Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Israel’s Tel Aviv, with Israeli authorities saying one person was killed and several wounded.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarie pointed out in a statement that “the drone air force of the Yemeni armed forces (…) carried out a remarkable military operation against an important target in the occupied area of ​​Jaffa, known in Israel as Tel Aviv” .

He explained that the Houthis will continue to target Israel in a show of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, while pointing out that the Tel Aviv area will be their primary target as it is “within the range of our weapons”.

In Israel, police announced that they received hundreds of calls “around 03:00 am (local and Greek time)” about “a powerful explosion” in Tel Aviv.

A man in his 50s “was found dead in his apartment,” police said, adding that he had been hit by shrapnel.

Four people were also taken to hospital with shrapnel injuries, while four others were treated for shock. All of them have been discharged, the hospital administration said.

Images from the area where the explosion occurred show what appears to be a building, which is near the US embassy in Tel Aviv.

“No (warning) siren was sounded,” the Israeli military said without confirming the Houthi claim, though it added that it was not ruling out anything about the origin of the long-range drone.

“We are talking about a large UAV that can travel long distances,” an army officer said while briefing reporters on the strike in Tel Aviv.

He explained that the drone was detected by the Israeli army, but a “human error” occurred, resulting in “the interception and defense systems not being activated.”

The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen in the strategically important Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for months, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. .

On Saturday they had warned that “we will not hesitate to expand our military operations (…) until the attack” by Israel against Gaza stops.

In the past the Houthis have said they have launched several attacks against the Israeli Red Sea city of Eilat, but today’s strike is their first confirmed attack against Tel Aviv.

“The operation was carried out with a new drone named ‘Yafa’, capable of bypassing enemy interception systems, which is not detected by radars. It hit its targets successfully,” the Houthis emphasized in their statement today.

Sarie also warned that now “the occupied area of ​​Jaffa is an unsafe zone and the primary target” of Houthi attacks, which “will reach deep” into Israeli territory and will be conducted “mainly against sensitive military and security targets.”