A woman stands near the window of an apartment as Israeli policemen search the scene where an explosion took place in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024. (Credit: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
BEIRUT — Yemen's Houthis attacked Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday morning, killing one man and slightly wounding other, the Israeli military and emergency services said, cited by Reuters.
The explosion, which did not trigger air infiltration alarms, occurred a few hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a local Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.
This is the first time that the Houthis have struck Tel Aviv, although they have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, stating that their attacks target vessels linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, as part of the group's support for Palestinians amid Israel's devastating war with Hamas in the enclave.
L’Orient Today spoke to Fabian Hinz, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, to understand more about how the attack happened and the implications of the strike on Tel Aviv.
What type of device was used, according to you, and is it manufactured locally by the Houthis?
While we can't be 100 percent certain, the debris analysis reveals strong similarities to the Samad-3 drone. This drone has previously been used against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Eilat (a southern Israeli port and resort town on the Red Sea near Jordan).
A different version of the same drone has been employed against ships in the Red Sea that the Houthis have previously attacked. The similarities are evident, though the engine in this case is a different model and not commonly used, indicating higher performance.
The Samad-3 is an Iranian design and technology, with clear variations in versions and sizes (1, 2, 3, and 4). It appears that the Houthis might be capable of manufacturing some parts of the drone locally, either through assembly or partial production. While they may have access to some local manufacturing capabilities, the core technology remains Iranian.
[The Samad-3 is a drone with a 4.5m wingspan and, according to the Houthis, a range of 1,500 km].
How did this drone bypass radar and defense systems in the Red Sea and Israel (while reports say that the US intercepted 3 drones and a ballistic missile)?
The video shows the drone coming from the sea. According to Israeli sources, the incident was attributed to human error, and they did not act in time. While the Houthis have previously launched drone attacks against Eilat, this one came from the Mediterranean, which was unexpected.
Drones can be programmed to evade enemy defenses by altering their flight path to avoid detection and interception. This particular drone appears to have successfully evaded the defensive measures in place.
If the Houthis manage to hit Tel Aviv from 2,500 km away, what could this say about Hezbollah's capabilities?
For Hezbollah, operating drones is somewhat easier due to their different geographic context, Hezbollah is geographically closer to Israel than the Houthis, so Hezbollah can utilize smaller, more challenging-to-detect drones.
Over the past month, Hezbollah has employed very small, lightweight electrically designed drones that are harder to detect. These drones produce less noise and heat compared to the Samad drones.
Hezbollah has also used smaller versions of the Samad drone, which are easier to deploy and more difficult to detect.
What could this attack mean for the power dynamics in case of a wider conflict?
While the Houthi drone threat is symbolically significant, it is not as strategically impactful as the threat posed by Hezbollah. The Houthis' primary asset in this conflict is their capability for ship attacks.
Geographically, Yemen is not ideally situated to pose a significant threat to Israel. The role of technology in their strategy is notable, as their ability to strike is heavily reliant on advanced technology and missile capabilities.
Although attacks on Tel Aviv exert pressure, they do not alter the major strategic landscape, the real threat imposed by the Houthis are their repeated attacks against ships.