President Biden’s top campaign advisors both weighed in on Friday to comment on widespread speculation surrounding the 2024 presidential race.

The first clarification came from Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who left no room for question during an interview with MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’

‘The president’s in this race,’ O’Malley Dillon told the hosts. ‘You’ve heard him say that time and time again, and I think we saw on display last night exactly why, because Donald Trump is not going to offer anything new to the American people. He’s the same person he was in 2020. He’s the same person he was at the debate stage.’

O’Malley Dillon made clear there was no question that Biden is ‘more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump’ — pushing back yet again on weeks and weeks of leaks and speculation claiming the president was close to pulling out of the race.

‘We believe in this campaign we are built for the close election that we are in, and we see the path forward,’ O’Malley Dillon continued. ‘The president is the leader of our campaign and of the country, and he is clearly in our impression, and what we’ve built, and in our engagement with voters, he’s the best person to take on Donald Trump and prosecute that case and present his vision versus what we saw last night.’

This rock-solid statement of commitment was slightly complicated just hours later by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. — co-chair of Biden’s re-elections campaign — who said the president is ‘weighing what he should weigh.’

Coons told the press during a panel at the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Security Forum that Biden is considering ‘who is the best candidate to win in November and to carry forward the Democratic Party’s values and priorities in this campaign.’

He noted that Biden attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C., this month after a ‘very bad debate performance’ and that the president ‘Did a press conference. Did campaign events. Did campaign rallies.’

‘And there are folks still saying he is not strong enough or capable enough to be our next president,’ he continued. ‘I disagree.’

According to Coons, ‘There is a lot of concern and anxiety about this because the stakes are so significant. The consequences of this election are profound.’

Coons walked back this somewhat shaky comment just hours later with a post to social media professing total support for Biden’s re-election effort.

‘I fully support the President. He’s told me he’s in it to win it,’ Coons wrote on social media platform X. ‘I’m with him 100% because I know he can beat Trump just like he did last time.’

Five more House Democrats on Friday joined the growing number of congressional lawmakers who have called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 election. 

In a joint statement, Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, Chuy Garcia, D-Illinois and Marc Pocan, D-Wisc., urged Biden to ‘pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders.’ 

‘Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders,’ the lawmakers wrote. 

‘We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy, protect our alliances and the rules-based international order, and continue building on the strong foundation you have established over the past four years,’ they said.

‘At this point, however, we must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign. These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change. We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House.’

Veasey is the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group that has strongly backed Biden, to call for the president to step aside. 

A fifth House Democrat, Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois, separately urged Biden to drop out in an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune. 

‘It’s time for Joe Biden to pass the torch,’ Casten wrote.

‘[P]olitics, like life, isn’t fair. And as long as this election is instead litigated over which candidate is more likely to be held accountable for public gaffes and ‘senior moments,’ I believe that Biden is not only going to lose but is also uniquely incapable of shifting that conversation.’

Additionally, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., on Friday called on Biden to suspend his presidential campaign. He is now the third Democratic senator to do so. 

‘While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is in the best interests of our country for him to step aside,’ Heinrich said in a statement. 

There are now 28 Congressional Democrats who have called on Biden to step aside. That number represents more than 10% of elected Democrats in Congress. 

Behind the scenes, more and more Democratic party officials, top donors and key Biden allies are reportedly urging the president to reconsider his decision to stay in the race. Should Biden drop out ahead of the Democratic National Committee convention in August, Vice President Kamala Harris is acknowledged to be in the best position to receive the party’s nomination — although some Democrats fear she would also lose to Trump, and prefer that a candidate unaffiliated with the current administration be nominated in an open convention.

Biden has made no public indication that he intends to step aside, and his campaign has forcefully denied all suggestions to the contrary. 

‘Absolutely the president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and again,’ Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Friday on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’ 

‘I’m not here to say this hasn’t been a tough several weeks for the campaign, there’s no doubt that it has been, and we’ve definitely seen some slippage in support. But it has been a small movement.’

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

With President Biden’s future uncertain, a majority of Democrats say the country would be in good hands if his vice president were to take over the White House. 

A new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about six in 10 Democrats believe that Vice President Kamala Harris would do a good job as president herself. About two in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another two in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.

The survey comes as an increasing number of Democratic officials are publicly urging Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election after his disastrous debate performance on June 27. Democratic officials are worried that voters don’t believe that the 81-year-old president is capable of performing his duties, and many have suggested that Harris or another candidate would fare better against the Republican nominee, former President Trump. 

Recent polls show Democratic voters have soured on Biden as well. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of Massachusetts residents found that 64% of likely Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters want someone other than Biden to face off against Trump. The AP-NORC national survey likewise found that 65% of Democrats say Biden should drop out of the race. 

While Harris is the focus of several insider discussions for a plan B ticket, the vice president has maintained strong public support for Biden and defended him from slings and arrows thrown by panicked party officials speaking anonymously to the press.

But if Harris, 59, were to replace Biden atop the ticket, Democratic voters would mostly be happy with the younger candidate — a woman of color who could champion the party’s message on abortion rights, and a former state attorney general who could prosecute the Democratic Party’s case against voting for Trump.

Harris could also motivate key Democratic constituencies to show up on Election Day, including women and Black adults, who were more likely than Americans overall to say Harris would do well as president. 

Americans outside the Democratic Party were more skeptical of how Harris would perform in the Oval Office. Only about three in 10 Americans say Harris would be a good president. Nearly half said Harris would not do a good job, and two in 10 say they don’t know enough to have an opinion. 

Harris’ favorability rating is similar to Biden’s, but the share of Americans who have an unfavorable opinion of her is somewhat lower. The poll showed that about four in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of Harris, while about half have an unfavorable opinion. There are more Americans with a negative view of Biden: approximately six in 10. About one in 10 Americans say they don’t know enough to have an opinion of Harris, whereas nearly everyone has an opinion on Biden.

About three-quarters of Democrats have a positive view of Harris, which is in line with how Democrats view Biden. Seven in 10 have a favorable view of him.

Harris is also better-known among Democrats than other potential candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. About one-third of Democrats say Newsom would make a good president, and half don’t know enough to say. About one-quarter of Democrats say Whitmer would do well, and about two-thirds don’t know enough to say.

The AP poll of 1,253 adults was conducted July 11-15, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden’s catastrophic performance at the recent presidential debate has sparked panic among the Democratic Party’s hierarchy, with key players said to be mulling how to get him to abandon his re-election bid.

The situation has plunged the party into crisis and threatens to drive a wedge between Biden loyalists and elected officials in swing districts ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Biden’s top campaign aides have been working damage control with major donors, while the White House – and Biden himself – remain adamant he is the right man to lead the party against former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

Democrats who say Biden should drop out

Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y.: The moderate front-liner and one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents reportedly said in an interview with the New York Times on July 10 that he would ‘be doing a grave disservice if I said [Biden] was the best candidate to serve this fall.’ Ryan added, ‘For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I’m asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on the promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.’Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas: ‘I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.’Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.: ‘I’m going to support [Biden], but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere. … What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility of keeping that seat, and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.’Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass: ‘President Biden has done enormous service to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our founding father George Washington’s footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump.’Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill.: ‘Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this.’Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.: ‘As an elected leader, I feel a responsibility to be honest about what I believe, even when it’s hard to hear. President Biden is a good man and I appreciate his lifetime of service. But I believe he should step aside for the next generation of leadership. The stakes are too high.’Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.: ‘And he has health care concerns. You saw that at the White House press conference today, where there were not clear answers given. So I just think at, this point, there are other people that could deliver that message better. And the stakes are so high.’Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.: ‘I realize this is hard, but we have done hard things in the pursuit of democracy since the founding of this nation. It is time to do so again. And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee.’Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.; Mark Takano, D-Calif.; Don Beyer, D-Va., reportedly expressed during a virtual meeting hosted by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on July 7 that Biden should exit the presidential race as the Democratic nominee on Sunday, and most of them said Harris should be the nominee, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Beyer later released a statement saying he supports Biden.Adam Frisch, candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District: ‘I thank President Biden for his years of service, but the path ahead requires a new generation of leadership to take our country forward.’Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.: ‘We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night. I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not. For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.’Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.: ‘While this is a decision for the president and the first lady, I hope they will come to the conclusion that I and others have: President Biden should not be the Democratic presidential nominee. It is a painful and difficult conclusion but there is no question in my mind that we will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms. He has earned that right.’Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich.: ‘President Biden has served his country well, but for the sake of our democracy, he must pass the torch to a new candidate for the 2024 election.’Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill.: ‘ In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known. He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation. I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.’Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz.: ‘I was one of President Biden’s earliest supporters in 2020, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made for Arizona. However the stakes in this election could not be higher. For our country’s sake, it is time for the President to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.’Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii: ‘Difficult times and realities require difficult decisions. This is one of those times, realities and decisions. My guidepost is what is the best way forward for our country. I do not believe President Biden should continue his candidacy for re-election as President.’Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.: ‘The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism. I no longer believe that is Joe Biden, and I hope that, as he has throughout a lifetime of public service, he will continue to put our nation first and, as he promised, make way for a new generation of leaders.’Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.: ‘We must find a candidate from our deep bench of talent who can defeat Donald Trump … I hope all Democrats will join me in putting the country first, preserving the progress of the past four years, and solidifying Joe Biden’s legacy as one of the great leaders of our time — by defeating Donald Trump.’Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill.: ‘Every day, I remain committed to the people of Central and Northwestern Illinois. I believe our best days are still ahead. And today, I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for president.’Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo.: ‘Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again. Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced.’Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif.: ‘I have deep respect for President Biden’s five plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years. But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.’Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.: ‘While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is in the best interests of our country for him to step aside.’ Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.: ‘It’s time for Joe Biden to pass the torch.’ Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, Chuy Garcia, D-Ill. and Marc Pocan, D-Wisc.: ‘Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders.’ Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.: ‘Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right, and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong. And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.’

Democrats who have raised concerns 

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: ‘I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate of both candidates.’Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, D-Wash.: ‘About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. We all saw what we saw, you can’t undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump.’Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine: ‘In 2025, I believe Trump is going to be in the White House. Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what.’Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa.: ‘Maybe folks don’t want to hear, but we have timing that is running out. Time is not on our side. We have a few months to do a monumental task. It’s not cheap and it’s not easy. If our president decides this is not a pathway forward for him, we have to move very quickly. There’s not going to be time for a primary. That time is past. The vice president is the obvious choice. She’s sitting right there.’Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.: ‘I do know this: I think that the American people want an explanation; they need to be reassured, and I hope that over the next several days, we’ll do that.’Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.: ‘I think like a lot of people, I was pretty horrified by the debate. … I think people want to make sure that this is a campaign that’s ready to go and win, that the president and his team are being candid with us about his condition, that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days.’Gov. Maura Healey, D-Mass.: ‘President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes … the best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.’Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa.: ‘In a confidential conversation with other members of House Democratic leadership, I expressed the same concerns that Americans across the country are grappling with, about President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket.’Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.: ‘We’re all here this week to have this discussion, to have this debate. I’m sure President Biden has a different view of his prospects in this election than I do. But we should be having a discussion about that … in the time since that disastrous debate, I think [the Biden administration] has done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election, that they have a convincing plan to win in the battleground states where we have to win in order to win this election.’Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.: ‘The performance on the debate stage I think rightfully raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the vigor to defeat Donald Trump. And this is an existential risk.’Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.: ‘I expect complete transparency from the White House about this issue and a willingness to answer many legitimate questions from the media and voters about his capabilities.’Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.: When asked on July 5 if President Biden still gives his party the best chance to win in November, he said, ‘I don’t think we know that yet.’Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H.: ‘People are disappointed with what they saw last week. And I think it’s up to President Biden to answer what kind of path he can be on for the future: to restore confidence or to pass the torch.’Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.: ‘We need a course correction. We’ve got to acknowledge that this was not just one bad night.’Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.: ‘President Biden has got to go out there, and in a sustained basis, show he has the stamina and can do the job.’Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif.: ‘This White House is going to have to be way less insular than they have been.’Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.: ‘The question just now is: Is this a candidate who can win the election? Because as much as I love Joe Biden, in those swing states, he’s having a hard time.’Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H.: ‘In order to respond to our constituents’ concerns, we need to demonstrate that the president is fit not just for the job but for the campaign.’Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C.: ‘If he is going to stay in, he needs to step up.’Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.: ‘We’re having a serious conversation about what to do.’Colorado Gov. Jared Polis: ‘When you’re down a few points, something needs to change. So, whether that’s the strategy, whether that’s the message, whether that’s the candidate. Look, I think we’re open to all those possibilities.’

Democrats who support Biden as nominee

Twenty-three Democratic governors from across the nation descended on the White House last Wednesday evening to meet with the embattled president, but after the gathering, only Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke to reporters to express their support. 

Moore described the meeting with Biden as ‘honest’ and ‘candid’ and said the governors were ‘going to have his back.’

Hochul said Biden was ‘in it to win it’ and that the trio had pledged their support to him ‘because the stakes could not be higher,’ invoking on the eve of Independence Day the fight against tyranny.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who many commentators have proposed as a possible Biden replacement, also took part in the White House meeting and backed the 81-year-old. 

‘I heard three words from the President tonight – he’s all in. And so am I,’ Newsom posted on X on July 3. Newsom also publicly backed Biden immediately after the debate. 

‘You don’t turn your back because of one performance,’ Newsom said after the debate. ‘What kind of party does that? This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him at this moment.’

Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker has also publicly backed Biden, as has Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green. 

Elsewhere, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a longtime Biden ally, has also expressed his support, as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

‘A setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback,’ Jeffries has posted to X.

As for Democrat senators, Alex Padilla of California has said, ‘Joe Biden is going to be our Democratic nominee,’ while Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said Biden has ‘always had Nevadans’ backs, whether it’s on the picket lines, protecting our personal freedoms or lowering costs. Now it’s time for us to have his.’ 

Rep. Al Green of Texas has said ‘I think that we need to move forward with Biden.’

‘Any ‘leader’ calling for President Biden to drop out needs to get their priorities straight and stop undermining this incredible actual leader who has delivered real results for our country,’ adds Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said, ‘I don’t care what anybody says; it ain’t going to be no other Democratic candidate.’  And Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has said, ‘I’ll do my best to get him elected.’

Fox News’ Kyle Morris, Alicia Acuna and Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic Party commission seem prepared to make Joe Biden an offer he can’t refuse: One way or another, he’s dropping out of this race, they say, either with his consent or with his legacy destroyed.

Just when Biden thought his candidacy was safe, after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump quieted talk of a swap at the top of the ticket, they pulled him back in, and now the pundits tell us that his campaign won’t survive the weekend. We’ll see.

For the bosses of the Democrat family, ending Biden’s political career is a three-step process. First they ask him to leave, then they tell him to leave, and finally they threaten to destroy him if he won’t wise up. We are almost at step three.

The advantages of step one are very clear. Had Biden selflessly and magnanimously put his own interests aside for the betterment of the party, if not the country, by dropping out, he might have seen the kind of double-digit approval bounce Lyndon Baines Johnson got in 1968. That boost would accrue to the benefit of the new candidate, likely Kamala Harris.

Likewise, he would secure his legacy as the caretaker president who saved the nation from the evils of the Trump Family and bestowed power upon the new, young generation. 

That ship has sailed now, and we are squarely on step two. But Biden has already rejected team Obama when they told him, ‘that’s a nice legacy you got there. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’

The threats from the editorial boards of The New York Times and Chicago Tribune, the consiglieres of the Democratic Party, have been ignored by an obstinate sitting president who for some reason, thinks he’s in charge.

Now Biden seems poised to wake up with a bloody equine head in his bed, and the Democrats have no shortage of horses to choose from. 

Perhaps the tape of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur will be released. If the audio wasn’t humiliating to Biden, we would have it already, so not for nothing, it can’t be good. Attorney General Merrick Garland could have a sudden change of heart. These things happen.

Then there is his prodigal son, Hunter, who hopes to beat the rap and go legit with his art career. If Joe declines to run, there is no reason he can’t pardon the family Fredo, especially after the election, win or lose.

Finally, there is the 25th amendment, the ultimate play, in which Democrats would remove Biden from office, his legacy in tatters. He would be the only president ever kicked out of office for losing his marbles.

Basically, the Democrats have politely asked Joe, Jill and Hunter to leave the establishment. Soon the door will lock, and they will hear the words, ‘now youse can’t leave,’ before the punches start flying.

So the Democrats don’t lack the cards to get Joe off the ticket, but at the same time, the big guy is not without his own moves. If he chooses not to go gently into the night, if he refuses to endorse Kamala Harris, then the Dems have a whole new contested convention headache.

Biden could also flip and turn state’s evidence, spilling tea on the Democrat’s family secrets, essentially burning down the party trying to throw him under the bus.

No, this is still up to Joe, even if he is mumbling and drooling as he stumbles around in his bathrobe. He is still the boss for now, and if an attempt to topple him fails, the Bidens will be taking care of all the family business.

And if you think that isn’t possible, I’d ask you, now who’s being naive?

The next few days will prove decisive, as Biden’s enemies reveal themselves. Can Joe Biden still hang on? Even win? Yeah, he can, and hell hath no fury like a boss betrayed.

Will Joe leave the presidency and take the cannolis? We will know soon, and either way, it could change everything in the race just three months from the finish line.

An explosion that rocked Tel Aviv overnight Thursday has left one person dead and several others wounded.

Military officials say they believe the source of the explosion was a deadly drone attack, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have already claimed responsibility for a drone strike in the area near the U.S. embassy, the Associated Press reported.

The drone was not intercepted despite it being identified prior to the explosion due to human error. Officials say the systems weren’t active at the time of the attack, causing neither the sirens nor the interception to activate.

The drone impacted an apartment in Tel Aviv at approximately 3:12 a.m. after entering the city from the direction of the sea. Officials are unsure if the drone hit the building or exploded mid-air and are still probing the origin of the drone.

A witness to the attack said it sounded much bigger than a rocket attack, and it was very scary.

‘It sounds like a rocket, like rocket but much stronger than rocket,’ said Ortal Piron. ‘So I actually experienced a lot of war in my life, a lot of rocket, but it sounds absolutely different. More bigger and my bed shake, also building actually shake. It was really scary.’

The IAF says the deadly incident ‘shouldn’t have happened,’ and it takes full responsibility for the failure that led to the fatal attack. They are also looking into the type of UAV and the explosives it had on it.