A drone launched by the Houthi terror group in Yemen on Wednesday evening, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, exploded in Eilat’s tourist district opposite the Mall HaYam shopping center, leaving at least 22 people wounded — two in serious condition, one moderately, and the rest lightly.

It was the second Houthi strike on the city in less than a week.

The IDF reported that forces, along with Israel Police, rushed to the scene to evacuate the area and provide emergency medical care. An Air Force helicopter was deployed to assist in transferring the injured. The military urged the public to strictly follow Home Front Command instructions: “Upon receiving an alert, immediately enter a protected area for 10 minutes. These guidelines save lives.”

Later, the IDF confirmed that interception attempts had failed. The drone flew at very low altitude, close to that of a cruise missile, delaying detection and complicating interception efforts. The Air Force has launched an investigation into the failure.

The strike comes only a week after a Houthi drone exploded at the entrance to the Jacob Hotel in Eilat, sparking a fire but causing no injuries, and two weeks after a Houthi drone struck the passenger terminal at Ramon Airport, damaging the facility and lightly injuring two airport employees.