Houthi Drone Breaches Israeli Defences, Injures 22 In Eilat

Jerusalem- In a rare breach of Israel's sophisticated missile defences a drone launched by Yemen's Houthi fighters struck southern Israeli city of Eilat on Wednesday wounding 22 people, according to medics.

In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, Israelis killed at least 41 Palestinians, according to local hospitals.

Iran-backed Ansarallah fighters, known as Houthis in Yemen have regularly fired drones and missiles at Israel - and attacked international shipping - in what they say is support for the Palestinians. The vast majority of the drones and missiles fired at Israel have been shot down or fallen in open areas without wounding anyone.

The Ansarallah said in a statement that its fighters had fired two drones at Israel. Israel has carried out retaliatory airstrikes on Yemen after past attacks, and Defence Minister Israel Katz, in a post on X, warned the Houthis that“anyone who harms Israel will be harmed sevenfold”.

The Israeli military said it had tried to intercept the drone. The Magen David Adom rescue service said the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital, two of them with“severe shrapnel injuries to their limbs”.

In Gaza, at least 22 people were killed when an Israeli strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to Dr Fadel Naim, director of the Al-Ahli hospital, which received the casualties. Three children and nine women were among those killed, he told The Associated Press.

The Israeli military said it targeted two Hamas militants, using precise munitions and taking other measures to avoid harming civilians. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas.

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