Yemen's Houthis to Claim Drone Strike on Israel's Tel Aviv

A senior official of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has confirmed to Newsweek the group was set to soon announce its involvement in an apparent drone attack that struck Israel's major city of Tel Aviv.

Reports first emerged early Friday local time of a massive explosion that rocked the city center amid Israel's ongoing war with the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip and clashes with other factions of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance. While the cause of the blast has yet to be officially confirmed, local media and social media users pointed to indications of potential debris from an unmanned aerial vehicle at the site of the blast. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soon began to investigate the claims.

"Earlier tonight (Friday), an explosion sounded in the area of central Tel Aviv. We are looking into the reports that it was an aerial target," a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Newsweek. "The incident is under review."

Hours later, Ansar Allah military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was preparing "an announcement of a qualitative military operation," though he did not provide any further details.

Asked if the announcement was connected to the suspected drone strike in Tel Aviv, Ansar Allah Deputy Information Secretary Nasreddin Amer affirmed to Newsweek that was indeed the case.

Details are still emerging of what could prove to be one of the most subversive attacks to Israel's security since the large-scale Hamas-led attack that took the nation by surprise more than nine months ago. Two individuals were reportedly receiving medical care for shrapnel injuries associated with the incident, according to Israel's Magen David Adom national emergency service.

Hours before the blast, Amer told Newsweek that the group's operations "will not stop at all until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is completely lifted—this is what we said months ago, and we are still saying, and nothing will happen except only what we say."

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

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