Iran launched three major barrages of ballistic missiles at Israel Friday night and early Saturday morning, sending Israelis across the country rushing to shelters as the skies were filled with streaks of light and fireballs from incoming projectiles and Israeli interceptions.
Some 80 people were reported hurt in the strikes, including three people who were critically injured and later succumbed to their wounds in the cities of Ramat Gan and Rishon Lezion. According to Magen David Adom, several more people were seriously hurt. The rest were lightly to moderately injured or suffered acute anxiety.
Two of the three fatalities were named Saturday as Etti Cohen Engel and Yisrael Aloni.
Iranian media claimed hundreds of missiles were fired in the first barrage late Friday, while the Israel Defense Forces estimated that the actual number in all the attacks stood at some 200.
Three waves of attacks overnight each consisted of dozens of missiles, according to the IDF, which declined to provide a specific number.
Several missiles impacted central Israel, with large explosions heard in the Tel Aviv area and smoke seen rising over several impact locations.
A barrage in the early hours of Saturday morning hit a residential area in Rishon Lezion, killing Aloni and a woman who was not immediately named, and at least 20 people were wounded.
A three-month-old baby was among those rescued from the rubble.
“I pulled her into my arms and then gave her to the first police officer I saw, and then started lifting out all the other family members,” Fire and Rescue Service Captain Idan Chen told the Walla news site.
“As we were doing this, there were people trapped in the home above and next door — and opposite there was a fire — and I’m trying to manage the incident amid complete destruction,” he said.
The baby was lightly wounded.
A large fragment from an intercepted missile hit a town in northern Israel, causing damage, police said.
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said most of the missiles were intercepted by air defenses or fell short before reaching the country.
“There are a limited number of impacts on buildings, some were caused by interception fragments,” he said.
An American official said the US assisted Israel in defending against the missile attacks.
“I can confirm that the US is assisting in shooting down missiles targeting Israel,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. No detail was given on the extent of the US role.
The IDF called on the public not to publish the locations or footage of missile impacts. “The enemy monitors the footage to improve its attack capabilities,” the military said.
Another salvo of missiles was fired after 1 a.m. Saturday morning, with Israelis given the all-clear to leave their shelters some 25 minutes later.
More missiles were fired several hours later, triggering sirens in the north and, subsequently, activating alerts across the country.
A ballistic missile in the latter salvo directly struck a building in Rishon Lezion in central Israel, causing extensive damage to numerous homes and injuring at least 19 people, including two people who died of their wounds.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA claimed hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel’s biggest-ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran’s huge underground nuclear site at Natanz and other nuclear and military sites, and wiping out its top military commanders.
The Revolutionary Guards said they carried out attacks against dozens of targets in Israel.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement that Israel had initiated a war and said it would not be allowed to do “hit and run” attacks without grave consequences.
“The Zionist regime will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime. The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” Khamenei said.
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