, this government is not recognised internationally. The UK government recognises the Government of Yemen, and earlier this year, met its then-Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, who was succeeded by Mr bin Braik in May.
As well as the claims from Ms Sultana and Ms Johnson, who we’ve contacted for comment, we’ve seen a number of posts on social media stating that “Yemen’s Prime Minister” was killed, without making it clear that Mr al-Rahawi was not internationally recognised as the country’s leader.
MPs should correct false or misleading claims as soon as possible.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because Israel killed the Prime Minister of the Houthi rebel group, not Yemen’s internationally-recognised Prime Minister.