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One person was killed and several others were injured after an apparent drone attack on central Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday.
The Israeli military said it was stepping up air patrols in the wake of the blast, which it said had been caused by “the falling of an aerial target” that did not trigger air raid sirens in the Mediterranean city.
Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv, described the event, which took place at around 3am local time, as a “UAV attack”.
A military spokesman for Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on X that the group had fired a drone at Tel Aviv.
The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have sporadically targeted Israel since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October. If they are confirmed to be behind the attack, it would mark the first time they have successfully targeted Tel Aviv. They have previously fired missiles and drones at the southern port of Eilat, but have caused little damage as most of the projectiles have been destroyed by Israeli defence systems.
They have also launched multiple attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, severely disrupting the flow of goods through one of the world’s key maritime trade routes.
The Israeli police said one man had been found dead in his apartment near the scene of the blast with shrapnel wounds, while a further 10 people with minor injuries had been evacuated for medical treatment.
“This is an event with an explosive that’s relatively big. It didn’t explode on the ground or on a building. Luckily it exploded in the air and that’s what saved the situation from creating a bigger damage scene and many more casualties,” said Tel Aviv police district commander Peretz Amar.
Roee Klein, from Israel’s paramedic service, said most of those affected had suffered shrapnel injuries, and one person had suffered blast injuries.
Large numbers of police had been dispatched to the site of the blast in central Tel Aviv, and bomb disposal experts continued to search the areas, the police said.
The Houthis claim they are acting in support of the Palestinians as part of the so-called axis of resistance that is made up of militant groups backed by Iran. Israel and the US accuse Iran of supplying the Islamist movement with missile and drone technology.
Additional reporting by Neri Zilber in Tiberias
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