Nine Israelis have been killed and 27 others injured after an Iranian missile strike hit a residential building in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Sunday, according to local media reports.
The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the country’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, as saying that four of the injured were in critical condition, while search and rescue teams continued efforts to locate several missing persons trapped under the rubble.
Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Shmuel Greenberg, said about 20 residents could not immediately be accounted for, but cautioned that this did not necessarily mean they were among the casualties.
The attack followed escalating hostilities in the Middle East after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Saturday.
The strikes reportedly killed several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting Tehran to respond with multiple drone and missile attacks on Israeli territory.
The latest escalation comes months after a similar confrontation between Israel and Iran last June that led to a 12-day war before a ceasefire was reached.
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