Houthis air propaganda clip showcasing ‘Jaffa’ drone that allegedly hit Tel Aviv
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen release a propaganda video showing what they say is the drone that was launched at Tel Aviv in an attack last week.
The so-called Jaffa drone struck a residential building in the central Israeli city early Friday, killing a man and wounding others.
The video shows a Jaffa drone in an exhibition, and ostensibly the moment the one that struck Tel Aviv was launched.
???? مشاهد لإطلاق الطائرة "يافا" التي استهدفت هدفا مهما للعدو الإسرائيلي في منطقة يافا المحتلة، مع مشاهد افتتاح معرض خاص بالطائرة، وبعض من مواصفاتها #مرحلة_التصعيد_الخامسة #العدوان_الإسرائيلي_على_اليمن #معركة_الفتح_الموعود_والجهاد_المقدس pic.twitter.com/pVRljisLRl
— قناة المسيرة (@TvAlmasirah) July 23, 2024
The IDF identified the drone as a modified Iranian-made Samad-3 drone.
The drone had been adjusted to have a much further range than normal, allowing it to make a trip of some 2,600 kilometers — flying over Africa and Egypt, and then some of the Mediterranean — to reach Israel from the west.