At least 13 Israelis killed, hundreds injured during ballistic missile attacks in deadliest night of the war with Iran
61 buildings in Bat Yam damaged in attack, dozens more in Rehovot, Haifa Bay
An Iranian ballistic missile struck a 10-story residential building in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, during a wave of attacks on Israel last night, killing six people, including children.
The missile “shaved off” part of the building in the impact, and seven people are still missing, as authorities search through the rubble.
The missiles that hit Bat Yam were part of the second round of launches from Iran on Saturday night, which triggered sirens throughout central Israel, with falls reported in Bat Yam, Rehovot and Ramat Gan.
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Six people were killed in the Bat Yam impact, including a 60-year-old woman, a 70-year-old man, a 55-year-old woman, a 10-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old boy. At the time of publication, seven people were still listed as missing, and hundreds were injured.
Wolfson Hospital reported that dozens of people were being treated for injuries from the missile strike.
Bat Yam Mayor Zvika Brot arrived at the scene of the missile strike shortly after and joined efforts by emergency medical personnel to locate survivors.
“There is significant damage to a central building and a number of buildings around it,” Brot told Channel 12 news. “They are now engaged in locating trapped people. In the first few minutes, we saw dozens of residents in shock, and a few minutes later, they started coming out of the rubble, wounded. Those who were in protected spaces were not hurt or lightly injured.”
The Weizmann Institute of Science also suffered damage from the attacks, with several buildings impacted. The New York Times reported that at least one laboratory at the institute had caught fire as a result of the strike.
The Weizmann Institute released a statement acknowledging the damages.
"Following the barrage that was launched in the early hours of the morning, a number of hits were recorded on buildings on the Weizmann Institute of Science campus,” the statement said. “There were no casualties. The Institute is in contact with the relevant security and emergency agencies, and is taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the employees and the campus.”
IDF Home Front Command Chief, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, said the strike on the apartment building “is a reminder how important it is to follow the Home Front Command guidelines.”
In Rehovot, 28 people were injured, two of them seriously, following a missile impact in the coastal city.
At least four children were listed among the injured who had been taken to Kaplan Medical Center.
Meanwhile, four women were confirmed killed in the previous ballistic missile barrage, which targeted the area of Haifa Bay in northern Israel.
The women were identified as Manar al-Qassem Abu al-Hija Katib and her two daughters, Hala and Shada, as well as their relative Manar Diab Katib. The women were killed when a missile made a direct hit on the three-story building where they lived in the Arab town of Tamra.
The missile struck shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday night, in the first barrage of ballistic missiles, which targeted oil and gas infrastructure in the Haifa Bay Area.
In response to the attacks, Israeli Air Force planes struck oil facilities in the South Pars gas field, the world's largest gas field, leading to a partial closure of the critical facility.
This article was originally published at All Israel News
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