Drone Strike by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Kills 1, Wounds At Least 10 at Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV, Israel — An Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck Israel on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in a neighborhood near the American Embassy at Tel Aviv.The aerial strike rumbled through the center of the city, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack and Israel’s military said it believed the drone — an Iranian Samad-3 upgraded to travel long distances — originated in Yemen.“We are holding an investigation today and in the coming days to understand exactly from where the threat was fired and what are the needed responses to defend the country and what are the attacking responses against who is threatening the state of Israel,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for Israel’s military.The Houthis have launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the country’s war with Hamas. Until Friday, all were intercepted by either Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.The Houthis’ spokesman, Yahya Sare’e, said in a statement published on the social media platform X that the strike was made in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war and had hit one of many of the group’s targets.Israel’s military said it believed the drone — an Iranian Samad-3 upgraded to travel long distances — had traveled from Yemen, but rebuffed the Houthis′ claim that their arsenal was capable of bypassing Israel’s aerial defenses.An Israeli military official said the explosive-laden drone had been identified on Thursday but penetrated Israel because of “human error” in operating the system. The military’s assessment of aerial threats has not changed because, the military said, Israel’s adversaries have attempted such strikes for months.The strike, the first to threaten Tel Aviv in months, hit at around 3:10 a.m. Local police said it reverberated to nearby cities and physically injured at least 10 people. Tel Aviv’s district commander, Peretz Amar, said officers could not locate the point of contact, suggesting the explosion occurred in the air, however Israel’s military said they had not determined whether the drone — or pieces of it — had struck buildings.It blew out windows of a number of buildings and damaged cars in the neighborhood near the coastline. People thronged to the area as police helicopters hovered overhead. For many, it reaffirmed feelings of disillusionment with how the military has handled the war over the past nine months.A retired evacuee from Kiryat Shmona, Yossi Nevi, who lives in a nearby hotel at Tel Aviv, said the blast shook him awake to watch the aftermath from his balcony.The Houthi strike hit hours after Israel’s military confirmed one of its airstrikes had killed a Hezbollah commander and other militants in southern Lebanon. Israel has so far not made attacks on the Houthis, allowing its allies instead to take the lead as it focuses its efforts on the war in Gaza and ongoing fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.The Houthis have routinely claimed responsibility for hitting targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. They maintain that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, America, or the United Kingdom, however many have little or no connection to the war. Friday’s drone strike on Tel Aviv could resurface fears about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas expanding into a regionwide conflagration as international mediators continue to push for a cease-fire.

Drone Strike by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Kills 1, Wounds At Least 10 at Tel Aviv

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