JERUSALEM, Jun 17 (NNN-MA’AN/IRNA) – Iran launched a new pre-dawn missile attack on Israel, yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens others, Israeli regime officials said, as the four-day conflict triggered by an Israeli surprise assault intensified.
The missile barrage set off air raid sirens across Israel. Plumes of black smoke rose above Haifa, a major coastal city in northern Israel, and eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions in the north and central regions of the regime.
Local authorities confirmed fatalities in several locations. Four people were killed when a missile struck a residential building in Petah Tikva, a city east of Tel Aviv, according to Mayor Rami Greenberg. He stated that, hundreds of residents from the damaged building and three adjacent structures were evacuated.
Three other fatalities were reported in Haifa. In Bnei Brak, also east of Tel Aviv, an 86-year-old man died, when his apartment collapsed due to a shock wave from a nearby strike. At least 87 people received hospital treatment, including one woman in serious condition and five in moderate condition. The remaining 81 sustained light injuries.
One missile also fell near the United States consulate and embassy branch in Tel Aviv. U.S. Ambassador, Mike Huckabee stated on social media platform X that, the missile’s concussion caused minor damage, but no U.S. personnel were injured.
The Iranian missile salvos followed Israeli airstrikes on surface-to-surface missile sites in Tehran and central Iran. The Israeli regime’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned that Tehran residents would “pay the price – and soon” for the missile attacks against Israeli cities.
The Israeli regime Defence Ministry also reported that several Iranian drones were launched during the recent missile attack. Eight of these drones were intercepted by Israeli Navy missile boats in the first operational use of the Barak Magen air defence system, designed to intercept drones, cruise missiles, rockets, and anti-ship missiles.
The latest Iranian attacks come, as Israeli and Iranian strikes continued into Monday, marking the fourth day of intense hostilities. Since the conflict began, 22 people have been killed in Israel, according to a tally by Israel’s state-owned Kan TV.
The illegal Israeli regime launched its heaviest air assault on Iran on Friday, striking nuclear facilities in Tehran and other sites. These attacks damaged military targets and residential buildings, killing at least 244 people, mostly women and children, and injuring 1,277, with more than 90 percent of them civilians, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
The Iranian Health Ministry also confirmed that residential areas had been hit. The barbaric Israeli regime’s Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, stated that, fighter jets destroyed about one-third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers. More than 50 aircraft were involved in these strikes, targeting over 120 missile launchers across multiple sites in central Iran, he added.– NNN MA’AN/IRNA