Suspected drone strike in Tel Aviv kills one and injures at least 10
A suspected drone strike tore through the streets of central Tel Aviv early on Friday morning, raining down shards of shrapnel, killing one and injuring at least 10 people.
Israel's emergency response service said those injured were being treated for their injuries, while a 50-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The country’s military said it was reviewing the explosion and increasing air patrols after the incident, which its initial inquiries determined was caused by "an aerial target".
The strike has been claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia - a Yemen based group which has supported Hamas by launching missiles and drones into Israel.
Until Friday, all of these efforts were intercepted by either Israel or Western allies with forces stationed in the region.
Israel has said the breach of security was because of human error.
The country has so far not made attacks on the Houthis, allowing its allies instead to take the lead as it focuses its efforts on the war in Gaza and ongoing fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.
Local police said that the blast sounded at roughly 3.10am on Friday, reverberating to nearby cities and physically injuring at least 10 people.
Tel Aviv district commander Peretz Amar said officers could not locate the point of contact, suggesting the explosion occurred in the air.
"The force of the explosion caused damage that is not great but is spread over a large area. At the moment we don't know what the object was," Mr Amar said.
Israel's military said they were reviewing the explosion and increasing air patrols after the incident which Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai on Twitter called a drone strike.
Yahya Sare'e, the Houthis' spokesperson, said in a statement on Twitter that the strike was made in retaliation to the war in Gaza and had hit one of many of the group's targets.
The Houthis claimed that their newest drones can bypass Israel's aerial defence systems. However, a spokesperson for Israel's military said on Friday that the explosive-laden drone had been identified on Thursday and attributed the hit to "human error".
The military's assessment of aerial threats has not changed because, the military said, Israel's adversaries have attempted such strikes for months.
"It was a terror attack that was targeted to kill civilians in Israel," the Israeli spokesperson said.
The attack on Tel Aviv comes as international mediators continue to hold out hope for a ceasefire agreement, pushing Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would halt fighting and free about 120 hostages held by the militant group in Gaza