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A drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen struck a building in central Tel Aviv Friday morning, killing a civilian and wounding “at least 10 others.” The Houthis later published a statement acknowledging responsibility for launching a military operation against Tel Aviv using a previously unknown drone called “Yafa.”
“The UAV force of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah the Almighty, carried out a specific military operation, which consisted of targeting one of the important targets in the occupied Jaffa region, what is now called Israeli Tel Aviv,” said Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sare’e.
An initial Israeli investigation of the attack suggests that a large, explosives-laden, long-range UAV caused the blast, an Israeli military official stated in a briefing attended by FDD’s Long War Journal. Furthermore, Israeli defense systems were not activated, possibly due to human error. The official noted that defense systems had downed a UAV on its eastern border earlier that night.
Notably, the Houthis claimed to possess a drone capable of reaching Tel Aviv (approximately 1,730 miles from Sana’a) and defeating defensive measures. “The operation was carried out with a new drone called ‘Yafa,’ which is capable of bypassing the enemy’s interception systems and undetectable by radars,” said the Houthi statement. While very little is known about the “Yafa” drone, respected analyst Fabian Hinz has detailed some possibilities regarding its specifications on X.
The attack on Tel Aviv should not come as a surprise, at least to analysts and Israeli intelligence. The Houthis have published claims throughout the nine-month war that they have attempted to hit targets on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. However, no evidence to support their claims was ever published, leading to speculation that the assertions made by the group were exaggerated.
Undoubtedly, the attack on Tel Aviv is a significant operation for the Houthis and its partners in the Iran-led “Resistance Axis.” Only a few actors in the Middle East have the capability to attack Tel Aviv with a drone. Furthermore, Israel has refrained from attacking the Houthis during the war in Gaza despite repeated attempts by the group to strike the Jewish state. Still, an attack on a major Israeli city that resulted in the death of a civilian and the wounding of others will likely compel Israel to respond.
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