Ammon News - A long-range Iranian-made drone hit the centre of Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday, in an attack claimed by the Yemen-based Houthi militia that killed one man and slightly wounded four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said.

The explosion, which did not trigger air raid alarms, occurred hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

Chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military assessed that the drone was an upgraded Iranian-made Samad-3 model.

An Israeli official said the military was still investigating why the drone did not trigger the alarm, but initial reports suggested the drone was identified but the sirens were not sounded due to human error.


A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi militants said the group had attacked Tel Aviv with a drone and would continue to target Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.

In a televised speech, spokesperson Yahya Saree called Tel Aviv a primary target "within the range of our weapons".

He said the strike was carried out using a new drone called "Yafa", which he said was capable of bypassing interception systems and undetectable by radars.

Israel's emergency services said the body of a 50 year-old man was found in an apartment close to the explosion and four people were taken to hospital with slight shrapnel injuries. Four others were treated for shock. All of them were later released, health services said.

Footage from the site showed an apparent impact on a building located close to U.S. embassy premises in Tel Aviv.

Reuters