In the early hours of Friday morning, an explosive drone struck a building near the United States Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, resulting in at least one fatality and wounding several others..The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack using a new drone type..The Strike.Debris from the scene shows a wing consistent with a Samad-type drone, which is operated by several Iran-backed proxy groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. As explained further below, the Houthis claim that a new drone type was used..At the time of the blast, there were no air raid alerts or signs of interceptions as Israeli media initially indicated that the drone came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea..The exact blast site remains unknown, but footage of emergency services shows activity at the corner of Ben Yahuda Street and Shalom Aleichem Street. (Geo: 32.07616255914607, 34.768133899909245).Who Did It?.In a statement by spokesman Yahya Saree, the Houthis officially claimed responsibility for the attack..Additionally, Saree stated that a new drone type, named "Jaffa," was used, which he claims is "capable of bypassing interceptor systems and being unable to be detected by radars.".As previously stated, there were no air raid alerts or signs of interceptions before the strike. The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli Air Force, has reported that the drone was identified, but not engaged by air defenses due to "human error." Whether or not the drone truly evaded detection and for how long remains unknown..Saree added that "The Yemeni Armed Forces declare the occupied Jaffa [Tel Aviv] region an unsafe area and will be a primary target within the range of our weapons. and will focus on targeting the Zionist enemy's internal front and reaching the depths.".Since June, the Houthis and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of Iran-backed Shia militias, have released several statements claiming joint strikes against Israeli coastal cities, however, none have actually taken place until now..In the original version of this SITREP, I noted how the Samad-3, which is an extended-range version of the drone, has a maximum range of 1,500 km, so a launch from Yemen would have been out of the picture. However, we now know a Samad was not used and the exact capabilities and range of the new "Jaffa" drone remain unknown. There is still the possibility that the "Jaffa" is a Samad variant..Saree made no mention of cooperation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, suggesting that the drone was launched from Yemen, however, the exact flight path of the drone remains unknown and it may have been launched elsewhere.
In the early hours of Friday morning, an explosive drone struck a building near the United States Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, resulting in at least one fatality and wounding several others..The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack using a new drone type..The Strike.Debris from the scene shows a wing consistent with a Samad-type drone, which is operated by several Iran-backed proxy groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. As explained further below, the Houthis claim that a new drone type was used..At the time of the blast, there were no air raid alerts or signs of interceptions as Israeli media initially indicated that the drone came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea..The exact blast site remains unknown, but footage of emergency services shows activity at the corner of Ben Yahuda Street and Shalom Aleichem Street. (Geo: 32.07616255914607, 34.768133899909245).Who Did It?.In a statement by spokesman Yahya Saree, the Houthis officially claimed responsibility for the attack..Additionally, Saree stated that a new drone type, named "Jaffa," was used, which he claims is "capable of bypassing interceptor systems and being unable to be detected by radars.".As previously stated, there were no air raid alerts or signs of interceptions before the strike. The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli Air Force, has reported that the drone was identified, but not engaged by air defenses due to "human error." Whether or not the drone truly evaded detection and for how long remains unknown..Saree added that "The Yemeni Armed Forces declare the occupied Jaffa [Tel Aviv] region an unsafe area and will be a primary target within the range of our weapons. and will focus on targeting the Zionist enemy's internal front and reaching the depths.".Since June, the Houthis and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of Iran-backed Shia militias, have released several statements claiming joint strikes against Israeli coastal cities, however, none have actually taken place until now..In the original version of this SITREP, I noted how the Samad-3, which is an extended-range version of the drone, has a maximum range of 1,500 km, so a launch from Yemen would have been out of the picture. However, we now know a Samad was not used and the exact capabilities and range of the new "Jaffa" drone remain unknown. There is still the possibility that the "Jaffa" is a Samad variant..Saree made no mention of cooperation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, suggesting that the drone was launched from Yemen, however, the exact flight path of the drone remains unknown and it may have been launched elsewhere.
