THERAN - The recent drone strike carried out by the Yemeni army against Israel has further eroded trust in the regime's military capabilities and highlighted growing frustration with its handling of the Gaza war.

On Friday, Tel Aviv was hit by an unprecedented Yemeni drone attack. 

The Ansarullah movement claimed responsibility for the strike which killed one person and injured at least 10 others. It was the movement’s first lethal strike into Israel.

Blame game 

Israeli officials resorted to blame game to paper over the regime’s military failures as the drone penetrated Israel’s multilayered air defenses. 

The Israeli military spokesman said the drone was detected by air defenses, but an “error” occurred and “there was no interception”.

“We are investigating the entire chain,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari added. 

Another military official blamed “human error,” according to the Associated Press. 

Losing trust in Israeli army

Israel’s failure to intercept the Yemeni drone has also caused disillusionment among the public. 

Yossi Nevi, a retired evacuee from northern Israel, told AP that he was shaken awake in the hotel he lives in. Nevi said hearing it was a human error made him lose “all trust in the army”. 

Some other Israelis also expressed shock at the drone attack, calling for an end to the Gaza war. 

The Yemeni strike also hit the headlines in Israel. 

Military failure

The Israeli website Walla said the attack has brought the Israeli air force’s failure to the fore. 

It also brought up a question, saying, “What was the Air Force built for over the past decade?"  

The Israeli intelligence site Intel Times also fired a sharp barb at the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a report titled "Today Tel Aviv, and tomorrow they will target the gas platform".

It questioned the regime’s ability to deter similar attacks in the future. 

War of attrition 

A military analyst also criticized Israel’s response to the incident, saying it raises "significant doubts”. Amir Bohbot made the comment as he referred to Israel’s failure to intercept the drone despite its large size and the distant location from which it was launched, according to Al Mayadeen.

Bohbot said the drone strike is "serious in many ways”, citing Israel’s “war of attrition” with regional resistance groups.  

He added that the drone attack implies the "erosion of the army's power", emphasizing that any attack on Israel is considered an achievement for regional resistance groups. 

The Ansarullah movement said the drone strike was in retaliation for Israel’s brutal war on Gaza. 

Over the past months, the movement has targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and carried out drone and missile attacks against Israeli ports. 

The Yemeni resistance movement has reiterated that it won’t stop the attacks unless Israel ends its war of genocide on Gaza. 
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has also been exchanging fire with Israel since October 8. That’s a day after Israel declared war on Gaza which has so far claimed the lives of about 39,000 Palestinians in the territory. 

Hezbollah, like Ansarullah, says it carries out strikes against Israel in solidarity with Palestinians. 

The Lebanese resistance movement has reiterated that its attacks will stop only if Israel brings an end to the Gaza onslaught. 

Bubble bursts 

The Yemeni drone strike on Tel Aviv also blew out windows, pushing people to sweep up shattered glass of the doors of their houses. 

But as they were doing so, they were pondering how regional resistance groups have shattered the image of Israel’s invincibility. 

Israelis had been happy to live with the myth that Israel is unbeatable and untouchable. But the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas turned this dream into a nightmare on October 7 when it carried out a surprise military operation in southern Israel.

For now, the Yemeni army’s drone strike on Tel Aviv serves as a strong warning to the Netanyahu regime, indicating that all cities in Israel are in the crosshairs of the regional resistance forces.