Iran missile strikes injure over 100 in two southern Israeli towns
The strikes produced direct hits that ripped open the fronts of apartment blocks and left deep craters in the terrain.
More than 100 people were injured after Iranian missiles struck the southern Israeli towns of Arad and Dimona, medics said, in attacks that local air-defence systems failed to stop.
The strikes produced direct hits that ripped open the fronts of apartment blocks and left deep craters in the terrain.
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Magen David Adom first responders reported 84 wounded in Arad, including ten in serious condition, following earlier reports that 33 people had been hurt in nearby Dimona.
Iranian state television described the strike on Dimona — home to a nuclear-related facility — as a “response” to an earlier attack on its Natanz nuclear site.
The Israeli military said it would investigate the failure to intercept the incoming missiles.
“The air defence systems operated but did not intercept the missile, we will investigate the incident and learn from it,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin wrote on X.
Local firefighters reported “extensive damage” across Arad, with three buildings hit and a blaze ignited in one structure.
Iran claimed the attack on Arad and Dimona was a response to Israel attacks on their nuclear facilities
The military’s Home Front Command ordered schools in the area to switch to online classes.
Medic Riyad Abu Ajaj, speaking for the rescue organisation, described “extensive destruction” at the strike site.
“There was a lot of chaos at the scene,” he said.
Rescue work in Arad followed similar scenes in Dimona, roughly 25km to the southwest.
AFPTV footage showed a large crater beside mounds of rubble and twisted metal at the Dimona site.
Nearby buildings had windows blown out and facades severely damaged as emergency crews searched the area.
Medics said 33 people were treated in Dimona, including a 10-year-old boy with shrapnel wounds who was in serious but conscious condition.
Dimona houses a facility long believed to be connected to the region’s only nuclear arsenal, though Israel has never officially declared possession of nuclear weapons.
Israel maintains a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear programme and describes the plant as focused on research.
Iran has launched repeated missile barrages at Israel in recent days in retaliation for US‑Israeli strikes that began on 28 February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with strikes against Iran and its allies after what he called a “very difficult evening”.