Tel Aviv, Israel — An explosion rumbled through the streets of central Tel Aviv early Friday after an apparent drone attack sent shrapnel raining down, injuring at least 10 people and leaving one dead, authorities said.
Israel’s military said it was reviewing the explosion and increasing air patrols after the incident, which its initial investigations determined was caused by “an aerial target.”
It was not immediately clear how the attack evaded Israel’s air defenses or how Israel might respond.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai called the attack a drone attack on the social media platform X, although the military has not yet specified the nature of the attack.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, which put Tel Aviv on high alert on Friday.
Yemen’s Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel during the nine-month war, in sympathy with Hamas. But as of Friday, all were intercepted by Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.
The attack came hours after Israel’s military confirmed that one of its airstrikes had killed a Hezbollah commander and other militants in southern Lebanon. Israel has so far not attacked the Houthis, allowing its allies to take the lead as it focuses its efforts on the war in Gaza and ongoing fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
It comes as international mediators continue to hold out hope for a ceasefire agreement, pushing Israel and Hamas toward a gradual agreement that would stop the fighting and free about 120 hostages held by the militant group in Gaza.
Prospects for a deal could improve as Israeli leaders signal that the ongoing operation in Rafah is nearing an end. However, fears of a possible escalation resurfaced on Thursday after Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday to pray for the return of Israeli hostages. , he said, “without a reckless agreement, without giving up.”
Local Tel Aviv police said Friday’s explosion occurred around 3:10 a.m., echoed through nearby cities and physically injured at least 10 people. Tel Aviv district commander Peretz Amar said officers were unable to locate the contact point, suggesting the explosion occurred in the air.
“The force of the explosion caused damage that is not extensive but spread over a large area. At the moment we don’t know what the object was,” Amar said.
Israel possesses a multi-layered air defense system, capable of intercepting threats ranging from long-range ballistic missiles to drones and short-range missiles. These systems have intercepted thousands of projectiles throughout the war. But officials warn they are not 100% effective and the systems appear to have struggled against small, hard-to-detect attack drones. It was not known what system, if any, was implemented.
Like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are backed by Israel’s archenemy, Iran. Israel has also largely avoided direct confrontation with Iran throughout the war. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel during a single incident in April in response to Israel’s alleged assassination of a pair of Iranian generals in Syria at the time.
The war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, has killed more than 38,600 people, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian coastal territory, displacing most of its 2.3 million inhabitants and causing widespread famine.
The Hamas attack in October killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants took about 250 hostage. About 120 remain in captivity, and about a third of them are believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities. .
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