Air Force chief says it failed to flag drone that hit building in Yavne as a threat

10 December 2024, 8:42 am

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A member of the Israeli security forces takes pictures at the site where a drone exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the southern Israeli city of Yavne on December 9, 2024. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar says that a drone fired from Yemen which hit a building in the city of Yavne yesterday without any sirens was mistakenly thought to pose no threat.

A statement from the IDF says that after Bar investigated the incident, it was found that the drone was initially flagged as suspect, and was slated to be shot down, before officials decided instead not to, believing it to be a civilian aircraft.

Since the drone was not classified as a threat, no sirens were sounded, the statement says.

Bar says that the “Air Force failed in the incident and did not provide protection and warning to Israeli citizens,” and says that in the future, sirens should be sounded even if a drone is not fully determined to be a threat.