Illustrative image.
Four suicide drones launched by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) from Yemen managed to reach the southern Israeli city of Eilat before getting shot down within a single hour on the afternoon of October 7.
Sirens sounded in Eilat after the first drone was detected at 2:36 p.m. [local time], and again at 2:58 p.m., when two more drones reached the Red Sea port city. However, the fourth drone did not set off alerts as it was engaged before it could approach Eilat.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that all four drones were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), without elaborating.
While the IDF held the Houthis responsible, the group has not yet claimed the attack. This is not unusual, however, as the Houthis sometimes take upwards of 24 hours to make an announcement.
The attack marked the second anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 surprise attack on southern Israel from Gaza. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the Houthis began launching attacks first against Israel-linked shipping then against targets in the country itself in support of the Palestinian enclave.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have launched 91 ballistic missiles and at least 45 drones at Israel.
Recent weeks saw a notable increase in drones reaching Eilat, with several impacts reported, including one that left over 20 people wounded.
All of the drones that reached the city were apparently from the Yafa type. The Yafa, made by the Houthis, is a larger version of an Iranian suicide drone codenamed by the United States military and intelligence as KAS-04 with an estimated range of around 2,000 kilometers.
The IAF’s detection measures in Eilat are clearly facing problems. To make up for this repeated failure, the municipality and IDF Home Front Command installed ten new mobile bomb shelters in different parts of the city in recent days.
The latest attack highlights the determination of the Houthis. Recent weeks saw some of Israel’s most devastating attacks on Yemen, with one even killing the Prime Minister of the Houthi-run government in the capital, Sanaa. This was clearly not enough to deter the group.
Talks are currently ongoing in Egypt to implement a peace plan proposed by United States President Donlad Trump to end the war in Gaza. If the talks are successful, the Houthis will likely cease their attacks. However, Israel could see peace in the Strip as a chance to allocate more resources for a more direct confrontation with the Houthis. Thus, the conflict between the two may be about to enter its most dangerous phase.
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many yemeni apes will be destroyed in revenge…heheheh
little black hats scurrying like cockroaches to their funk holes.