Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two people overnight from the rubble of a residential building in the northern city of Haifa that was struck by a missile fired from Iran, as efforts continued to locate two others still missing.
Firefighters from the Haifa station, reinforced by teams from Lahav 433 — the national unit for complex rescue operations — along with Home Front Command search and rescue forces, worked through the night into the early morning hours to reach those trapped. The two victims were found without signs of life beneath the debris. During the operation, crews used advanced technological means, including cellphone tracking, to help pinpoint the victims’ locations. Rescue efforts were ongoing as of Monday morning to locate two additional people who remain unaccounted for.
Rescue teams search for residents who may be trapped under the rubble in Haifa after an Iranian missile struck a residential building
(Video: Elad Gershgorn)
The building was a terraced structure, and the missile scored a direct hit on the lower floor, which bore the brunt of the impact. Balconies in the building collapsed as a result.
An 82-year-old man who was wounded in the strike was taken to the city's Rambam Health Care Campus. His condition was initially listed as serious at the scene, downgraded to moderate on arrival at the hospital and later updated back to serious as he was taken into surgery. His wife, who was also wounded in the strike, was listed in light-to-moderate condition.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said eight other people were lightly wounded, including a baby, and that four additional people were treated for shock. A gas balloon also exploded at the scene.
“When we arrived at the street, we saw a multi-story building that had been hit, and there was extensive destruction at the scene,” senior MDA medic Shevah Rotenstreich said.
“Residents who were there told us there were wounded people trapped under the rubble on the lower floors. We managed to move large pieces of concrete with our own hands and rescued an 82-year-old man from the debris who was seriously injured but conscious.”
Vered Ohana, a witness who was near the scene, told Ynet: “It was a crazy boom. It was clear that it was a direct hit. There is extensive destruction all around, and there is still smoke.”
Iran missile strikes residential home in Haifa
(Video: from social media)
David Mishali, another witness, added: “I thought my house had been hit. There was a huge boom, and I was sure my house had been hit.”
The strike came as Iran resumed missile fire toward Israel, setting off air raid sirens across parts of northern and southern Israel.
In a separate incident, a drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, which had been tracked and later lost from radar, struck a house in Kibbutz Shomrat in the Western Galilee. The family whose home was hit was in a protected space at the time and was not injured.
Marina Kabilo, whose home was struck by the drone, told ynet she called her husband and said, “I think our house was hit.” She said neighbors then came and began knocking on the window. “It is a shaking experience. I still haven’t processed it,” she said.
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Marina Kabilo whose Kibbutz Shomrat home was struck by a Hezbollah drone
(Photo: Yair Kraus)
Kabilo said her three daughters were home with her when the drone struck. “What is happening is disrupting routine,” she said. “Neither of us works in the area, and it is difficult to get to work on a daily basis. I have a daughter who is approaching her matriculation exams, and I don’t know how she will take the tests. It is a very challenging period.”
Earlier, six people were lightly wounded by a blast wave in the Arab town of Deir al-Asad after incoming rocket fire from Lebanon triggered sirens across northern Israel.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the six were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for treatment. Several other people suffering from shock were treated at the scene after the projectile landed in an open area.
Hezbollah rocket lands in an open area in Deir al-Asad in northern Israel
The strike came after hours of Hezbollah rocket fire toward northern Israel, including two barrages launched at the Meron area, each consisting of several rockets. Some of the rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open areas. No casualties were reported in those attacks.
In Lebanon, footage circulated of an Israeli strike on a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area with strong Hezbollah presence, after the IDF had earlier issued an evacuation warning for the site.
Israeli strike on a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the IDF had earlier issued an evacuation warning for the site
Earlier Sunday, the military said about 165 launches fired by Hezbollah had landed in or near UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) positions in southern Lebanon.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization systematically violates international law and continues to operate while endangering international forces and harming UN personnel operating in the area,” the IDF said in a statement. It added that throughout the fighting in southern Lebanon, the army has maintained a coordination mechanism with UNIFIL personnel stationed there.
First published: 16:55, 04.05.26