Israel says it did not intercept the drone that hit Yavne due to doubts that it was “a civilian device”

He states that it was identified as “a suspicious target close to other non-hostile devices”

Dec. 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli Army has stated this Tuesday that the drone launched on Monday by the Houthis from Yemen that hit a residential building in the city of Yavne (south) without setting off alarms was not intercepted due to doubts that it was a “civilian apparatus”, which meant that it was not intercepted.

The head of the Air Force, Tomer Bar, has indicated that investigations into the incident reveal that “the hostile aircraft, which was launched from Yemen, was identified as a suspicious target close to other non-hostile aircraft,” according to a published statement. by the Army.

Thus, he added that “a combat helicopter and defense systems were prepared to intercept the device”, although he pointed out that this action was not carried out “due to concerns that it was a civilian device and the absence of follow-up.” continuous”.

Bar has therefore stated that it was a “mistake” not to activate the anti-aircraft alerts, a fact that he attributed to the fact that the drone “was not classified as a hostile device”, while emphasizing that it was “a hostile incident in a civilian space.” “, although it ended without victims.

After the event, the rebels’ military operations spokesman, Yahya Sari, spoke of “a precise military operation” with a drone against “a sensitive target” in Yavne and assured that “the drone successfully reached its objective,” according to a statement. published on his account on the social network X.

“This operation is part of supporting the Palestinian resistance,” he said, before emphasizing that the Houthis “will continue to confront any Israeli aggression against the country with further military operations.” “The support operations for the Palestinian people will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted,” he concluded.

The Houthis have carried out dozens of drone and projectile attacks against Israel since the outbreak of the conflict in the region following the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions against Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and around 250 kidnapped.