At least 64 people, including six in serious conditionwere injured this Saturday after the direct hit of an Iranian ballistic missile in the Israeli city of Aradin the south of the Negev, Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency service, has reported.
Among those affected, there are six people in serious condition, 13 in moderate condition and another 40 with minor injuries, according to the ambulance service. After the attack, the Arad hospital has declared a state of emergency, in order to care for those affected.
For their part, the firefighters have indicated that “there have been considerable damage to the site“In relation to the report of an impact in the city of Arad, it is an attack in the center of the city, between residential buildings,” the service said in a statement.
“Three buildings have been hit directly and serious structural damage is reported. A fire has broken out on the floor of one of the structures,” they added.
Another impact near nuclear facilities
The attack in Arad is the second that occurred this Saturday that caused dozens of injuries. This incident adds to that of Dimonawhich houses the Negev Nuclear Research Center, the main Israeli nuclear facility. In the incident, a projectile hit the city, also located in the south of the country, and caused at least fifty injuredas reported by Israeli emergency services.
Most of the injuries are minor, although a 12-year-old boy is in serious condition. At least 29 more are slightly injured and another 20 people have been treated for panic attacks.
The attack on Dimona puts in focus the facilities where Israel has nuclear weapons developed from enriched uranium, although it has never officially recognized it, being the only nuclear power in the Middle East region.
An Iron Dome glitch
The Israeli Armed Forces have reported that they are investigating why the anti-aircraft defenses have failed to intercept the ballistic missile that has impacted the city of Dimona. The Army has confirmed that there was a defensive response to the ballistic missile, but they were unable to stop the attack. “The incident will be investigated,” said a military spokesman quoted by ‘The Times of Israel’ newspaper.
For his part, the president of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibafhas stated that recent Iranian missile attacks on the southern city suggest the country’s airspace is increasingly vulnerable, as the war enters a “new phase.”
“If the Israeli regime fails to intercept the missiles in the highly protected area of Dimona, it is operationally a sign that a new phase of the battle is entering,” Ghalibaf wrote in a message on X. “The skies over Israel are defenseless,” he added.
