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Yemen’s Houthis claim responsibility for deadly Tel Aviv drone attack
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    Friday July 19, 2024


    Emergency personnel walk outside a US Embassy branch office situated near the site of an explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 19, 2024. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters


    Yemen’s Houthi militia on Friday claimed responsibility for an overnight drone attack in Tel Aviv, which killed one person and wounded 10 others.

    A statement from the rebels, who have carried out dozens of attacks against Red Sea shipping since the start of the Gaza war in October, their "UAV force" – referring to unmanned aeriel vehicles – attacked "one of the important targets in the occupied Jaffa region, what is now called Israeli Tel Aviv."

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    In a televised speech Friday, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree called Tel Aviv a primary target "within the range of our weapons".

    An initial Israeli military investigation into the attack found an explosive-laden drone had been identified, but not engaged by air defences due to human error, according to Israeli media.

    Tel Aviv in heightened alert state

    The attack on Tel Aviv 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.

    The Israeli military said air patrols had been increased to protect Israeli airspace but said it had not ordered new civil defence measures, however the mayor of Tel Aviv said the city, Israel's economic centre, had been moved to a state of heightened alert.

    The Israeli military said it was investigating an apparent drone attack that hit central Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday but which did not trigger the air raid sirens.

    Israel’s emergency services said the body of a 50 year-old man was found in an apartment close to the explosion and said the circumstances were being investigated.

    Four people were taken to hospital with slight shrapnel injuries and four others were treated for shock. All of them were later released, the hospital said.

    Footage from the site showed an apparent impact on a building located close to US embassy premises in Tel Aviv.

    Broken glass could be seen strewn across the city pavements as crowds of onlookers gathered nearby. The site was sealed off by police tape.

    The explosion occurred hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

    "An initial inquiry indicates that the explosion in Tel Aviv was caused by the falling of an aerial target, and no sirens were activated. The incident is under thorough review," the military said in a statement.

    Hezbollah and the Houthis have stepped up attacks against Israel and Western targets, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip following an attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel.

     





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