Former President Donald Trump designated the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) under his administration, but President Biden lifted that classification shortly after taking office in 2021. Biden later reclassified the Houthis a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group earlier this year following the terror group's attacks on the US and Israel in the Middle East.
The drone seems to have flown over a large portion of the nation through the sophisticated air defenses that have thwarted nearly all of the drone strikes and rocket launches against Israel by Yemen's Houthis since the start of the Gaza conflict, making the strike in the country's largest city surprising. A lot of the drones previously launched had not even made it to Eilat, per the AP, which is the southernmost city of Israel, located about 160 miles south of Tel Aviv on the Red Sea.
Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sare'e, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter. He said it was in retaliation for Israel's war on Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces has launched an investigation into the attack to determine what went wrong. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF chief spokesman, said the drone was detected by its air defense systems but an "error" occurred and it was not "intercepted."
Another Israeli military official told the AP it was a "human error." The drone was identified by Israel's military as an Iranian Samad-3 that had been upgraded to travel great distances. It was suspected to have originated from Yemen.
The drone struck at approximately 3:10 am, causing damage to cars and the destruction of windows in a coastal district of Tel Aviv. The impact was felt in neighboring cities. The military stated that it had not yet ascertained whether the drone exploded in the air or struck buildings directly.
