Illustrative image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on June 4 intercepted a drone close to the Egyptian border, with the Houthis (Ansar Allah) later claiming responsibility.
In a statement, the military said that the drone “launched from the east” was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over the Be’er Milka area on the Israel-Egypt border. Egyptian media confirmed the interception, revealing that it was carried out by an attack helicopter. Later, footage were released by Israel.
The Houthis later announced that they had launched two Yafa suicide drones from Yemen at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel. The fate of the second drone remains unclear.
The Yafa is a larger version of an Iranian suicide drone codenamed by the United States military and intelligence as KAS-04 with an estimated range of around 2,000 kilometers. The Houthis have been operating several versions of the KAS-04 dubbed Samad-1, 2, 3 and 4 for more than six years now.
Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree vowed in the statement announcing the attack that “operations against the criminal Zionist enemy will continue until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”
This was the Houthis’ second attack on Ben Gurion in under 48 hours. On June 3, the group launched a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport. The attack disturbed flights to Israel, but the IDF said that the missile was intercepted by air defenses. No losses were reported.
The Palestine-2 is a two-stage solid-fueled hypersonic missile that appears to be derivative from Iran’s first hypersonic missile Fattah-1. It has a range of over 2,150 kilometers and a top speed equivalent to 16 times the speed of sound, according to the Houthis.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have launched 44 ballistic missiles and at least 11 suicide drones at Israel.
In response, at least four waves of Israeli strikes targeted infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in recent weeks, from the ports in al-Hodeidah, to cement factories, power stations and Sanaa International Airport in the Yemeni capital.
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