Meters away from US embassy attack: Moment ‘Houthi’ drone flies low over beach and consulate before exploding in Tel Aviv, killing one and wounding 10 – as Israel vows to ‘settle score’

This is the moment a ‘Houthi’ drone flew over a beach and the US embassy in Israel, causing an explosion that killed one person. Now the country wants to ‘settle the score’.

Footage uploaded to social media shows the air force skimming over Tel Aviv beach and a row of nearby buildings early this morning. Seconds later, an orange flash bursts that can be seen further inland.

The terrifying video was made after an Israeli soldier said during a briefing that “a very large drone capable of flying long distances crashed into an apartment building at 3:12 a.m. local time.”

The official, who asked not to be named, said the target was “terrorism” and that the rebel group’s “main objective was to kill civilians in Israel.”

They added that shockingly, the drone had been spotted by the military while it was in the air, but no immediate alarm was raised due to “human error”.

An orange glow can be seen at the site of the explosion that left one dead and ten injured

Members of the Israeli security forces are seen in a cordoned off area where the explosion occurred near the US embassy in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024

“There was no alarm in Tel Aviv because it was not activated,” he said

“There was human error that caused the eavesdropping and defense systems to not work,” the official said.

“Of course, one of the possibilities we are exploring is Yemen because of the Houthi announcements. But we are not ruling anything out.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a chilling warning today, claiming: “The defense establishment is working to immediately strengthen all defense systems and will deal with anyone who harms the State of Israel or spreads terror.”

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the unmanned aircraft was likely launched from Yemen.

“We are still thoroughly investigating the incident. From the evidence found at the scene, it appears that the aircraft is an Iranian Samad-3 drone,” he said.

Yemen’s Houthi group earlier today claimed responsibility for the attack that caused the explosion.

A spokesman for the Houthi forces said in a social media post on Friday that the Iran-linked group “targeted Tel Aviv in occupied Palestine.”

It was claimed that a new drone was being used that can ‘evade interception systems and be detected by radars’.

The movement’s armed wing also issued a statement welcoming the attack, saying: “A triumph for the oppression of the Palestinian people and their mujahideen, and in retaliation for the Zionist enemy’s massacres of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli military said it has launched an investigation into the large and deadly explosion at the US embassy office and will investigate why the country’s air defense systems were not activated to intercept the “air target” before damage was done.

The Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it “targeted Tel Aviv in occupied Palestine”

A Tel Aviv man stands next to a damaged car near the site of the deadly explosion amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Tel Aviv

Following the drone attack, the Israeli Air Force said on social media that it had increased patrols to “protect the country’s airspace.”

According to Israeli police, the body of a 50-year-old man was found in an apartment near the explosion site, and the circumstances surrounding his death are also under investigation.

Four people were taken to hospital with minor shrapnel injuries and four others were treated for shock. All were later released, the hospital said, according to France24.

Images from the devastating event in Tel Aviv show vehicles destroyed, windows shattered and streets strewn with rubble as authorities try to find victims and assess the damage from the explosion.

Yair Lapid, an Israeli opposition politician and leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, said the attack “proves once again that this government does not know and cannot guarantee the safety of the citizens of Israel.”

“Whoever loses deterrence in the north and south also loses it in the heart of Tel Aviv,” he wrote on X.

“There are no policies, no plans, only public relations and discussions about themselves. They (the government) must go,” he continued.

Shards of glass can be seen in the streets of Tel Aviv after the drone strike after the ‘new’ air weapon ‘evaded interception systems’

Emergency workers assist a woman at the scene of the explosion in Tel Aviv

Local resident Alon told Haaretz of the terrifying attack: “The whole building shook.”

“My neighbor’s windows were broken, so I was sure something had hit the building. It wasn’t until I went outside that I realized there were multiple buildings damaged.”

The incident came after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior Hezbollah militia commander in southern Lebanon on July 3.

A Hezbollah statement at the time identified the slain commander as Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who called himself Abu Naameh.

An anonymous Hezbollah official said he was head of the group’s Aziz unit, one of three regional branches in southern Lebanon.

Both Hezbollah and the Houthis have stepped up their attacks on Israel, saying they are in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip during an initial attack by Hamas militants on a music festival in southern Israel on October 7 last year.

Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 others hostage during the attack.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 38,000 Palestinians have died in the war so far.