At least nine people were killed in a direct missile strike on a residential building in Beit Shemesh on Sunday, officials said, as rescue operations continued at the scene amid extensive destruction.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service also said 28 people were wounded in the strike, including two in critical condition and two in serious condition. One person was listed in moderate condition and 14 were lightly wounded. Among the critically injured was a 10-year-old girl. Several of the lightly wounded were children. Some individuals were initially reported unaccounted for as search and rescue efforts continued.
IDF spokesman for foreign media Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani accuses the Iranian regime of deliberately targeting civilians. "Since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion the Iranian regime has targeted civilians. We know this is their strategy. In their last attack, they killed many civilians in the town of Beit Shemesh. The Iranian regime is a terrorist regime."
There is immense destruction at the scene in Beit Shemesh, and eight houses were damaged and almost completely destroyed. Some of the dead were in a synagogue shelter, which, according to testimonies from the scene, took the direct hit.
Earlier, hospital officials at Hadassah Medical Center said they were preparing for a mass casualty incident following reports of three people in critical condition at the scene.
The Home Front Command said residents in southern Israel and communities near the Gaza border could leave protected spaces but should remain nearby. Similar instructions were later issued for central Israel.
The direct hit in Beit Shemesh
(Video: Magen David Adom operational documentation, from social media, used in accordance with Section 27a of the Copyright Law)
In Ashkelon, the municipality reported that two interceptor fragments were located in the city following the latest sirens. No injuries or damage were reported, and residents were urged to continue following Home Front Command instructions.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television reported additional explosions in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Manama. There was no immediate official confirmation from authorities in those locations.
Police said they had received reports of impacts at multiple sites nationwide. In the Sharon region, a man in his 50s was moderately wounded by shrapnel. Reports were also received of damage to a building near Jerusalem.
Air raid sirens sounded for nearly 15 consecutive minutes across wide areas of the country, from Nahariya in the north to south of Ashdod. Alerts were activated in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam and other communities in central Israel, as well as in Jerusalem, Ashdod, Beersheba, the western Negev, the Jordan Valley, the Galilee, the Golan Heights and the Haifa area.
The Home Front Command said residents in central Israel, the Shephelah, Lachish and Samaria could leave protected spaces but must remain nearby. In some areas of Jerusalem, residents were instructed to remain inside shelters until further notice.
Earlier, the military said launches from Iran had been identified toward central Israel, with additional alerts expected in the north, including the Haifa area, the Galilee and the Golan.
Footage showed drivers stopping inside the La Guardia interchange tunnel in central Israel to seek cover during the sustained sirens.
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Vehicles stopped to seek shelter while driving in the Tel Aviv area
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
The Home Front Command also reported a suspected drone infiltration in the Jerusalem and Dead Sea areas. After a pursuit lasting more than 10 minutes, the military said the drone was intercepted and the incident concluded.
The IDF said the Air Force struck two Iranian fighter jets — an F-5 and an F-4 — that were prepared for takeoff at an airport in Tabriz in western Iran. The strike was intended to disrupt the Iranian Air Force’s operations and deepen the damage to the regime’s air defense systems, the military said.
Police said that on Saturday, officers and bomb disposal experts located the warhead of an Iranian missile that struck an open area just a few hundred meters from holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City. The device was neutralized and transferred for further examination.
Meanwhile, a medic from the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade described the fatal strike in Tel Aviv a day earlier as a difficult scene, saying rescue teams worked to free two trapped women from the upper floor of a damaged building. One elderly woman was evacuated in stable condition, but her caregiver, who had been trapped under heavier debris, lost vital signs during evacuation and was pronounced dead.
First published: 14:22, 03.01.26