Houthis claims responsibility for Tel Aviv drone attack, one dead and ten Injured

Shafaq News/ On Friday, a powerful explosion hit Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv, near the US Embassy. The blast was heard in many areas across the central part of Israel.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper's Telegram page posted videos showing the initial moments of the explosion.

Hebrew media speculated that a drone attack might have caused the explosion, though authorities have not confirmed this.

A police spokesperson stated, "A short while ago, a report was received at the police headquarters about an explosion heard in a building in Tel Aviv. Large police forces have arrived at the scene and are dealing with the incident."

The Israeli military said in a statement, "Initial investigation indicates that the explosion in Tel Aviv was caused by the fall of an aerial object. No sirens were activated. The incident is under thorough investigation." The military added that it had increased aerial patrols to protect Israeli airspace but had not implemented new civil defense measures.

Hebrew media indicated that this was not a drone explosion and that no aerial infiltration into "Israeli territory" had been detected. The details remain under investigation.

News platforms circulated images and videos purportedly showing a drone wing at the explosion site. Israeli emergency services reported that several Israelis were injured by shrapnel from the massive explosion, with at least one person killed and ten others wounded.

Police have closed the area around the explosion and confirmed that forces are searching for debris to determine the cause of the blast before the Israeli military announced it was due to a drone explosion.

In a related context, Sky News Arabia's correspondent in Jerusalem reported the US military said it intercepted four drones on their way to Israel.

Axios news site quoted a US official saying that the branch office of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was undamaged, and no American citizens were injured, following reports that the building hit in the attack was near the US Embassy.

Later on Friday morning, Yemen's Houthi group (Ansarallah) claimed that they targeted Tel Aviv with a drone, stating that the area would be a primary target within their weapons range.

The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said on X that the Yemeni Armed Forces' Air Force had conducted a significant operation with a new drone named "Yafa," capable of "bypassing enemy interception systems and undetectable by radars." He declared the operation a success.

Saree added, "The Yemeni Armed Forces declare the occupied area of Yafa an unsafe zone, and it will be a primary target for our weapons. We will focus on targeting the enemy's internal front and reaching deep into its territory." The statement emphasized that "this exceptional operation confirms the Yemeni Armed Forces' possession of a target bank in occupied Palestine, including sensitive military and security targets," and vowed to continue striking those targets in response to the enemy's massacres and daily crimes against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.

The group asserted that they would "continue targeting Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians."

The Houthi group has been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. They claim their attacks target ships loyal to or bound for Israel, though many of the vessels they have attempted to have no connection to Israel.