Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility on Friday for a drone strike early that morning, which struck central Tel Aviv near the United States Embassy, resulting in at least 10 injuries and one death.
The strike sent shrapnel and glass fragments across a wide area.
The Houthis have consistently launched drones and missiles at Israel over the past nine months in support of the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel.
However, prior to this incident, all such attempts had been intercepted by Israel or its Western allies in the region.
Yahya Sare’e, the Houthis’ spokesperson, announced on the social media platform X that the strike was a retaliatory action for the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, claiming the attack successfully hit one of the group’s intended targets.
The Houthis asserted that their latest drones are capable of evading Israel’s air defense systems.
Nonetheless, an Israeli military spokesperson stated on Friday that the drone was detected on Thursday and attributed the successful strike to “human error.”
The military emphasized that their threat assessment remains unchanged, noting that adversaries have attempted similar strikes for months.
“It was a terror attack that was targeted to kill civilians in Israel,” the Israeli spokesperson declared.
The drone strike occurred shortly after Israel confirmed that one of its airstrikes had killed a Hezbollah commander and other militants in southern Lebanon.
Thus far, Israel has refrained from targeting the Houthis, allowing its allies to take the lead while it focuses on the conflict in Gaza and ongoing clashes with Hezbollah.
This incident unfolds as international mediators continue to push for a ceasefire agreement, aiming to halt the fighting and secure the release of about 120 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The chances for a deal seem to be improving as Israeli leaders indicate that their operation in Rafah is nearing completion.
However, concerns of escalation resurfaced on Thursday after Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, praying for the return of Israeli hostages “without a reckless deal, without surrendering.”
Local police in Tel Aviv reported that the explosion occurred at around 3:10 a.m., reverberating through nearby cities and injuring at least 10 people. Tel Aviv District Commander Peretz Amar noted that officers could not determine the exact point of impact, suggesting the explosion happened mid-air.
“The force of the explosion caused damage that is not great but is spread over a large area. At the moment we don’t know what the object was,” Amar stated.
Israel’s advanced aerial defense system is designed to intercept threats from various projectiles, including drones and missiles. While these systems have successfully intercepted thousands of projectiles during the war, officials caution that they are not foolproof, particularly against small, hard-to-detect drones. It remains unclear which system, if any, was utilized in this incident.
Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis receive support from Iran, Israel’s longstanding adversary.
Throughout the conflict, Israel has largely avoided direct confrontation with Iran, despite incidents such as Iran launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in April, following the alleged assassination of two Iranian generals in Syria by Israel.
The Gaza war, which began with Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, has resulted in over 38,600 deaths, as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
The conflict has led to a humanitarian crisis, displacing most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and causing widespread hunger.
Hamas’ October attack left 1,200 people dead, primarily civilians, and led to the abduction of about 250 individuals. Approximately 120 hostages remain, with Israeli authorities estimating that about a third of them may be dead.
