Israeli army says drone that hit Ashkelon launched from Yemen
It says after an initial assessment the drone that hit the southern city of Ashkelon this morning was launched from Yemen, where the Houthis have previously targeted Israel in what it says is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
However, in a statement on Telegram, the army said the drone caused no damage and fell into an open space.
Houthis say drones launched towards Israel’s Ashkelon
The armed group that controls large parts of Yemen has launched drones towards an industrial zone in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to a statement by its forces.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces’ unmanned air force carried out a qualitative military operation targeting the industrial zone of the Israeli enemy in the Ashkelon region in southern occupied Palestine,” the statement said.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack earlier, saying it caused no damage.
Iranian defence doctrine under pressure after Israel strikes
Iran has now been attacked by a country in the region on its own soil for the first time since the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. That is increasing the sense of urgency here. Iran’s traditional non-state allies, in particular Hezbollah, are also under constant attack. Tehran’s defence doctrine has been to keep the war away from Iran, no matter what.
Now, that defence doctrine is facing tremendous challenges because Iranian officials are seeing the possibility of a conventional war at home … it is becoming a reality more and more. That is why the government is coming up with a bill to increase the defence budget by three times.
War monitor says two dead in Israeli attack on Syria-Lebanon border village
A Syrian war monitor says two people were killed in an Israeli strike near Syria’s border with Lebanon, the second strike in less than a week near a key land crossing.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli warplanes “attacked vehicles near Al-Nazariya Village in Al-Qaseer countryside” along the border with Lebanon, adding that “two people inside the vehicles were killed”.
The NGO said the area lies on a smuggling and transportation route between Lebanon and Syria.
The attack comes less than a week after Israel’s military confirmed a similar strike on the nearby Jousieh crossing, claiming it was being used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons.
Lebanese and United Nations officials warned that the attack had jeopardised the main escape route for people fleeing the conflict in Lebanon in search of refuge in Syria.
Israel had previously struck the Masnaa crossing further south, leaving it unusable.
