Click to see full-size image. By the Israeli Air Force.
On the evening of November 25, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that interceptor missiles were fired at two “suspicious aerial targets” over the Red Sea near the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat, in what may have been a false alarm.
“The possibility that this is a false identification is being investigated,” the IDF said in a statement. .
There was no infiltration into Israeli airspace, and warning sirens were not activated in Eilat “according to protocol,” it added.
Videos that surfaced online showed the interceptions of at least two targets over Eilat. No casualties or material losses were reported.
Just before midnight, the IDF said that its fighter jets shot down a drone that was heading toward Israel, over the Red Sea. Explosions were heard in Eilat. However, there was no footage of any blasts or interceptions over the port city.
After the war broke out in the Gaza Strip, Eilat was targeted with missiles and drones more than once with the Iranian-backed Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen claiming responsibility for most of the attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed armed factions, also announced attacks on targets in Eilat. In addition, the IDF blamed Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah for at least one attack on the city.
However, none of these sides has announced any attack against Israel since the temporary ceasefire in Gaza entered into effect on November 24.
The repeated missile an drone attacks on Eilat are apparently meant to distract the IDF from its two main fronts with Gaza and Lebanon.
