A “hostile aircraft” crashed into the Red Sea near Eilat overnight Tuesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“IDF forces monitored the UAV throughout the incident, and it did not cross into Israeli territory. During the event, an interceptor missile was launched towards the drone,” said the military.
The incident nevertheless triggered sirens in Israel’s southernmost city.
The IDF added that the UAV came from the “direction of the Red Sea,” indicating it likely originated from the Houthis in Yemen or other Iranian-backed terror groups in Iraq.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Arrow defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile heading toward Eilat from the direction of the Red Sea.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched ballistic missiles and drones at southern Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
In May, an IAF fighter jet and aerial defense systems downed two drones fired “from the east” toward Eilat. The UAVs did not cross into Israeli territory.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for that attack. The umbrella group of Iranian-backed radical Shi’ite militias said it launched the drones at IDF positions in Eilat in support of Hamas in Gaza.
The group has claimed dozens of drone attacks on Israel since Hamas started the war on Oct. 7. Most of the drones have been intercepted, but in April at least one scored a direct hit on an Israeli Navy base in Eilat, causing damage but no casualties.
{Matzav.com}
