Yemeni Drone Baffles Israelis as it Strikes Tel Aviv

In the light of the Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv early morning Friday, one of which landed on an apartment building and killed 1 Israeli and injured 10 others, the Israeli army have been on high alert.

The Houthis drone took the Israeli air force by surprise. They said whilst they saw and detected the drone coming, they didn’t move to activate the red alerts and that is why it was not intercepted.

Israeli military officials admit “human error among their defenses to stop the drone that landed between Shalom Aleichem and Ben Yehuda Streets in Tel Aviv, hundreds of meters away from the American Embassy,” as reported by the Turkish news agency, Anadolu.

This was according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation  (KAN) which stated it was a “bomb-laden drone that exploded  at the intersection” of these streets at about 3:10 am Friday were large explosions were heard and reported.  

Following the attack the Israeli army claimed over 200 drones and cruise missiles were fired from Yemen towards Israeli locations since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on 7 October, 2023. 

Experts say the drone is adding further fears among Israelis, a large number of whom are reported to be leaving the country.

The Houthi attack which is the first of its kind on the city to come from all the way from Yemen is a major embarrasment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army.

Analysts have said it is Israel that is no longer safe being hit from the south, all the way to Eilat, settlements sorrounding Gaza, north of the country by Hezbollah in Lebanon and now its center, in major cities like Tel Aviv.  

In March, the Israeli army reported for the first time a cruise missile fired from Yemen entered Israeli airspace and exploded in an open area in northern the Port of Eilat that is about to declare its bankruptsy because Israeli ships make their way there were targetted by the Houthis.

This type of drone, named Haifa, was not detected by radars and other surveillance systems whilst flying all the way from Yemen along the Red Sea and towards Tel Aviv.