A 10 -year -old boy was among the four people killed by an Iranian missile attack in downtown Israel, with more people still missing at the scene, according to emergency services. A major emergency response operation is underway in the city of Bat Yam, where a building was hit directly.
A 60 -year -old woman, another 80 -year -old and a girl whose age was not disclosed, also died in the attack, according to the National Emergency Service of Israel, Magen David Adom (MDA).
. Emergency teams could be seen by scouring the site with sniffer dogs, and residents clustered on the street behind a cord of isolation.
“We do not have the exact number of missing people, but we know that many have not yet contacted their loved ones, so now we are focusing on looking for them,” said Bat Yam mayor, Tzvika Brot, on a video agency video Reuters.
Brot said the first building was hit around 2:30 am. Other buildings in the area were also damaged, with videos showing shattered windows and frames torn from the outer walls. Authorities are now setting up family support centers and working to support the residents of the attacks, he said, asking the population not to approach the place.
Lieutenant Dean Elsdunne, Israel’s international spokesman, said he received “reports from various places of impact” after “a large amount of rockets” fired from Iran.
“We have a lot of victims we had to evacuate for medical reasons, and unfortunately that includes deaths,” he said, talking about Bat Yam in a Reuters video.
He added that police are working with other Israeli agencies, including the Army, to locate missing residents and protect the scene.
About 140 people were injured in two locations in central Israel. In a separate wave of attacks, four additional people were killed in northern Israel ,.
There are 12 deaths in total since the beginning of the attacks.
