A massive explosion shook Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday, which the Israel Defence Forces later confirmed was caused by a drone.
An ambulance service reported that a man was killed by shrapnel, his body found lifeless in a nearby building. According to the Times of Israel, eight people were taken to local hospitals. Four were injured by shrapnel or the shock wave from the blast, while the other four were treated for anxiety. The Israeli military stated that an initial probe determined that “an aerial target”—a term used for drones—had impacted the coastal city.
The military emphasized that the incident is under “thorough investigation” since the drone managed to enter Israeli airspace without triggering sirens. Additionally, the air force will increase patrols by fighter jets to “defend Israeli skies,” reported the Times of Israel. Reports indicated that the explosion occurred dangerously close to the US Embassy.
No air raid sirens were activated in Tel Aviv prior to the blast, according to the report.
On social media platform X, the military spokesman of Yemen’s Houthi militants posted that the group would reveal details about a military operation targeting Tel Aviv. Another video on X showed police officials on the streets outside a building damaged by the potential drone attack. Footage from a doorbell camera in Tel Aviv recorded what sounded like a turboprop-driven engine on a drone before the explosion. Israeli police stated that several officials, including bomb disposal experts, had arrived at the scene and were “dealing with the situation,” reported AFP.
The explosion occurred hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.
Three days earlier, Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza overnight on Tuesday. One strike hit a main street lined with market stalls in a designated “safe zone” for displaced people, while another struck a United Nations-run school where families were sheltering.
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