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A drone launched from Yemen struck a popular tourism district in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Wednesday, injuring at least 50 people in one of the most significant attacks on Israeli civilians in recent months.
Israel's national ambulance service MDA reported that three of the injured sustained serious wounds when the unmanned aircraft hit near the Mall Hayam shopping center, a bustling commercial hub in the Red Sea resort city that draws visitors from across Israel and abroad.
The Israeli military acknowledged that the drone originated from Yemen and reached its target despite attempts to intercept it, highlighting vulnerabilities in the country's air defense systems along its southern border.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as "a qualitative military operation using two drones." He said the aircraft targeted two Israeli sites in Eilat and "successfully hit their targets," though Israeli authorities have not confirmed strikes at multiple locations.
The incident represents a significant escalation in the shadow war between Israel and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which has intensified alongside Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The Houthis have increasingly targeted Israeli territory in what they describe as solidarity with Palestinians.
Israel has responded with its own strikes against Houthi positions. Last week, Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes on Houthi facilities in the coastal Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah. The military campaign reached a deadly peak last month when an Israeli strike in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed 12 senior Houthi officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and nine other ministers.
The tit-for-tat attacks have emerged as a secondary front in the broader regional conflict that began with Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel. The subsequent Israeli military response in Gaza has killed more than 65,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, drawing in Iranian-allied groups across the Middle East.
Eilat, located at Israel's southern tip near the borders with Jordan and Egypt, serves as a major tourist destination known for its coral reefs and resort hotels. Wednesday's attack marks a rare successful strike on the city, which lies approximately 300 miles from Yemen's coast.
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