Sirens sounded in southern Israel on Shabbat as Iranian ballistic missiles slammed into the cities of Dimona and Arad, leaving nearly 200 Israelis wounded. The explosions struck residential areas directly. A 12-year-old boy in Dimona was hit by shrapnel before reaching shelter. In Arad, a 5-year-old girl was among those seriously injured after a missile carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosives landed between apartment buildings.
Medical teams reported that 175 wounded were treated at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, with 36 still hospitalized by Sunday morning. Injuries were caused by shrapnel, blast damage, and civilians rushing to shelters. Emergency responders described “extensive damage and chaos,” as residential buildings caught fire and entire streets were scarred by impact.
Footage circulating on social media showed a ballistic missile descending at high speed before striking Dimona. The attack came amid repeated Iranian attempts to hit the area throughout the day. Iranian state media claimed the intended target was Israel’s nuclear research facility near Dimona, describing the barrage as retaliation for an alleged strike on the Natanz enrichment site. The IDF denied involvement in that incident.
Hours later, a second missile struck Arad. The impact point was between multiple apartment buildings, causing widespread structural damage and wounding dozens. Magen David Adom reported that 84 people were treated at the scene, including 10 in serious condition. Rescue forces continued searching the area into the night. Police Commissioner Danny Levy said, “We won’t leave here until we confirm that there is no one missing and no one we have forgotten in the rubble.”
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that air defense systems engaged both incoming missiles but failed to intercept them. An investigation has been launched into the failure. IDF spokesman Effie Defrin stated, “The air defense systems operated but did not intercept the missile. We will investigate the incident and learn from it. This is not a special or unfamiliar type of munition.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as a “very difficult evening in the campaign for our future.” He said he had spoken with the mayors of both cities and instructed government ministries to provide full assistance. “We will continue to strike our enemies on all fronts with determination,” Netanyahu said.
The military said the missiles that struck Dimona and Arad carried conventional warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives. Both impacts caused significant destruction to residential areas, underscoring the scale of the threat to civilian population centers.
The current phase of the conflict marks a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran. Iranian forces are launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, while Israel is responding with sustained strikes deep inside Iranian territory.
In Dimona and Arad, emergency crews continued working through damaged neighborhoods as residents assessed the destruction. Families displaced by the தாக்கים — hitayim — the strikes began relocating, while others returned to damaged homes to recover belongings.
Within hours of the attacks, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes in Tehran targeting infrastructure linked to the Iranian regime. According to the IDF, recent operations have focused on degrading Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles, including strikes on storage sites and production facilities.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the campaign against Iran has reached its midpoint, indicating further escalation is expected. Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that strikes against Iran would intensify in the coming days, targeting the regime’s military and strategic infrastructure.
Schools across Israel were closed for Sunday and Monday following a decision by the Home Front Command. Hospitals moved to full emergency operations, and some wounded were transferred from southern facilities to central Israel to manage capacity. Health officials also expanded mental health services for affected residents and evacuees relocated to hotels near the Dead Sea.
Additional Iranian missile fire triggered sirens in Eilat later Saturday night, though no injuries were reported and the projectile was believed to have been intercepted.
Earlier in the day, missile fragments from an intercepted projectile fell inside Jerusalem’s Old City, causing damage near the Jewish Quarter. In central Israel, falling debris from intercepts damaged homes and caused additional injuries. The Health Ministry reported that over 4,000 people have been hospitalized since the start of the war, including those injured directly by strikes and while seeking shelter.
A direct anti-tank missile strike in the Galilee on Sunday morning left a vehicle in flames and an Israeli dead, as sirens once again drove civilians across the country into shelters. The attack in Kibbutz Misgav Am near Metula is the latest in an unrelenting wave of fire from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and ballistic missile launches from Iran, bringing the war into Israel’s streets, homes, and schools.
Hezbollah terrorists targeted a vehicle in the border community, with initial reports indicating two wounded, including one critically injured and trapped inside the burning car. Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin later confirmed that the victim was killed. Fire crews worked to extinguish flames that spread to two additional vehicles at the scene.
At the same time, red alert sirens sounded across central Israel after Iran launched a ballistic missile carrying a cluster warhead. Interception fragments fell near a school in Holon, damaging the area but causing no injuries. Police units responded to multiple impact sites, including Modi’in and major highways near Beit Dagan and the Geha interchange. No casualties were reported in those incidents.
Overnight, the Israeli Air Force struck infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime in Tehran, a direct response to missile attacks that hit Israeli cities the night before, including Arad and Dimona. In Dimona, 39 people were wounded in a direct strike, among them a 12-year-old boy in serious condition and a 40-year-old woman moderately injured.
On Thursday evening, Hezbollah rockets struck a home in Kiryat Shmona, wounding four civilians. Magen David Adom reported that a man in his 60s suffered severe shrapnel wounds, while a 68-year-old woman sustained a head injury. Two younger men were lightly hurt in the blast.
“We heard the sirens and entered the safe room, and then the boom came,” resident Miriam Ben Shaia told Ynet. “My balcony has fallen apart and there is damage in the house, but I’m okay.” She had only recently returned to Kiryat Shmona after two years of displacement. “The feeling is that nothing has changed; we simply went back in time.”
Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern warned that the situation was inevitable. “It was a matter of time,” he said, pointing to the short warning windows that leave the elderly and disabled struggling to reach shelter in time.
A missile fragment struck the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa, causing localized damage and power outages but no injuries. Rescue teams contained the situation quickly, and authorities confirmed there was no hazardous materials leak.
Across the country, life has been disrupted on a national scale. Fourteen missile salvos were launched in a single day, targeting the north, south, central region, and even the Jerusalem area. Sirens sounded repeatedly through the night, sending millions into protected spaces.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues near-daily rocket and drone attacks on northern communities, damaging homes in places like Ma’alot-Tarshiha and Safed. The IDF reports that more than 570 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated since the escalation began, alongside the destruction of over 2,000 terror targets in Lebanon.
A total of 4,564 people have been evacuated to hospitals since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” against Iran on Feb. 28, Israel’s Health Ministry said on Sunday morning.
As of 7 a.m., 124 remained hospitalized—one in critical, 13 in serious, 26 in moderate, and 84 in good condition, according to the ministry.
Over the past 24 hours, hospitals received just about 300 newly injured people.
Eight were listed as being in serious condition, 29 were moderately wounded and 256 sustained light injuries, with one under medical evaluation.
Iranian ballistic missiles struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad on Saturday night, injuring 115, including 12 with serious injuries.
On Sunday morning, one person was killed when the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon targeted Israel’s Galilee Panhandle.
