At least one person was killed and several others injured in an apparent drone strike on Tel Aviv early Friday morning. Yemen’s ruling Houthi government claimed responsibility for the blast, saying a new weapon was used in the operation.
A spokesman for the Houthis’ military wing, Yahya Saree, announced the attack in a televised statement later on Friday. Saree said the drone mission utilized a new unmanned weapon dubbed the “Yaffa” and “successfully achieved its goals.” The Houthis had previously acknowledged a “qualitative operation” targeting Tel Aviv.
“A state of confusion prevailed among the enemy authorities following the attack,” Houthi-linked media reported, adding that Israel’s “Iron Dome systems were unable to detect the drone until after reports from settlers about an explosion in the middle of the capital of the enemy entity.”
The exact type of drone used remains unclear, though Reuters cited an unnamed Israeli military official who described a “large UAV that can fly large distances.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later claimed that an “Iranian drone, believed to have been launched from Yemen,” had crossed into Israeli territory and “hit a residential building downtown,” per IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, who noted one fatality and at least “eight others” wounded. The Times of Israel clarified that four of those hospitalized were treated for “anxiety,” while four others sustained injuries.
The IDF said the strike was “under in-depth investigation,” and Hagari added the military was still “checking the circumstances of the case and why [the drone] was not intercepted.” He vowed the IDF would “carry out a regular situation assessment and take the necessary actions to protect our country,” and said the strike landed “not far from the American consulate.” Reuters later reported “an apparent impact on a building located close to US embassy premises in Tel Aviv.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the PM was aware of the attack, with the Times of Israel stating he subsequently held “a security briefing via phone with the heads of the security establishment.” The drone strike came just days before the premier is set to travel to the United States, and some media reports suggested the trip could be at risk following Friday’s attack. Per sources cited by AFP, however, Netanyahu still plans to complete his visit, during which he is expected to meet President Joe Biden, who recently tested positive for Covid-19.
“We have every expectation that the two leaders will have a chance to see each other while Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.
The PM is also set to address US lawmakers, though Kirby cautioned “I can’t tell you at this point what that exactly is going to look like.”
After meeting with other top military and intelligence leaders, Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant also reportedly pledged to “settle the score” in retaliation, according to Israel’s Army Radio.
Though the latest strike was perhaps their most brazen to date, the Houthis have repeatedly harassed shipping in the Red Sea since Israel’s slaughter in Gaza kicked off late last year. The group has demanded an end to the IDF bombing campaign, and to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands more broadly, pledging to continue its attacks.
The United States and allies, namely the UK, have launched several rounds of air strikes to “deter” the Houthis, including a major air raid last week which targeted sites across Yemen. According to local media reports, the strikes hit the Red Sea province of Hodeidah, while US Central Command recently acknowledged it had intercepted a number of Houthi projectiles.
Starting under President Barack Obama in 2015, Washington supported a brutal Saudi air war on Yemen – one of the poorest nations in the Middle East – to dislodge the Houthis, which devastated much of the country’s civilian infrastructure and left hundreds of thousands dead (by conservative estimates). Years later, Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden gradually scaled back US support for the Saudi-led onslaught, though Yemen has yet to fully recover from the years-long, largely indiscriminate bombing campaign and the Houthis continue to control the capital city of Sanaa.