Late last night, a loud explosion disturbed the sleep of the residents of Tel Aviv. The reason for the explosion was soon discovered: an explosive drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen, and managed to pass through all the IDF’s defense systems on the way to its destination – the heart of Tel Aviv, at the intersection of Ben Yehuda and Shalom Aleichem streets (a very short distance from the American Embassy in the city – and it is possible that this was the exact destination).
Eyewitnesses described the explosion of the UAV as a ‘fireball’ above the ground, which spread heat and shrapnel everywhere and damaged several buildings in the area. MDA teams were rushed to the scene, and found a large number of slightly injured people, as well as one victim aged about 50 who was killed by shrapnel while he was sleeping in his home. As of this time, the injured have been released home from the hospital.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai commented on the incident, and broadcast reassuring messages for the citizens of the city: “Our municipality is moving to a heightened state of alert in light of the severe UAV incident tonight. The war is still here, and it is hard and painful. The municipal forces arrived at the spot quickly and dealt with the incident, and we are prepared for developments, if any. I call on the public to obey the instructions.”
The Houthis, for their part, regarded the event as a great success, and the organization’s official spokesman, Yahya Sarie, even said that it was a “new anti-aircraft vehicle called ‘Jaffa’, which managed to penetrate the enemy’s defense systems.” The radars can’t detect it.” On the other hand, the Air Force stated that the defense systems indeed did recognize the UAV, but assumed due to human error that it was a non-threatening object, and not a lethal weapon. The IDF stated that the issue is now being investigated and is under review so that it does not change.
In any case, the attack on Tel Aviv sharpens two main points for the Israeli public:
1) Netzer’s (Gaza) law is Tel Aviv’s law – the whole country is a front, and it is impossible to expect that certain areas will be able to conduct themselves as if there is no war and no threats. Everyone must be aware of being in a prolonged campaign.
2) The Houthi threat – in the first months of the war, the Houthis were seen mainly as a joke, and now the Yemeni terrorist organization has caused the first Israeli to be killed. So far we have relied on British and American efforts in this arena; Maybe it’s time to consider actual Israeli involvement as well.
