The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) have carried out a military operation targeting an Israeli military site in the occupied city of Yafa using a domestically developed “Yaffa” drone, and have shot down a “Giant Shark F360” reconnaissance drone in Sa’daa Governorate. 

In a statement on Friday, the YAF said that the retaliatory operation targeting Tel Aviv was conducted in response to the continued Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the daily massacres of Palestinians carried out with American support.

In a separate development, YAF air defenses shot down a Giant Shark F360 reconnaissance drone operated by the “American-Israeli enemy” while it was conducting missions over Yemen’s northern Sa’daa Governorate.

The drone was downed using a domestically produced surface-to-air missile, according to the statement.

The Yemeni forces also issued a call to action, urging “all free people of the nation” to stand against the Israeli genocidal war on Palestinians, warning of the risks of inaction and the potential expansion of Israeli aggression into other Arab and Islamic nations.

“The consequences of silence, inaction, and failure to fulfill one’s religious, moral, and humanitarian duties will be dire for all,” the statement read.

The YAF also pledged to continue operations until the Israeli regime halts its assault and lifts the siege on the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the day, the YAF conducted a retaliatory operation against US warships in the Red Sea, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, thwarting two planned strikes against Yemen. 

YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed the attacks, saying they were in direct response to recent US airstrikes on Yemen.

Brigadier General Saree noted that the operation, “the second in the past 24 hours,” thwarted two planned US aerial attacks against Yemen.

He stressed Yemen’s readiness to counter further escalation and vowed that pro-Palestinian operations would continue until Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza ends.

Gaza’s health authorities have reported that the death toll from the US-backed Israeli genocidal campaign has surpassed 50,609, with more than 115,000 others injured. Since mid-March alone, Israeli strikes have killed 1,249 Palestinians.