JERUSALEM 

Nine Israelis were killed and 27 others injured in an Iranian missile strike that directly hit a building in Beit Shemesh in west Jerusalem on Sunday, local media reported.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth, citing Israel’s ambulance service MDA, said the injured include four people who sustained critical injuries in the attack.

The emergency service added that several people remain missing as search and rescue operations continue at the site.

Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg said that there are 20 residents that have not been able to be reached, according to The Times of Israel news portal.

He, however, stressed that “it does not necessarily mean anything happened to them.”

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran retaliated with a series of drone and missile attacks.

Israel and the US launched a similar attack on Iran last June, triggering a 12-day war before a ceasefire was announced.