At approximately 1830 EST on March 31st, 2024, air defense sirens sounded in Eilat Israel, a coast city along the Israel-Sinai border region which allows Israeli access to the Red Sea. Iraqi pro-militia outlet Sabereen claimed by 1840 EST that a drone had been launched from Iraq by IAMGs. The below videos show multiple angles of the approaching IAMG drone.
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— Newpress | ??? ??? (@NewpressPs) March 31, 2024
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— Tobi (@bir_tobi83413) March 31, 2024
By 1910 EST, the first reports emerged claiming damage at an the Eilat Naval Base which is home to the 915th Patrol Squadron. That squadron is flagshipped by the INS Eilat (501) a Sa’ar 5-class corvette of the Israeli Navy. However, in the below video, one can see that a Sa’ar 6 corvette is at the port, less than 100m from the impact of the Iraqi drone. The Sa’ar 6 corvette has a unique silhouette compared to the Sa’ar 5 which has a gap between the two radar masts allowing for several Vertical Launch Cells. The Israeli corvette did not appear to activate its onboard defenses and it is unclear at this time if the vessel was the target of the attack. Eilat has been largely unaffected by the current Hamas war following October 7th.
Difficult to tell but the target of the attack may have been a Saar 6 class corvett that appears to be docked adjacent to the area that is hit by a drone in Eilat, Israel tonight. If true, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq was meters away from achieving a hit on the Israeli navy. pic.twitter.com/pFZi6nV1hq
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 1, 2024
By 1930 EST, the IDF confirmed that a drone had struck the base, but only reported minor damage. Videos on social media show damage to a wall at the naval base. Israeli officials confirmed to press that the drone was launched from Iraq and overflew Jordanian airspace before entering Israeli airspace.
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— ??? ????? ?????? (@idfonline) March 31, 2024