Incoming ‘aerial target’ sets off sirens in Eilat

While the source of the threat is unclear, the incident comes amid increasing threats from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

(JNS)

Air-raid sirens blared in the Eilat area on Tuesday morning amid fears of a drone infiltration over the Red Sea resort city.

The Israel Defense Forces updated about 30 minutes after the alerts were activated that an “aerial target” had been identified “approaching Israeli territory,” adding that “there was no threat or risk to civilians.”

The IDF did not confirm reports that a drone had been intercepted or from which direction the target was approaching.

However, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen appeared to threaten the Israeli city on Friday night, with senior Houthi leader Hizam al-Asad tweeting the single word “Eilat” in Arabic.

Earlier on Friday, the IDF said that a fighter jet had intercepted an “aerial threat” over the Red Sea, which came hours after a drone attack on the Egyptian resort town of Taba in the Sinai Peninsula that wounded six people.

Taba is located along the border with Israel, some six miles from Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city.

Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters that a projectile also fell in the Red Sea town of Nuweiba.

Last week, the USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, shot down missiles and drones from Yemen that could have been aimed at Israel, the Pentagon said.

“The crew of the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney, operating in the northern Red Sea earlier today, shot down three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman.

“They were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea, potentially toward targets in Israel,” he added.

Image: Israelis crowd a beach near Eilat, southern Israel, on Aug. 9, 2023. Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90.