Numerous Injuries Result from Drone Attack on Eilat in Israel

At least 20 individuals have been injured, with two suffering severe injuries, after a drone, launched from Yemen, struck Israel’s Red Sea resort city of Eilat, situated on the border with Jordan and Egypt.

According to the police, the drone crashed in the city center of Eilat, causing damage in an area popular with tourists.

Social media footage depicted a drone flying over the resort town before crashing, with smoke and flames rising from the impact area. Local reports indicated that the drone hit the ground adjacent to a hotel, resulting in damage to several rooms.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which occurred on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Eli Lankri, the mayor of Eilat, urged the government to take a strong stance against the Houthis in retaliation, noting that repeated attacks have disrupted operations at the Eilat port.

The Israeli military acknowledged attempts to intercept the drone, but provided no additional details.

Citing an initial investigation, the local newspaper Israel Hayom reported that air defense systems had failed to intercept the drone.

This drone attack follows a previous incident where the Houthis launched a drone that crashed in Eilat’s hotel zone, causing material damage but no casualties.

The Houthis, supported by Iran, have been firing missiles and drones at Israel in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. Most of these strikes have either been intercepted or fallen short of their target, although one did temporarily shut down Israel’s main international airport earlier this year.

Israel has responded by bombing Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including the critical Hodeidah port. The Houthis, controlling the most populous regions of Yemen, have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea since the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023.

In Gaza, the Israeli military is intensifying its assault on Gaza City, from which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee.

The conflict was initiated by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, where 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and 251 were taken hostage. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has resulted in the deaths of over 65,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 160,000 injuries, leading to widespread famine, destruction of territories, and displacement of the population on multiple occasions.

Benjamin Netanyahu informed the family of Alon Ohel, a hostage still held in Gaza, that both military and diplomatic efforts are being made to defeat Hamas and secure the release of all hostages, as stated by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office on Wednesday.