Drone strike by Yemen's Houthi rebels kills 1 person and wounds at least 10 in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck Israel on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in a neighborhood near the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.

The aerial strike — the first lethal Houthi attack in Israel — rumbled through the center of the city, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius.

“We are holding an investigation today and in the coming days to understand exactly from where the threat was fired and what are the needed responses to defend the country and what are the attacking responses against who is threatening the state of Israel,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for Israel's military.

The Houthis have launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the country's war with Hamas. But until Friday, all were intercepted by either Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.

Yahya Sare'e, the Houthis' spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on the social media platform X. He said it was in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war and had hit one of many of the group's targets.

Israel's military said it believed the drone — an Iranian Samad-3 upgraded to travel long distances — had traveled from Yemen, but rebuffed the Houthis′ claim that their arsenal was capable of bypassing Israel’s aerial defenses.

An Israeli military official said the explosive-laden drone was identified on Thursday but penetrated Israel because of “human error" in operating the system. The assessment of aerial threats has not changed because, the military said, Israel's adversaries have attempted such attacks for months.

The Houthi strike, the first to threaten Tel Aviv, hit at around 3:10 a.m. Local police said it...