Eilat Mayor: Yemeni attacks disrupt our lives

OCCUPIED PALESTINE, Sept. 25 (YPA) -Israeli air defense systems failed for the third time in recent days to intercept drones launched from Yemen targeting the southern city of Eilat, according to Israeli media and military sources.

The repeated failures have sparked criticism and raised questions about the reliability of Israel’s aerial defense capabilities.

Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported that the Israeli Air Force was unable to prevent a third drone strike on Eilat, leaving the city “exposed to Yemeni UAVs.”

The paper noted that the incident is expected to lead to “serious and difficult questions” within the defense establishment.

“This is the third impact in less than two weeks. Even though they’re trying to disrupt our lives, it won’t succeed,” said Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri.

In a related report, Haaretz quoted Israel’s emergency services chief as saying field teams encountered “unusual levels of damage” following the latest drone explosion. Officials did not disclose the exact extent or nature of the damage.

An unnamed Israeli military source revealed details of the technical failures that plagued the three most recent drone incidents:

In the Ramon Airport attack, the drone was detected but not classified as hostile, leading to a failure to activate air defense systems.

In the Jacob Hotel incident, the drone was identified and interception was attempted but unsuccessful.

In the most recent attack, interceptor missiles were launched but missed their target.

The sources confirmed that the situation is under investigation. The details reveal a shift in Israel’s response — from failure to classify the threat to failure to intercept it — placing the country’s air defense capabilities under growing scrutiny both domestically and internationally.

@E.Y.M