Israel investigates security flaws in the deadly Tel Aviv drone strike
It is for the first time that Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial centre, was struck by a drone during an attack which was claimed by Houthis.
By Eugenia Yosef, Jennifer Hansler, Eyad Kourdi, Kathleen Magramo
Jul 19, 2024 05:46 PM
CNN —
Israel authorities are looking into the security implications and possible mistakes that led to a fatal drone explosion that occurred in Tel Aviv that killed one man and injured another 10 people on the same day.
This attack is claimed as a response by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in what they claimed was an Iranian proxy group claimed was an attempt to retaliate against Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Houthi representative Yahya Sare’e claimed the attack was carried out by a brand drone that was developed for “bypassing the enemy’s interception systems.”
“We will continue to strike these targets in response to the enemy’s massacres and daily crimes against our brothers in the Gaza Strip,” Sare’e added. “Our operations will only cease when the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
The attack was that it was the initial occasion that Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial center, was struck by a drone during an attack that was claimed from the Houthis.
In a briefing broadcast this Friday Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the military believes that the drone is made by Iran. Samad-3 model that was launched from Yemen and later modernized to increase its reach.
A second drone was also spotted in the outskirts of Israeli territory towards the east at the same time of the attack he described, and he also said that Israel is currently enhancing its air defenses as well as increasing patrols by drones over its borders.
The Israeli military official told the media that the drone was identified in the Israeli air defense device however, it was not intercepted due to “human error.” It was equipped with a warhead before crashing into a residential building according to the official without providing any more details about the drone’s payload.
The official didn’t give specifics on what the human mistake was, but did note Israeli aerial defence systems do not always function autonomously. For instance, the Iron Dome security system, as an instance is able to operate in manual mode, meaning that the radar tracks and detects the threat, but requires input from a user before launch of the interceptor missile.
In the initial investigation “no sirens were activated” at the time of the incident in the incident, the IDF stated earlier.
Jack Lew, the US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, the US Ambassador to Israel, told reporters on Friday that the ambassador has been “shocked by the brazen Houthi drone attack” and expressed an condolence message to families of the victims. “We are thankful our US Embassy Branch Office personnel are safe,” Lew said.
Deadly explosion
The incident took place in the central district which is home to several diplomatic missions. It struck approximately 100m (330 feet) from an US Embassy office in accordance with CNN analysis and other information provided by the local authorities.
There were no damages caused to the US diplomatic mission, and there were there was no report of injuries among US staff as well as “locally engaged staff,” the US State Department said.
“We are in close contact with Israeli authorities to fully investigate the source of the explosion and its intended target,” the spokesperson stated The Embassy in Jerusalem as well as branches of the branch in Tel Aviv are ready to offer consular assistance for US citizens.
Emergency workers arrived at “an object” that had an explosion in Shalom Aleichem Street, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services declared.
“The dead man had suffered penetrating injuries,” MDA paramedic Roi Klein told reporters. Four of the injured suffered shrapnel-related injuries, the MDA stated.
Israeli National Security Minister of the far right Itamar Ben Gvir, as well as the opposition’s leader Yair Lapid have criticized Israel’s Israeli government for its inability to defend the nation, posting in social media, the incident proved that the Israeli government “cannot give security to the citizens of Israel.”
“There are no policies, no plans, all public relations and discussions are about themselves,” the man stated.
Ben Gvir said the attack on Tel Aviv and other areas of Israel are “precisely why I insist on being around the table in determining Israel’s policy.”
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu in June disbanded the cabinet of war in Israel after the former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz announced his withdrawal from the cabinet as well Ben Gvir asked to join.
Houthi attacks
The Yemeni rebels regularly target Israel with missiles and drones since the beginning of Yemen’s conflict with Hamas The majority of these were captured from Israel’s security forces.
The Houthis have also attacked US targets and commercial vessels on shipping in Red Sea since Israel launched its military assault on Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on 7 October which claimed the lives of more than 1200 people were killed, and more than 250 were abducted.
Israel’s ground and air assault in Gaza have killed over 38,000 Palestinians in the enclave according to Palestinian authorities. The conflict has forced the displacement of nearly all of Gaza’s inhabitants, which is more than 2 million, and made large swathes of Gaza into rubble and caused a huge humanitarian crisis.
The war has sparked fears of a broader regional conflict, with possibility of further human suffering and a repercussions on economic growth around the world. Houthi attacks in the Red Sea Houthi attack in Red Sea, for instance caused several of the world’s largest oil and shipping companies to halt their operations on one of the most important trade routes in the maritime sector.
Sare’e, the spokesperson for Houthi spokeswoman, confirmed that the mission targeting Tel Aviv was carried out using a drone named “Yafa” that can “bypass the enemy’s interception system and (is) undetectable by radars.”
Fabian Hinz, a research associate for analysis of military and defense within the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, wrote on the X Houthi’s claims that shouldn’t be taken as gospel truth.
“In the general sense, Houthi claims are a mixed mix. Sometimes they are truthful and sometimes exaggerated and at other times they are simply fabrications of a straight-up nature,” he wrote, saying that “their assertions of fact must be viewed with more of a grain of salt than those of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah’s.”
However, he said that the drone that was used for attack on Tel Aviv attack is likely to be an Sammad, “the Houthi’s standard long-range strike drone” which was previously employed in attacks against Israel and the United States, but with a much more powerful engine.
For the Houthis the Houthis, he said, the Houthis, he wrote, a drone with a longer range would be appealing “as it would allow them to strike targets further away, fly routes evading enemy defenses, and attack from unexpected angles.”
Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think group said to CNN it is likely that Houthis will likely capitalize from the attacks, in particular because Israel’s defenses were not able to stop the attack.
“They will capitalize on it, not just inside Yemen but also outside Yemen,” Nagi added, adding that the attack occurred before the weekly rallies by the rebel group which are held every Friday to support Gaza within Houthi controlled Yemeni cities. This attack “gives momentum” to these rallies, he added.
The drone attack on Friday on Tel Aviv comes after the Houthis declared earlier in the month that they had targeted vessels within Israel’s Israeli ports of Haifa by using a range drones during joint military operations in conjunction with Iran-backed militias that are based in Iraq.
The IDF said to CNN that time it was unaware of an incident like this.
This article has been revised to reflect more developments.
CNN’s Benjamin Brown, Oren Liebermann, Nadeen Ebrahim, Jonny Hallam, Kylie Atwood, Haley Britzky, Lauren Izso, Isaac Yee and Hamdi Alkhshali contributed reporting.