Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday claimed responsibility for an early morning drone strike that hit a part of central Tel Aviv near the United States Embassy, leaving at least 10 injured and one dead.
The aerial strike rumbled through the streets causing shards of shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the nine-month-long war, in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against Israel. But until Friday, all were intercepted by either Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.
Yahya Sare’e, the Houthis’ spokesperson, said in a statement published on the social media platform X that the strike was made in retaliation to the war underway in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and had hit one of many of the group’s targets.
The Houthis claimed that their newest drones can bypass Israel’s aerial defence systems. However, a spokesperson for Israel’s military said on Friday that the explosive-laden drone had been identified on Thursday and attributed the hit to “human error.” The military’s assessment of aerial threats has not changed because, the military said, Israel’s adversaries have attempted such strikes for months.