A drone fired from Yemen struck the balcony of the penthouse apartment of a 15-story residential building in the central city of Yavne on Monday morning.

In a neis, although no sirens sounded before the drone hit, no one was injured. However, several apartments sustained significant damage.

Residents reported hearing a loud explosion shortly after 9:15 a.m. and smoke was seen rising from the building.

Footage shared on social media shows the aircraft moments before the explosion.

An IDF spokesperson stated that “a strike by an unmanned aircraft has been identified, which apparently crossed from Yemen in the vicinity of the city of Yavne. No reports of casualties have been received so far.”

The IDF said it will investigate why no sirens were sounded.

The IDF later stated that according to an initial probe of the incident, the drone had flown into Israeli airspace from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea after making a long detour apparently over Egypt. It crossed into Israeli territory near the southern cities of Sderot and Ashdod, close to the Gaza Strip, and headed north along the coast toward Yavne.

The IDF detected the drone at several locations after it entered Israeli airspace but it was not a continuous detection. Because of this, the military was unable to predict the drone’s route and sound warning sirens. A fighter jet was scrambled to intercept the drone but it was too late and the drone struck the building.

MDA paramedic Israel Weingarten and emergency medical technician Roi Ben Shushan said: “We arrived at the scene quickly with large forces and saw thick smoke rising from a balcony on the top floor of the building. We entered the apartment from which the smoke was coming and saw destruction on the balcony. We conducted a search in the apartment and in additional apartments in the building, and at this stage, no casualties were found.”

“We urge residents to remain in protected areas, avoid going to the sites, not to approach or touch the remnants of rockets that may contain explosives, and to report this immediately to the 100 hotline of the Israel Police,” the police stated.

“Additionally, we emphasize to the public to continue to act responsibly – to avoid spreading false messages (“fake news”) about landing sites and casualties, and as mentioned, to stick to official updates and life-saving guidelines from the spokespersons of the Israel Police, IDF, and Home Front Command only.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)