Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for drone attack on Israel near U.S. diplomatic building

Israel's military was investigating a surprise drone attack claimed by Iran-backed Houthis that killed at least one person and injured eight others near the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv.

The incident comes just hours after Israel's air force announced it killed two senior commanders of Hezbollah, a separate Iran-backed group based in southern Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging tit-for-tat strikes across the border for months, raising fears they are edging closer to all-out war.

Israel's Defense Forces said in a statement that an initial investigation indicated the explosion in Tel Aviv was caused by "the falling of an aerial target" ? language typically used to refer to drones. The blast killed a 50-year-old man, according to Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency service. Several people sustained shrapnel wounds.

A military spokesman for the Houthis claimed the group attacked Tel Aviv with a drone that was able to evade Israel's missile and drone warning and interception systems and will continue to target Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in the war in Gaza. The Houthis controls large parts of Yemen and have been firing drones at Israel's southern territory for months, as well as attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea.

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The IDF said it was probing why "no sirens were activated" and that it has increased air patrols over Israeli airspace.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement late Thursday that its forces destroyed two surface-to-air missiles and four drones on the ground in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the last 24 hours.

Tel Aviv's Mayor Ron Huldai said the city is moving to a higher state of alert after the apparent drone attack. "The war is still here, and it is hard and painful," he said in a post on X, the social media platform.

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Israel has kept up its airstrikes in Gaza as the war there approaches its tenth month. Talks between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire that would free hostages held by Hamas have stalled.

Former President Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem when he was in office, a controversial decision because Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The explosion near the Tel Aviv branch office was in a central district that is home to a number of diplomatic missions.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for drone attack on Tel Aviv