Iran has struck Dimona, an Israeli city housing a nuclear research center, on Saturday, injuring at least 47 people. A 10-year-old child is in serious condition.
At least 47 people were injured this Saturday evening by an Iranian missile strike on the city of Dimona, in southern Israel, which houses a nuclear research center, according to a new report from Israeli rescue services.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) teams, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, announced that they had treated “a boy around ten years old in serious condition (…) suffering from shrapnel wounds” and “a woman around 30 years old (…) suffering from glass shrapnel wounds.”
They also evacuated “31 patients” to the hospital who were slightly injured by shrapnel while heading to a shelter, as well as 14 people experiencing anxiety symptoms.
A building hit and vehicles on fire
The police released images of an apartment on a high floor hit by an impact, with the kitchen wall blown out.
The location of the affected sites was not yet known, but images shared online and live TV feeds show impacts on urban areas, including a mostly destroyed building with holes and debris and vehicles on fire.
The army stated in a press release that “before the impact, interception attempts were made” unsuccessfully, and the reasons for the impact “will be examined.”
A “response” to the attack on the Natanz site in Iran
Dimona city is home to the Negev Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center, a nuclear research facility reportedly involved in the production of nuclear weapons over the past decades.
Little information is available about the Dimona nuclear site. Israel maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity,” neither confirming nor denying possession of nuclear weapons.
Iran claimed responsibility for the missile strike, stating it was a “response” to the “enemy” attack on the Natanz complex, reported earlier by Tehran. Shortly after, Israel reported a missile fired towards the Eilat region, located about 200 kilometers south of Dimona.
