The Israel Defense Forces said air defense systems engaged the incoming missile but failed to intercept it. ‘The incident will be investigated,’ the military said.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
An Iranian ballistic missile struck the southern city of Dimona on Saturday evening, wounding dozens and causing damage to residential buildings, as Tehran’s attacks follow recent US-Israel strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
A 12-year-old boy wounded in the strike is now in serious condition after being hit by shrapnel, according to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. Medical officials said several other patients being treated at the hospital are in good condition.
Magen David Adom reported that 47 people were taken to the hospital following the impact. Among them were the boy in serious condition and a woman in her 30s who sustained moderate injuries from glass shards.
Thirty-one others were lightly injured, either by shrapnel or while running to shelters, while another 14 were treated for acute anxiety.
Earlier figures from the ambulance service had put the number of injured at 23, including the boy and a woman in her 30s in moderate condition, along with 21 others listed as lightly hurt.
Rescue services said the missile carried a large warhead, damaging homes and other buildings in the area.
The Israel Defense Forces said air defense systems engaged the incoming missile but failed to intercept it. “The incident will be investigated,” the military said.
Dimona is widely regarded as the center of what is believed to be Israel’s nuclear program, with key facilities located in the surrounding Negev region.
Israel has maintained a longstanding policy of ambiguity regarding its nuclear capabilities.
The strike comes amid escalating exchanges between Israel and Iran. The Natanz nuclear site was hit during a joint US-Israel operation on June 13, destroying an enrichment facility housing advanced centrifuges. Last Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that a projectile struck and leveled a structure about 350 meters from the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Separately, the IDF said Saturday it struck a strategic research and development site at Malek Ashtar University in Tehran, describing it as a facility used by the Iranian regime to develop components for nuclear weapons production and tied to its ballistic missile program.
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