2 injured as rocket fragments fall in Israel’s southern Eilat

JERUSALEM

Two people were injured on Saturday, one of them seriously, after missile fragments fell in the southern Israeli city of Eilat following a barrage of missiles launched from Iran, Israeli emergency services said.

Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said its teams treated two people in Eilat, including one in serious condition and another with minor injuries, after they were struck by falling missile debris.

Shortly before the incident, the Israeli army said sirens were activated in central and southern Israel after detecting two missile barrages launched from Iran within minutes of each other.

In two separate statements issued about 15 minutes apart, the army said alerts first sounded in Jerusalem and the coastal plain in central Israel, and later in Eilat and the Wadi Araba in southern Israel following the detection of missiles fired from Iran.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that “the last missile launched by Iran toward Eilat carried a cluster warhead that scattered across 10 locations in the city.”

Since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hostilities have escalated.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.