TEL AVIV, July 19. /TASS/. The Israeli military thinks that downtown Tel Aviv was attacked in the nighttime by a modified Iranian drone that was launched from Yemen, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
"After our initial inquiry, it is likely that this was a Samad-3 UAV, which we assess flew from Yemen to Tel Aviv. The Samad-3 is an Iranian weapon that was likely upgraded to extend its flight range. Iran supports, funds, and arms its proxies in the region, in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as seen last night," he said, adding that the military is trying to identify why the drone was not detected by air defense forces and no air raid alarm was issued.
He also said that another drone attack was reported during the night. A drone that was trying to enter Israel’s airspace from the east was shot down outside Israel.
The Israeli police said earlier that hundreds of people had reported the sound of an explosion in downtown Tel Aviv at three in the night. According to the ambulance service, the incident occurred some 159 meters off the US consulate.
According to the IDF, the explosion was "caused by the falling of an aerial target, and no sirens were activated." The drone hit a building in central Tel Aviv, killing one civilian and wounding eight others. The incident is being probed into. Israel’s air forces enhanced patrolling of the country’s airspace. The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthis) claimed responsibility for the attack.