Deadly drone strike hits Tel Aviv, Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim responsibility

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have taken responsibility for a deadly drone strike near the US embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The attack, which occurred at 3:10 am on Friday, killed one person and injured at least four others.

Reports say the explosion, which happened in mid-air, caused widespread damage, showering the area with shrapnel and broken glass.

While the Israeli military reported four injuries, police initially stated that at least 10 people were hurt.

The Houthis claimed that their advanced drones can evade Israel’s air defense systems, but the Israeli military attributed the success of the attack to “human error”, stating that the drone had been detected on Thursday but was not intercepted due to a mistake.

The Houthi rebels have been launching drones and missiles towards Israel in a show of support for Hamas and the Palestinian people since the October 7 attacks. However, before Friday’s successful strike, all of these attacks had been successfully intercepted by Israel or its Western allies with a military presence in the region, preventing any damage or casualties.

Yahya Sare’e, the Houthis’ spokesperson, said in a statement published on X that Friday’s strike was made in retaliation for Israel’s attacks on Gaza and had hit one of many of the group’s targets.

An Israeli military spokesman described the strike as a “terror attack” that was “targeted to kill civilians”.

“We’re talking about a large UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that can fly large distances,” the Israeli military official added.

The official did not confirm the claim from the Houthi militia but said: “We’re not ruling out any possibilities tight now.”