Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed a drone attack Friday on Tel Aviv that left one person dead, saying it marked a "new phase" in its operations against Israel.The Huthis fired at Tel Aviv a "new drone called 'Yafa', which is capable of bypassing the enemy's interception systems," the movement's spokesman, Yahya Saree, said on social media.It struck "one of the important targets in the occupied Jaffa region, what is now called Israeli Tel Aviv," he said, adding "the operation has achieved its goals successfully".Israeli authorities said an explosion hit an apartment building in Tel Aviv at 3:12 am (0012 GMT), killing one person and wounding four others.The Israeli army said the blast was "caused by the falling of an aerial target", based on an initial inquiry. An Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said a "very big" drone had been detected but the alarm was not immediately raised because of "human error".The Huthis pledged to turn Tel Aviv into a "primary target" after months of drone and missile attacks targeting shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to the Gaza war.Hezam Al Asad, a member of the Yemeni rebel movement's politburo, called the strike "unprecedented".In an interview with the pro-Iranian channel Al Mayadeen, he said the attack marked a "new phase" of operations against Israel which would increase in the coming period.Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, another Huthi politburo member, said attacks would only stop if a Gaza ceasefire was reached."Our demand is fair: stop the genocide in Gaza, lift the siege on its residents, and we will stop our military operations," he said on social media platform X, sharing footage of the aftermath of the drone strike.Top Huthi official Mohamed Ali al-Huthi said the "first operation" to strike Tel Aviv marked a "qualitative shift" in the group's anti-Israel campaign.The Huthis have previously claimed attacks targeting the southern Israeli resort of Eilat and port cities of Ashdod and Haifa, but Friday's strike is the first operation claimed by the rebels against Tel Aviv.The Huthis' military spokesman on Friday declared the Israeli commercial hub "an unsafe area," saying it "will be a primary target within the range of our weapons".Saree said the Huthis "have a bank of targets" in Israel, including "sensitive military and security targets".They "will continue... to strike those targets in response to the enemy's massacres and daily crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip," he said.- Ship attack -Separately on Friday, projectiles struck a container ship off the coast of Yemen without causing any casualties, an attack likely carried out by the Huthis, maritime security firm Ambrey said."A Singapore-flagged container ship was 'hit' by projectiles" southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden, Ambrey said, adding no injuries were reported in the attack that is consistent with previous Huthi operations.Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority identified the container ship as the LOBIVIA, saying the attack caused a fire which had since been extinguished."All crew are accounted for and are safe," it said in a statement, adding the ship had sailed "under her own propulsion" to Berbera Port in Somalia to assess the damage and determine necessary repairs.The Huthis have attacked at least 88 commercial vessels since their anti-shipping campaign started in November, according to a tally compiled by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank.Huthi attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of global trade, according to the International Chamber of Shipping.Egypt's Suez Canal on Thursday reported a 23.4-percent drop in revenues attributed to disruptions in Red Sea shipping over the past year.
July 19, 2024 | 03:15 PM