In what could spark spiraling escalation of warfare between Yemen's Houthis, Hezbollah and the State of Israel, a large drone struck a high-rise building in central Tel Aviv overnight, killing 1 and wounding 8 more. Using social media, a Houthi spokesman indicated the group had launched a "military operation" that "targeted 'Tel Aviv' in occupied Palestine'."
Saudi-headquartered Al Arabiya reported that the Houthis fired four drones and a ballistic missile. The missile and three of the drones were said to have been shot down by US forces in the region. Witnesses say the 3:15 am blast was so loud, it was audible for miles. In video circulating on social media that purportedly captured the strike, a telltale buzzing sound is heard followed by a blinding flash and the sound of an explosion:
"The whole building shook," Alon, a local resident, told Haaretz. "My neighbours' windows shattered so I was sure something had hit the building. It was only when I went outside that I realized that several buildings had been damaged." According to one report, eight victims were hospitalized; four were wounded, while the others were receiving treatment "for anxiety."
No alarms were sounded. This latest Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failure promises to heighten Israelis' sense of vulnerability that persists nine months after the stunning Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of southern Israel. Following the attack, the IDF said it had elevated air patrols to bolster defenses. While it wasn't struck, a branch office of the US embassy was described as just 100 meters away from the blast. (For perspective, that's even closer than the distance between former President Trump and the sniper perched on a gently-sloping but mostly-dangerous roof in Butler, Pennsylvania.)
While ZeroHedge can't confirm their authenticity, these videos circulating on social media are said to show an aerial view of an enormous fireball, and the ensuing smokey chaos in the streets:
A paramedic who was among the first to respond to the attack told Haaretz that he treated two wounded people in the street, and two more who were in their residences in the building. "Shortly [after that], we found the fatality on one of the top floors of an adjacent building. He was in bed and there was shrapnel damage everywhere in his apartment."
Hours after the attack, a Houthi spokesman used a televised speech to declare that Tel Aviv would continue to be a principal target "within the range of our weapons." He touted a new drone called "Yafa" -- presumably named after the Jaffa region of Israel where Tel Aviv is located. "It is capable of bypassing interception systems and radars cannot detect it," the Houthis claimed in an accompanying tweet. Tel Aviv is some 1,200 miles from Yemen.
Along with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Yemen's Houthis have been waging war on Israel and Israel-linked cargo ships, in solidarity with millions of Palestinians suffering under the effects of the IDF's devastating military attacks and blockade on Gaza that began after the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion.
Friday morning's attack on Tel Aviv came hours after the IDF claimed it had killed a senior commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which has been increasingly aggressive in striking targets across northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. That commander, Ali Jaafar Maatouk, was said to have died when an IDF fighter-jet strike obliterated the three-story house he was in:
Watch for a significant IDF retaliation for the Tel Aviv strike, which could, in turn, invite even more ambitious aggression by the forces arrayed against the State of Israel.
We must add Houthis did warn about expanding their threat coverage to the Mediterranean area in May (read: here).