Yemeni media affiliated with the Houthi group revealed today, Saturday, that the drone that was launched from the country and exploded in Tel Aviv yesterday, Friday, crossed about 2,300 kilometers and "penetrated multi-layered defenses."
Al-Masirah TV, the Houthi mouthpiece, reported on its website that “the Yemeni drone, Yafa, was able to cross a distance of 2,300 kilometers to reach the heart of occupied Jaffa (Tel Aviv), thus bypassing many advanced (Israeli) air defense systems.”
The report considered this operation "an unprecedented success in penetrating multi-layered defenses, and reflects a significant development in the offensive capabilities (of the Houthis)."
He pointed out that "the continued targeting of Tel Aviv could lead to major and multi-faceted economic repercussions, directly affecting the Israeli and regional economies, and creating complex economic challenges for the Israeli government and the private sector."
The report also stressed that "repeated attacks on Tel Aviv will put great strain on Israeli material and human resources, and will drain them over time."
On Friday morning, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that "an Israeli was killed and 10 others were injured when a drone crashed in central Tel Aviv, hundreds of meters from the US embassy." The Yemeni Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack in Israel, describing it as "the first of its kind."
The Yemeni group said its drone attack on Tel Aviv was a "qualitative shift" in its operations against Israel, vowing to escalate its operations and strike "very sensitive" targets in Israel.
Following the attack, a senior Israeli official told the Hebrew news website Ynet that "Israel will respond to the attack carried out by the Houthis with a drone."
In "solidarity with Gaza," which is facing a devastating Israeli war with American support, the Houthis are targeting Israeli or Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean with missiles and drones.
Since January 12, 2024, a US-led coalition has been launching raids that it says target "Houthi sites" in various parts of Yemen in response to their naval attacks, which have been met with occasional responses from the group.