White House, EU and UN chief condemn deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv
Netanyahu remains mum on attack from Yemen; IDF says it failed to intercept or sound alarm because of ‘human error’
The White House, the Europen Union and the UN secretary-general on Friday condemned the previous night’s drone attack on Tel Aviv, claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, that left one person dead and injured several others.
A National Security Council spokesperson in a statement expressed sympathy for the victims and said the Thursday night attack “appears to be the latest in the Houthis’ reckless and destabilizing actions.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned about the risk such dangerous acts pose for further escalation in the region,” said spokesman Farhan Haq, adding a call for “maximum restraint.”
The European Union said it “firmly condemns the indiscriminate Houthi-claimed drone attack on Tel Aviv.”
Spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said in a statement that “International Humanitarian Law strictly prohibits indiscriminate shelling of civilian population centers and applies to all actors at all times without exception.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the strike.
The Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen’s Houthis struck Tel Aviv shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in the group’s first lethal strike into Israel.
The aerial strike rumbled through the center of the city near the US Embassy, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius.
The military said it was investigating what went wrong. It said the drone was detected by air defenses, but a “human error” occurred and “there was no interception.“
It identified the drone as an Iranian Samad-3 upgraded to travel long distances and said it was believed to have come from Yemen.
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 directly impacted an apartment building in Tel Aviv at 3:12 a.m. After reaching Israel from Yemen, the drone made its way to Tel Aviv from the direction of the sea, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.
The victim was later 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 IDF reserves.
MDA 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 being 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.
Many of the hotels in the area are currently housing displaced Israelis who have had to leave their homes on the northern and southern borders amid the ongoing war.
Yemen’s Houthis’ military spokesperson said the group attacked Tel Aviv with a drone and would continue to target Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The spokesman said that Tel Aviv will continue to be a primary target for the terror group “within the range of our weapons.”
The group claimed it had launched a drone that could bypass radar detection systems.
The IAF said the incident in Tel Aviv “shouldn’t have happened” and it took full responsibility for the failure that led to the deadly attack.
In a statement, the IDF said the attack was under “thorough investigation.”
The military also said the IAF would increase patrols by fighter jets “to defend Israeli skies”
“There is no change in the Home Front Command’s orders,” it added.
Hagari said the military was to hold assessments on the attack in the coming days to understand what it needs to adjust to better defend, and “what the required offensive response will be against those who threaten Israel.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, said Israel would respond.
“The defense establishment is working to immediately strengthen all defense systems, and will settle the score with anyone who harms the State of Israel or directs terror against it,” he said in remarks provided by his office following an assessment held with IDF officials on the Houthi drone attack.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.