Siren not triggered because no threat to civilians

For 2nd time in days, IDF downs hostile drone over Eilat with ship-mounted Iron Dome

Deploying C-Dome, navy intercepts drone over southernmost Israeli city believed to have come from Yemen; no reports of injuries or damage

By Emanuel Fabian 15 April 2024, 1:41 am Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Video footage shows an apparent interception by the C-Dome defense system over the Eilat area after a suspicious target entered Israeli airspace from the direction of the Red Sea, April 14, 2024. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Video footage shows an apparent interception by the C-Dome defense system over the Eilat area after a suspicious target entered Israeli airspace from the direction of the Red Sea, April 14, 2024. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The IDF said it downed a hostile drone flying over the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat on Sunday night, using a ship-mounted Iron Dome missile defense system for the second time ever.

There were no reports of injuries or damages as a result of the interception nor were sirens triggered in Eilat, as there was no threat to civilians, the military said before later publishing footage of the interception.

British security firm Ambrey confirmed the IDF’s drone interception, stating that it assessed the UAV was launched from Yemen.

Ambrey said it also observed unprecedented levels of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) interference off Eilat and neighboring Aqaba, Jordan, on Sunday.

“These were due to electronic warfare counter-measures,” the statement said.

“A Sa’ar 6-class corvette successfully intercepted a UAV that approached Israeli territory from the southeast using the ‘C-Dome’ Defense System earlier this evening,” the IDF posted on X.

The Navy’s Sa’ar 6-class corvettes are normally tasked with guarding the natural gas platforms off Israel’s coast as well as its shipping lanes. Amid repeated wartime cruise missile, drone, and ballistic missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Navy announced in December that it had also deployed the INS “Magen” Sa’ar 6-class corvette to the Red Sea for the first time.

The C-Dome was deployed for the first time last Monday after the military tracked a drone that had entered Israeli airspace also near Eilat. There were no reports of damage or injuries in that incident either.

Much like the ground version of the Iron Dome, the Defense Ministry says that the C-Dome is capable of downing rockets, cruise missiles, and drones.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed paramilitary groups, claimed responsibility for the April 8 drone launch, claiming to have aimed at an unspecified “vital target” in Israel as well as the Hatzerim Airbase near Beersheba.

Recent months have seen numerous attacks on the Eilat area carried out by Iran-backed groups such as Yemen’s Houthis, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, and a group in Syria linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

In November, a school in Eilat was hit by a drone launched from Syria; in March, a cruise missile fired from Yemen struck an open area north of the city; earlier this month, a drone launched from Iraq struck a Navy hangar in the Eilat Bay; and also this month, a drone struck an open area in Jordan near southern Israel’s Ramon Airport

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