Yemen Drone Strike ‘Unprecedented’ Success
A drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis struck Tel Aviv on Friday, causing one death and at least 10 injuries in the first deadly attack on Israel by the resistance group, whose spokesperson deemed it “a successful operation”.
The aerial strike rumbled through the center of the city near the US Embassy, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius. The US State Department said there was no damage to the embassy or any of its staff members.
Claiming responsibility for the attack in a statement on X platform, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare’e said they “have a bank of targets” in Israel, including “sensitive military and security targets”.
They “will continue... to strike those targets in response to the enemy’s massacres and daily crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip,” he said.The spokesman called Tel Aviv a primary target “within the range of our weapons”.
Sare’e said the strike was carried out using a new drone called “Yafa”, which he said was capable of bypassing interception systems and undetectable by radars.
“The operation has achieved its goals successfully,” he said.
Confirming that the drone is from Yemen, the Israeli military said it was investigating what went wrong. Chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the drone was detected by air defenses, but an “error” occurred and “there was no interception.”
“We are investigating the entire chain,” he said. Another military official blamed “human error.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Israel’s air defense system has intercepted thousands of projectiles throughout the war, including Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. But officials warn they are not 100% effective, and the systems appear to have struggled against small and hard-to-detect attack drones.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met military commanders to review air defences and said Israel had to be ready for all scenarios. “We must be prepared for defensive and offensive actions,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
Strike attracts praise
The Houthis’ unprecedented strike received praise from resistance groups in the region, with top Houthi official Mohamed Ali al-Houthi stating that the “first operation” to strike Tel Aviv represented a “qualitative shift” in the group’s anti-Israel campaign.
The leader of the resistance movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, expressed that it is “a great honor and blessing to be confronting America directly.”
Hezam al-Asad, a member of the movement’s politburo, called the strike “unprecedented”.
In an interview with Al Mayadeen, he said the attack marked a “new phase” of operations against Israel which would increase in the coming period.
Mohsen Rezaei, a former Iranian military commander expressed his greetings to the Houthis on his account on X platform, stating: “The Yafa’s landing in Tel Aviv marks the beginning of the story”.
‘Stop genocide in Gaza’
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, another Houthi politburo member, said attacks would only stop if a Gaza cease-fire was reached.
“Our demand is fair: stop the genocide in Gaza, lift the siege on its residents, and we will stop our military operations,” he said on X, sharing footage of the aftermath of the drone strike.
The regime’s bloody nine-month onslaught on Gaza has so far killed 38,848 Palestinians, mostly women and children, leaving 89,459 others injured.
The Houthis have previously claimed attacks targeting the southern Israeli resort of Eilat and port cities of Ashdod and Haifa, but Friday’s strike is the first operation claimed by the group against Tel Aviv.
AP, AFP, and Reuters
contributed to the story.