Iran missile strike kills 6, including 2 children
Over 100 hurt, 7 missing, 61 buildings hit; 42 injured in Rehovot, including a mother and toddler.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) At least six people were killed and seven were feared missing under the rubble after an Iranian ballistic missile slammed into a residential building in the central city of Bat Yam overnight Saturday.
The barrage was Iran’s second overnight attack, triggering sirens and sending residents of Tel Aviv, much of central Israel, Ashdod and parts of Jerusalem into shelters just after 2:30am, with impacts later reported in Bat Yam, Rehovot and Ramat Gan.
Six people — including an 8-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and an 18-year-old — were killed in Bat Yam, and over 100 were wounded, rescue services said.
Seven people were considered missing, and IDF Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade continued operations on Sunday morning to locate and extract them, the military said.
Ribat Vaknin told Channel 12 News her father was missing after not reaching a bomb shelter in time.
“My brother went in to get him, and then came the explosion. There was an insane shockwave. My brother was injured, my dog was injured, and they’re searching for my father now,” she said.
A 50-year-old woman, identified as “Gimel,” said she was searching for her dog Joya in the rubble.
“I was home alone. I heard the sirens and thought about going down to the bomb shelter, but first I ran to the bathroom. I heard two booms and thought it was over. And then, just as I learned that four women had been killed in the north, everything collapsed on me. The entire ceiling came down,” she told Ynet.
“I said to myself, that’s it, I’m going to die.”
Gimel said she walked down to the shelter, which was locked, and then saw a neighbour covered in blood.
“I’m thinking about my parents, who can’t get down to the bomb shelter. You feel like you’re being buried alive,” she said.
Baruch, who lives on a nearby street, told Maariv, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.
“I’ve been in wars. During the Six-Day War, I fought in the Golan Heights. But there was nothing like this. Planes flew over me. Now I feel better, I saw all the craziness and I was really scared by the power of the bomb.”
Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot said in a statement that 61 buildings were damaged — six of them beyond repair and set to be demolished.
In Rehovot, at least 42 people were wounded, including two seriously and 13 moderately, MDA reported. One man remained alive for hours under the rubble until rescuers managed to extract him in good condition.
At the missile impact site, Golan Levy, a medic with United Hatzalah, told Walla that a one-and-a-half-year-old baby and his mother were among the injured.
“There were casualties with bleeding and fractures. Everyone was panicked, screaming. The homes — most without bomb shelters, as this is an older area — were damaged. Residents lay on the floor in front of the municipal market and waited for rescue. Some were rescued from a nearby bomb shelter,” he said.
A building at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot was reportedly damaged. According to The New York Times, citing images shared with the paper, there was a fire in “at least one building containing laboratories.”
IDF Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo said the deadly impact in Bat Yam “is a reminder how important it is to follow the Home Front Command guidelines.”
“Difficult days lie ahead, but we are determined. We have the spirit, the strength to act together with you to protect you and continue to save lives,” Milo said.
Four people were killed in an earlier barrage Saturday night when a missile struck the northern Arab city of Tamra, east of Haifa.
Some 200 people were injured overall in the overnight attacks.
The IDF urged the public not to publish locations or footage of missile impacts, warning: “The enemy monitors the footage to improve its attack capabilities.”
The enmity between Israel and Iran escalated into unprecedented open conflict in the early hours of Friday morning when Israel launched a major offensive against Iran and its nuclear program, striking nuclear sites, missile bases and top military officials.
Israel said it had no choice but to act, claiming intelligence showed Tehran was nearing “the point of no return” in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The Israeli operation is expected to last several days, with military officials stating the IDF is prepared for heavy fire from Iran, but asserting that “at the end of the operation, there will be no nuclear threat” from the Islamic Republic.
comments