From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 19, 2024
IDF says drone targeting Tel Aviv was identified but not shot down due to human error
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
According to an initial Israeli Air Force investigation into the overnight drone attack on Tel Aviv, the explosive-laden UAV had been identified, but due to a human error, it was not engaged by air defenses.
As no action was taken against the identified target — now confirmed to be a large long-range attack drone — no warning sirens had sounded.
The drone directly impacted an apartment in Tel Aviv at 3:12 a.m., after entering the city from the direction of the sea. The origin of the drone is still being probed by the IAF.
The IAF so far believes the drone came from the southern direction, possibly Yemen, although it is not ruling out other launch sites, such as Iraq or Syria.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen took responsibility for the attack, a claim that the IAF has not yet verified.
US CENTCOM’s announcement of Houthi missiles and four drones being destroyed, occurred yesterday morning and is not directly related to the overnight attack.
Also overnight, one drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction, likely originating from Iraq, was shot down by fighter jets outside of Israeli airspace.
The IAF says the deadly incident “shouldn’t have happened” and it takes full responsibility for the failure that led to the deadly attack.
One man was killed and another four were wounded in the attack on Tel Aviv.
