Iran retaliation kills 1 near Tel Aviv, injures 4: Israeli authorities

JERUSALEM

One person was killed and four others injured in areas around Tel Aviv following Iran’s retaliation targeting central and southern Israel, Israeli authorities said early Saturday.

Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom reported that one person was killed in the Gush Dan area, commonly known as Greater Tel Aviv.

In a statement, it said missile fragments and shrapnel from an Iranian multi-warhead missile struck multiple locations in and around Tel Aviv, with search and rescue teams dispatched to Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim.

It added that two people were injured in central Israel, while two others seriously injured in Beersheba were transferred to Soroka Hospital.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that missile fragments and shrapnel hit 10 different locations around Tel Aviv, causing significant damage.

The Israeli army said it detected missile launches from Iran and that air defense systems were attempting to intercept them, with successive retaliatory strikes carried out within less than half an hour, first targeting southern Israel and then central areas.

The retaliation came after threats from Iran to respond to US-Israeli attacks on steel facilities in Isfahan and Khuzestan, as well as the Hendab Heavy Water Complex in Arak.

Sirens sounded first in the Negev region in southern Israel and later across central areas, including Tel Aviv, as well as in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The Israeli army said search and rescue teams were deployed to locations where missile fragments had fallen.

Around two hours after the initial strikes, Iran targeted southern Israel once again.

Magen David Adom later said that no impacts or injuries were reported in the latest attack, during which sirens sounded from the occupied West Bank to the Gaza border, adding that updates would be provided if necessary.

Tehran has retaliated with waves of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, inflicting casualties and infrastructure damage, while disrupting global markets and aviation.

*Writing by Merve Berker