A long-range Iranian-made drone hit the centre of Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday in an attack claimed by the Yemen-based Houthi militia that killed one man and wounded four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said.
The explosion, which footage shared on social media suggested came from the sea and did not trigger air raid alarms, occurred hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hizbullah militia in southern Lebanon.
Chief spokesperson rear admiral Daniel Hagari said the military assessed that the drone, which hit a building near the beachfront close to US Embassy premises in Tel Aviv, was an upgraded Iranian-made Samad-3 model. “Our estimation is that it arrived from Yemen to Tel Aviv,” he told a press briefing.
A spokesman for the Houthis, which like Hizbullah are aligned with Iran, said the group had attacked Tel Aviv with a drone and would continue to target Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The attack is likely to fan fears about further fallout from the Gaza war as the Houthis and other Iranian proxies side with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant met military commanders to review air defences, and said the country 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.
An Israeli official said the military was still investigating why the drone did not trigger an alarm, but initial reports suggested the aircraft was identified but the sirens were not sounded due to human error.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree called Tel Aviv a primary target “within the range of our weapons”.
Israel’s emergency services said the body of a 50 year-old man was found in an apartment close to the explosion and four people were taken to hospital with slight shrapnel injuries. Four others were treated for shock. All of them were later released, health services said.
Israel has been exchanging daily missile and artillery fire with Hizbullah along its northern border and in southern Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict if the situation escalates.
The Houthis have also stepped up attacks against Israel and western targets, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip following last year’s attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns on October 7th, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then nearly 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Israeli forces bombed parts of central Gaza on Friday, killing at least eight Palestinians in the Al-Nuseirat camp area, while fighting with Hamas militants raged in Rafah city in the south, where health officials said another five residents were killed.
Israel’s aerial and tank shelling of central Gaza has intensified in the past week, killing dozens. – Reuters