The aerial strike rumbled through the center of the city near the U. Embassy, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass from broken windows over a large area.
The Israeli military said it was investigating what went wrong. Chief spokesman Rear Adm. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on the social media platform X. The drone hit at around a. The military said it had not determined if it exploded in the air or directly struck buildings.
Limor Sajiv said they were woken by the sound of a blast. I mean, we heard missiles before People thronged the area as police helicopters hovered overhead. For many, it reaffirmed feelings of disillusionment with how the military has handled the war since October.
Yossi Nevi, a retired evacuee from Kiryat Shmona, said he was shaken awake in the hotel he lives in. Eldad Namdar, who owns a camera store next to the intersection where the drone is believed to have exploded, said he hopes the war ends soon, but he also wants it to be concluded in a way that secures his future. The U. State Department said there was no damage to the U. Embassy or any of its staff members. Christian areas scattered across Hezbollah-dominated southern Lebanon find themselves on the front line of a fight that few see as theirs.
The Houthis have routinely claimed responsibility for hitting targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Analysts and Western intelligence services have long accused Iran of arming the group, a claim that Tehran denies.
