Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari () is the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

of the

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

-led faction of the

Yemeni Armed Forces The Yemeni Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Republic of Yemen. They include the Yemeni Army (including the Republican Guard), Yemeni Navy (including the Marines) and the Yemeni Air Force (including the Air Defense Force). Since ...

, holding the rank of Major General.

Background

Born around 1979–1984 in Izla Dhaen, Wahha District,

Hajjah Governorate Hajjah () is a governorate of Yemen in the north-western part of the country. It borders the Red Sea to the west, and its capital is also named Hajjah. Geography Adjacent governorates * Saada Governorate (north) * 'Amran Governorate (east) * ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. He studied at the Hussain Badr al‑Din al‑Houthi Institute circa 2003.

Career

He rose through the Houthi ranks since the early 2000s, trained by

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and Iran’s

IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and is credited with establishing Houthi suicide units and military camps. In 2007 he oversaw training in Hajjah, and by 2016 he was appointed Houthi Chief of Staff.

Military role

Al‑Ghamari coordinates military campaigns, including cross-border missile/drone strikes in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

, and more recently at

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He led offensives in Marib province (2021–22), which threatened nearly a million internally displaced people.

Sanctions & international status

Sanctioned by the

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

in May 2021 as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for coordinating offensive operations. Added to UN Security Council’s sanctions list in November 2021 for threatening Yemeni peace and stability and cross-border aggression.

Attempted assassination

On 14 June, the IDF stated that it had targeted al-Ghamari. An Israeli official later stated that he had been wounded in the attack, though this was denied by the Houthis. Some Israeli media reports had initially claimed that al-Ghamari was targeted while he was meeting other Houthi leaders, however the

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew () and Makan in Arabic (). Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after Ha ...

later stated that he was at a

khat Khat (''Catha edulis''), also known as Bushman's tea, especially in South Africa, is a flowering plant native to eastern and southeastern Africa. It has a history of cultivation originating in the Harar area (present day eastern Ethiopia) and ...

-chewing party.

References