After the drone explosion in Tel Aviv last Friday night, the Air Force began investigating the incident in order to learn lessons.
The radar investigation has revealed so far that the drone launched by the Khotites came out of Yemen, and cruised for 16 hours over 2,000 km until it hit a building in central Tel Aviv and killed the late Yevgeni Perder (age 50).
In the meantime, questions such as why the control soldiers did not notice the target, and how it approached the point of the explosion even though it could be seen on the radar screen are being examined.
Alongside this, the Air Force notes that since the beginning of the war, hundreds of air targets (such as UAVs and missiles) have been launched from Yemen and Iraq, about 200 from Iran, and about 300 more from Syria.
In response to the UAV attack, the Air Force sent dozens of fighter jets in one of the most complex operations in the country’s history – and without a doubt the most far-reaching, which was accordingly called Operation “Long Arm”.
After the historic attack by the Air Force in Yemen, the IDF spokesman published a statement stating that: “Today, July 20, 2024, Air Force planes attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in Yemen. All of our squadron returned safely.”
“The attack was carried out in response to the terrorist attacks of the Houthis against Israel in recent months, in which they launched hundreds of aerial threats, one of which caused the death of the Israeli citizen, Yevgeny Perder Zecharno, and the injury of several other civilians.”
On the details of the operation it is written that: “The Air Force planes went on an operational strike at a distance of over 1,800 km and attacked targets in the Hodeida port area in Yemen. The Hodeida port area serves as a supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons from Iran to the Houthi terrorist regime and is a significant economic source for it. This is the attack on targets farthest from the territory of the State of Israel that has ever been carried out by the Air Force.”
Sources in the army said that dozens of fighter jets flew for two hours and forty-five minutes to each side, while they performed aerial refueling.
The Air Force dismissed the documentation of the fighter jets flying at low altitude by foreign media and social networks, and explained that the issue was taken into account in the planning of the operation, which ended successfully.
