Houthi drone smashes into entrance of Eilat hotel; missile sparks sirens in center
No injuries reported in Eilat attack, while missile intercepted without causing damage; two more drones shot down
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A drone fired by Yemen’s Houthis hit the entrance of a hotel in Eilat on Thursday evening, causing damage but no injuries.
In the following hours, two more drones from Yemen were intercepted, and later in the evening, the Houthis fired a missile at Israel, which sparked sirens throughout the country’s center but was also shot down by Israeli air defenses.
Footage from Eilat showed the moment the explosive drone struck a hotel in Israel’s southernmost city on Thursday afternoon. The strike caused damage but no injuries, according to authorities.
“Officers have secured the impact site, and police bomb disposal experts are working to both identify the object and remove the remains,” the Israel Police said in a statement.
“Search and rescue teams are operating in the area where the report was received regarding the impact,” the military said in a separate statement.
The military said the Israeli Air Force was investigating why it failed to intercept the drone.
Surveillance camera footage shows the moment an explosive drone struck a hotel in Israel's southernmost city of Eilat.
The strike caused damage but no injuries.
The IDF said the drone was launched "from the east," usually code for Yemen. The Houthis in Yemen have not yet taken… pic.twitter.com/lqPGOVB6ZU
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 18, 2025
Footage from the scene showed rescue forces working to extinguish a blaze sparked by the drone impact.
After the drone hit the hotel, the IDF announced that two more drones fired from Yemen were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force. No sirens sounded, “according to protocol,” the army said.
Later Thursday evening, the Houthis fired a missile toward central Israel, sending millions of Israelis into shelters as sirens sounded across a wide swath of the country.
The IDF said the ballistic missile had been intercepted by air defenses. No injuries or damage were reported.
Sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Holon, Petah Tikva, Modiin, Rishon Lezion, Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem and other areas.
The Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for the missile and drone attacks.
In a statement, the Yemeni group said it launched a ballistic missile at a “sensitive Israeli military target” in Tel Aviv.
The Houthis also said they’d launched multiple drones at Israel throughout Thursday, with three aimed at targets in Eilat, and another aimed at a “sensitive target” in Beersheba. Some of them likely fell short before reaching the country’s borders.
The Houthis have targeted the area of Eilat repeatedly in recent weeks, with a drone earlier this month hitting the Ramon Airport outside the city, causing damage and lightly wounding one person.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 87 ballistic missiles and at least 40 drones at Israel.
The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes most recently on Tuesday against military infrastructure at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen, in response to the Iran-backed group’s repeated attacks on Israel.
Last month, an Israeli strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi government and several other ministers, with Israel warning that the attack on the group’s upper echelons was “just the beginning.”
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
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