At least 50 people were injured Wednesday when drones launched by Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement struck the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, in what the Yemeni resistance hailed as a “qualitative military operation” against the Zionist entity.

According to Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, the strike caused widespread panic in the Mall Hayam shopping center area, a bustling tourism hub along the Red Sea coast. Medics confirmed that three of the injured were in serious condition, while dozens more suffered wounds and trauma.

Despite Israeli claims of advanced air defense systems, the army admitted the drone was launched from Yemen and fell inside Eilat “despite interception attempts.” Eyewitnesses reported heavy explosions and chaos as ambulances rushed to the scene, with security forces sealing off the district.

Ansar Allah’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out with two drones targeting sensitive Israeli sites in Eilat. “Both drones successfully hit their targets,” Saree declared, stressing that operations will continue until Israel halts its genocidal war on Gaza.

The strike comes in response to Israel’s intensified aggression on Yemen. Just last month, Israeli warplanes bombed the Yemeni capital Sanaa, killing 12 senior officials of the National Salvation Government, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and nine ministers. Last week, Israeli jets launched a new wave of airstrikes on Al-Hudaydah, further escalating the confrontation.

Ansar Allah has vowed that attacks on Israel will expand if the Gaza genocide continues. Over the past year, the Yemeni resistance has successfully disrupted Israeli shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, while steadily intensifying strikes deep inside the occupied territories.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 65,400 Palestinians, the majority women and children, while wounding more than 156,000. In return, resistance groups across the region – from Lebanon to Yemen – have opened multiple fronts, forcing the occupation to spread its military resources thin.

Despite Tel Aviv’s heavy censorship, Israeli data admits 912 soldiers killed since October 2023, though resistance factions assert the true losses are much higher. The Eilat strike highlights the growing vulnerability of Israel, where even heavily guarded southern cities are no longer immune from the regional resistance’s reach.

Yemeni political analysts stressed that the Eilat attack was both symbolic and strategic: hitting a tourist hub in Israel’s far south undermines the occupier’s narrative of “security and stability.” Saree reiterated that such operations will escalate until Israel halts its massacres in Gaza and lifts its siege on the Palestinian people. (ILKHA)