Late last night, a massive explosion shook the sleep of the residents of Tel Aviv. The cause of the explosion was soon discovered: An explosive drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen, succeeded in crossing all of the IDF’s defence systems on the way to its destination – the heart of Tel Aviv, at the intersection of Ben Yehuda and Shalom Aleikem streets (a very short distance from the American embassy in the city – and this may have been the exact destination).
Witnesses described the drone’s explosion as a “fireball” above the ground, spreading heat and shrapnel everywhere and damaging several buildings in the area. MDA teams were rushed to the scene, and found a large number of lightly wounded people, as well as one 50-year-old killed by shrapnel. At this time, all the wounded were released to their homes from the hospital.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai addressed the event, and sent reassuring messages for the city’s residents: “Our city is moving into a heightened state of alert in light of tonight’s difficult UAV event. The war is still here, and it is hard and painful. City officials quickly reached the point and handled the incident, and we are prepared for developments. I call on the public to follow the instructions.”
The Houthis, on their part, regarded the event as a great success, and the official spokesman for the organization Yahya Sari even said that it was a “new drone called ‘Jaffa’, which succeeded in penetrating the enemy’s defence systems. The radars can’t detect it.” On the other hand, the Air Force said that the defence systems did identify the drone, but assumed due to human error that it was a non-threatening body, not a deadly weapon. The IDF said that the issue was being investigated and examined so that it would not happen again.
In any case, the damage to Tel Aviv sharpens two main points for the Israeli public:
- The entire country is a front, and you can’t expect certain areas to be able to operate as if there is no war and no threats. Everyone must be aware of their presence in a prolonged campaign.
- In the first months of the war, the Houthis were seen as a joke, and now the Yemeni terrorist organization has caused the first Israeli to be killed. Until now we have relied on British and American efforts in this front; perhaps it is time to consider real Israeli involvement as well.
