19 July drone attack on Tel Aviv in
Tel Aviv. The attack took place in the vicinity of the compound On 19 July, a drone launched by Houthi militants from Yemen hit an apartment building near the
US Embassy branch office in
Tel Aviv, Israel's economic center. The drone strike killed one person in his apartment building, and injured 10 others. The drone is suspected by the IDF to have been an Iranian-made
Samad-3 modified by the Houthis to carry more fuel (for a longer range) in exchange for a smaller warhead. According to Israel, the drone was spotted but not intercepted and no air raid siren was sounded due to human error. According to The Associated Press news agency, this was the Houthis' first successful strike on Israel with the others being "intercepted by either Israeli defenses or Western allies with forces stationed in the region." Video from the blast site revealed shattered glass scattered across the sidewalks, while onlookers gathered near a building marked by the explosion. The area was cordoned off with police tape. IDF said it had initiated an investigation into the drone attack causing a "large explosion" near the U.S. embassy office and would determine why the country's air defense systems were not activated to intercept the "aerial target". Houthi militants said that the attack on Tel Aviv as the beginning of the fifth phase of their conflict with Israel.
Reactions • : Houthis spokesman
Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed to continue targeting Israel in solidarity with
Palestinians in the
Gaza war. • : Hezbollah hailed the event as a victory for the "oppressed Palestinian people" and their fighters. They mentioned that Yemeni fighters were backing the "brave Palestinian fighters" in Gaza, who are "defending all the people and nations of the Arab and Islamic world". Israeli aircraft
struck military and oil refining facilities at the Hudaydah Port in retaliation the next day.
Israeli opposition leader
Yair Lapid said the attack further demonstrated the current government's inability to provide security for Israeli citizens. • : The EU said it "firmly condemns the indiscriminate Houthi-claimed drone attack on Tel Aviv." Spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said that "International Humanitarian Law strictly prohibits indiscriminate shelling of civilian population centers and applies to all actors at all times without exception." The Israeli cabinet convened for a special emergency meeting, with ministers summoned on short notice, to approve the operation. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff
Herzl Halevi, was conducted under strict censorship. The attacks hit a refinery,). Nine port employees of the
Yemen Petroleum Company were killed, and 87 people were injured, most of them with
severe burns. Other expert also confirmed attacks on the power station. A Middle East expert at Navanti Group said power shortages will increase suffering of the local population. The Houthis, who form the government in Hudaydah, have also been known to make money off fuel sales in Yemen. Israel also hit cranes at the harbor. The
World Food Programme reported damage to a crane its aid vessel was using. Israel, however, claims these cranes were used to unload Iranian weapons and published footage of destroying the cranes. American and Israeli officials claimed that Israel only targeted Houthi military sites in the area of the port, used for weapon storage. Images and videos posted on social media have shown flames and smoke rising in the city. Fires continued to burn, with smoke lingering, for several days after the attack.
Military logistics The airstrike involved complex logistical and tactical measures due to the significant distance of from Israel. The operation used aerial refueling with
Boeing 707 "Re'em" aircraft, low-altitude flights to evade enemy radar, and possibly coordination with
Saudi Arabia.
Firefighting and repairs Firefighting teams arrived immediately to the port, but struggled to contain the blaze. The fire had expanded and threatened both humanitarian ships and food storage facilities. Meanwhile, Yemeni port authorities kept other parts of the port facilities functional to receive ships carrying food, medicine and fuel. Repairs on the power plant damaged by Israel were started, as authorities tried to bring back electricity to the Yemeni people. The
Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation, which runs the Hudaydah Port, estimated that the strikes caused over US$20,000,000 in damages, excluding losses caused by the destruction of fuel storage facilities. Two cranes and a small vessel were destroyed, while damage was caused to nearby buildings and docks.
Reactions • : Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes targeted the port because it was used for the military purposes and that they displayed that "there is no place that the long arm of the state of Israel will not reach." Israeli military spokesperson
Daniel Hagari claimed responsibility for the attacks on behalf of the Israeli Defense Forces, stating that Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi military targets "in response to the hundreds of attacks against the State of Israel in recent months" to "send a message". Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant stated, "the blood of Israeli citizens has a price," and emphasized that any attack on Israelis will be met with a response "identical" to those in
Lebanon and
Gaza. Gallant added, "The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear." He further noted, "The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required." Houthi officials said "This will increase our determination to stop the genocide in Gaza." • : The group condemned the attack. A member of the political bureau,
Izzat al-Rishq, stated that "the occupation state will undoubtedly be burned by the fire ignited in
Hudaydah today, and the mounting Zionist crimes will change the entire equation". • : The group called the operation a "foolish step" and said that it sparked a new and dangerous phase of confrontation across the Middle East. • : The
foreign ministry condemned the attacks which targeted oil and civilian facilities, including Al Hodeidah port and the electricity company, leading to the deaths and injuries of civilians. They considered the attack a dangerous escalation which threatened stability in the region. Iraq affirmed its full solidarity with the Yemeni people, and holds the Israeli entity responsible for any military escalation in the region. • : The
foreign ministry condemned the attack, stating that Israel's actions contribute to the "undermining of international efforts aimed at ending the cycle of violence" in the region. • : The
foreign ministry condemned the attack, stating that the attack "represents a new escalation of tension in the region that would further complicate the regional situation and hinder efforts to calm the situation". • :
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over Israel's attack on Yemen. • : A spokesperson for the
US National Security Council stated that the US had not coordinated with Israel on the airstrikes, adding that the country fully recognizes Israel's right to self-defense.
Media According to
Ynet, the operation was meant as a deterrent to the pro-Iranian government in
Sanaa and as a signal to the US-UK coalition that the IDF will no longer rely solely on allied air defense.
The Economist wrote that with its strikes, "Israel was trying not only to deter the Houthis. It was also sending a message to Iran: Hodeidah, after all, is farther away from Israel than most of Iran’s big cities."
The Jerusalem Post observed that the operation bore similarities to the 1985
Operation Wooden Leg, where the Israeli Air Force targeted PLO sites in Tunisia, 2,200 kilometers from Israel. It emphasized the role of the F-35s in the 2024 operation, noting their stealth capabilities were crucial for striking the Houthis, who already used anti-aircraft missile systems to shoot down American UAVs. The Post described the operation as "an important milestone" for the F-35s within the Israeli Air Force, marking eight years since their initial deployment in Israel. The
Human Rights Watch called the strikes a possible
war crime since they were apparently an "indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians". ==Aftermath==