Nine dead in missile attack on Israel as Iran strikes region

BBC:

At least nine people have been killed and 27 injured in a missile strike on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, emergency services say.

The attack comes as Iran launched strikes across the Middle East in response to a massive and ongoing attack against it by the US and Israel.

One person has been killed in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, and and a death has also been reported in Kuwait. Dozens more people have been injured in strikes across the region.

Thousands of flights have been grounded to and from the region, in one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Across the Gulf, Iran has used ballistic missiles and drones to launch large-scale attacks on US allies and assets, after Iran’s supreme leader was killed in the ongoing US-Israel air offensive launched on Saturday morning.

In a post on X, the Israel Defense Forces accused Iran of directly firing missiles toward Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, “killing innocent civilians”. Officials say a synagogue where people were sheltering from the air raids was hit.

The building was completely destroyed – dozens of rescuers were at the scene of the attack searching for people feared to be under the rubble.

There are piles of broken concrete and twisted metal, and a huge crater which indicates the point of impact. Cars that were parked nearby were completely destroyed.

Police say 11 people are still missing and the search is ongoing.

This is the deadliest attack in Israel so far in this war.

Magen David Adom paramedic Dror Eini said: “We saw destroyed homes, flames and smoke rising from residential buildings, wrecked cars, and significant chaos at the scene.

Missiles attacks continued on Israel into Sunday evening. Most were intercepted but one fell on a street in the Jerusalem area injuring at least three people.