Posted on 07/19/2024 5:30:01 AM PDT by Red Badger
An Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck Israel on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in a neighbourhood near the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
The aerial strike — the first lethal Houthi attack in Israel — rumbled through the centre of the city, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius.
"We are holding an investigation today and in the coming days to understand exactly from where the threat was fired and what are the needed responses to defend the country and what are the attacking responses against who is threatening the state of Israel," said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for Israel's military.
The Houthis have disrupted commercial shipping and launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the country's war with Hamas. But until Friday, all were intercepted by either Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.
Yahya Sare'e, the Houthis' spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on the social media platform X. He said it was in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and had hit one of many of the group's targets.
'Human error' may have prevented intercept Israel's military said it believed the drone — an Iranian Samad-3 upgraded to travel long distances — had travelled from Yemen, but rebuffed the Houthis′ claim that their arsenal was capable of bypassing Israel's aerial defences.
An Israeli military official said the explosive-laden drone was identified on Thursday, but penetrated Israel because of "human error" in operating the system. The assessment of aerial threats has not changed because, the military said, Israel's adversaries have attempted such attacks for months.
The Houthi strike, the first to threaten Tel Aviv, hit at around 3:10 a.m. local time. Local police said it reverberated to nearby cities and physically injured at least 10 people.
Israel's military said they had not determined whether the drone exploded in the air or directly struck buildings, but it blew out windows and damaged cars throughout the coastal neighborhood.
For many, it reaffirmed feelings of disillusionment with how the military has handled the war over the past nine months. Yossi Nevi, a retired evacuee from Kiryat Shmona living in a nearby hotel, said the blast shook him awake to watch the aftermath from his balcony and decreased his faith in the army's management of the war.
Hearing it was human error, Nevi said, made him lose "all trust in the army, not that I had much after the past nine months."
The Houthi strike hit hours after Israel's military confirmed one of its airstrikes had killed a Hezbollah commander and other militants in southern Lebanon. Israel has so far not made attacks on the Houthis, allowing its allies instead to take the lead as it focuses its efforts on the war in Gaza with Hamas and ongoing fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.
Like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are backed by Israel's archenemy, Iran.
The Houthis have routinely claimed responsibility for hitting targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Analysts and Western intelligence services have long accused Iran of arming the group, a claim that Tehran denies.
Friday's drone strike on Tel Aviv could resurface fears about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas expanding into a region-wide conflagration as international mediators continue to push for a ceasefire.
The war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, has killed more than 38,600 people, according to the Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million population and triggered widespread hunger.
The October attack in Israel killed 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens. Militants took about 250 people hostage then, with about 120 remaining in captivity, with about a third of those believed to be dead. Dozens of have been freed and repatriated since Oct. 7.
Ezekiel 38 Ping................
“Israel’s adversaries have attempted such attacks for months.”
So the system is less than 100.000% effective. If that’s not good enough, they might consider discouraging further attempts.
It was blamed on ‘human error’...................
Iron dome rendered impotent overnight. Horrifying new reality for Israelis this morning. All thanks to Democrat appeasement of and complicity with the Iranian terrorist entity.
Not an excuse. Human error is always a factor, as long as there are humans involved.
Citing a failure rate of one in a very large number as evidence of impotence is pretty harsh.
Could have been something as simple as a switch in the wrong position, like ‘OFF’...................
The Religion of Peace continues to prove they are anything but that.
I thought the US Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, are there two embassies in Israel? 🤔
Iran's kickback check cleared so Biden backed off. As soon as the Houthi started to attack the shipping in what is arguably the most important sealane in the world, they should have been wiped off the face of the Earth.
JUST NUKE TEHRAN AND BE DONE WITH IT
That’s just typical Left wing media bias.
The United States has one embassy in Israel, which is located in Jerusalem. While other countries maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, only the United States and Guatemala have established embassies in Jerusalem. If you have a case-specific inquiry regarding a nonimmigrant visa application, you can contact the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy BRANCH OFFICE in Tel Aviv.
“...they might consider discouraging further attempts.”
Funny you should cite as much.
Rhetorical: How many strikes this month by the USN against houthi targets in support of Israel and shipping security?
Yeah. /s (not enough, in quantity or decisiveness)
Irony:
Biden’s incremental defense has failed — it’s time to confront the Houthis head-on
https://nypost.com/2024/07/07/opinion/playing-defense-has-failed-time-to-confront-the-houthis/
But - again, a seeming trend of-late - the authors Jonathan Sweet and Mark Toth ignorantly cite ‘biden’ in their op-ed...and we’ve all known for MONTHS (not just ‘a few weeks’) that biden isn’t deciding ANYTHING.
All these successful strikes and failed defenses are due to the usual culprit: “... a failure of imagination.”
Someone should remember the maxim: “Know thine enemy.”
No missile defense will be full proof. The United States can have its Iron Dome “star wars” and less than a 1% of a nuclear attack passing through would be catastrophic.
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