IAF tracked drone that hit Tel Aviv for 6 minutes, but failed to classify it as threat
Modified Iranian-made UAV believed to have traversed Egypt, flying over 2,000 km in more than 10 hours to reach Israel in deadly Houthi attack
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Houthi drone launched from Yemen that exploded in Tel Aviv early Friday was tracked by the Israeli Air Force for at least six minutes before the attack that killed an Israeli man and wounded others, according to an initial probe carried out by the military.
The Israel Defense Forces said the unnamed aerial vehicle had been identified, but human error led to it not being engaged by air defenses. As no action was taken against the identified target — later confirmed to be a large long-range attack drone — no warning sirens had sounded.
The drone, identified by the IDF as an Iranian-made Samad-3 that had been modified to have an extended range, had flown for more than 10 hours to reach Israel.
According to military assessments, the drone did not follow a direct route to Israel from Yemen. The drone traversed Egypt and flew into Tel Aviv from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea at a low altitude, making a trip of over 2,000 (1,200 miles) kilometers to reach Israel.
The Samad-3 had been previously reported to have a range of around 1,500 kilometers. The Houthis are thought by the IDF to have modified the Iranian-made drone so that it carried under 10 kilograms of explosives, down from its standard 18 kilograms. It was thus able to hold more fuel, fly for longer, and reach Israel.
According to an initial IAF probe, the drone was identified and followed for around six minutes, but due to an unspecified human error, it was not classified as a threat.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference on Friday denied that the target was thought to have been a friendly drone and was therefore not engaged.
“The answer is no,” he said in response to a question on this issue. “In this event, it is an error, there was some kind of identification, and we are now investigating the whole chain as to why there was no interception.”
Amid the attack, the IAF was also tracking and shooting down a drone that was approaching from the east, apparently launched from Iraq.
According to the IAF, a US Central Command announcement on Friday that described Houthi missiles and drones being destroyed referred to incidents on Thursday morning and was not directly related to the overnight attack.
The IAF had been notified by CENTCOM of that earlier incident Thursday, as has been the case with near-daily interceptions and strikes carried out by US forces. Due to the full day between the two events, the IAF has concluded there was likely no direct relation between the drones the Americans destroyed and the single UAV that hit Tel Aviv.
Following the deadly drone strike, the military said it was increasing fighter jet patrols in the skies to identify threats. Israel was also considering striking the Houthis directly in response to the attack.
Friday’s drone was the first Houthi-launched drone to reach Tel Aviv.
The victim was named as Yevgeny Ferder, 50, who reportedly worked at Momo’s Hostel, adjacent to where the drone struck. His niece said he immigrated to Israel some 30 years ago, and had served in an IDF combat unit and in the military reserves.
Magen David Adom also said eight people were taken to local hospitals, four of whom were wounded by shrapnel or the shock waves from the blast. The other four were treated for acute anxiety.
The impact site was adjacent to several hotels and the United States’ Tel Aviv Embassy Branch Office. The Israeli military, as of Friday morning, had no intelligence indicating that the drone attack was aimed at the embassy building.
The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have launched over 200 drones and cruise missiles at Israel since November, according to the military. Along with Friday’s drone attack in Tel Aviv, a cruise missile struck near Eilat in March.
The IDF says the vast majority of the threats were intercepted by US forces and in a handful of cases by Israeli fighter jets and ground-based air defense systems.
The Houthis, who have also wreaked havoc on Red Sea shipping, say their offensive actions are in support of the Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war there. The war was sparked on October 7, when the Strip’s Hamas rulers led a thousands-strong attack on southern Israel that left nearly 1,200 people dead and saw another 251 taken hostage.
