by Gadi Zaig
The IDF said that attempts were made to intercept the drones.
Forty-eight people were wounded, including two men who were in serious condition and seventeen others who were lightly wounded by shrapnel, after a drone launched by the Houthi terrorist organization crashed in Eilat on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Israeli emergency medical service, Magen David Adom.
The Houthis took credit for the drone strike later that night.
The drone slammed down next to a hotel in the southern Israeli city, according to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN. Several rooms in a hostel near the crash site were damaged, according to Israel Fire and Rescue.
The IDF stated that the incident is being investigated and that the Israeli air force carried out two failed interception attempts using Iron Dome missile launchers. Search and rescue teams are operating in the area, the military added.
MDA paramedic Eyal Dadon said, "Reports were received at MDA’s 101 Emergency Dispatch Center about a strike near a building, and large MDA teams, including ambulances, mobile intensive care units, and rapid response teams, were dispatched to the scene.
"There was a fire, which was extinguished by firefighters, while we conducted a search of the area and provided medical treatment to about twenty injured people, including two in serious condition who suffered severe shrapnel injuries to their limbs," Dadon added.
Danger still present at the scene
Israel Police in Eilat are working with rescue forces at the site of the drone crash, a police spokesperson said. Police have also asked residents and visitors to the city to stay away from the scene of the incident.תיעוד נוסף מרגע הפגיעה באילת@bokeralmog pic.twitter.com/6Fah0rUDGX
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Israel Fire and Rescue also noted in its statement on the incident that explosive material remained at the scene as a result of the drone crash, and firefighters were working to conduct scans and contain the material until all danger was removed.
Wednesday's incident follows last week, when another drone launched by the Houthis towards Eilat crashed into the courtyard of a hotel, but with zero casualties in the event.
"Unfortunately, this is the third crash in less than two weeks, and although they are trying to disrupt our lives, they will not succeed," said Eilat Mayor Eli Lankari. The mayor then emphasized that the incident requires a serious and in-depth investigation after another IDF failure to intercept a drone towards the southern Israeli city.
"The IDF knows how to do it, and it is imperative to do it," Lankari said, referring to the fact that the port of Eilat had been shut down for nearly two years due to the Houthi threat.
"The answer to the Houthis is to continue life and daily routines while conducting a thorough investigation of the recent events and continuing to provide a full defensive response for the residents of Eilat and its guests with a broad defense envelope over the area, at sea, in the air, and on land."
German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, said that, "The world mustn’t get used to the Houthis trying to kill Israeli civilians just because they say they act for the people of Gaza, whom, of course, they do not help one bit."
French President Emmanuel Macron, who this week announced his country's recognition of a Palestinian state, said on X/Twitter, "I strongly condemn the Houthi drone attack on a commercial center in Eilat, right in the middle of the Rosh Hashanah holiday. My thoughts are with the wounded and their families, and I wish them a speedy recovery.
"The whole of France stands by the people of Israel in their fight against terrorism," he continued.
Yanir Yagna contributed to this report.
Gadi Zaig
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-868471
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