Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighbourhood in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv on June 22. Photo / AFP
Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighbourhood in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv on June 22. Photo / AFP
Three areas of Israel including coastal hub Tel Aviv were hit Sunday morning during waves of Iranian missile attacks, with at least 23 people injured, according to rescue services and police.
Several buildings were heavily damaged in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv, with holes torn in the facadesof apartment blocks.
“Houses here were hit very, very badly,” Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters at the scene. “Fortunately, one of them was slated for demolition and reconstruction, so there were no residents inside.
“Those who were in the shelter are all safe and well. The damage is very, very extensive, but in terms of human life, we are okay.”
The Israeli police said in a statement that they had been deployed to at least two other impact sites, one in Haifa in the north and another in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv.
A public square in a residential area of Haifa was left strewn with rubble and surrounding shops and homes have been heavily damaged, AFP photos showed.
Emergency workers respond to the site of a missile strike in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Israel was hit with a fresh wave of aerial attacks by Iran after the US entered the war overnight and bombed several Iranian nuclear sites. Photo / Getty Images
Eli Bin, the head of Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom, told reporters that a total of 23 people had been wounded nationwide in the attacks, with “two in moderate condition and the rest lightly injured”.
Two waves of missiles were launched at Israel from around 7.30am (4.30pm NZT), the Israeli military said.
Sirens rang across the country, with air defences activated shortly afterwards, causing loud explosions heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israeli police reported “the fall of weapon fragments” in a northern area encompassing the port of Haifa, where local authorities said emergency services were heading to an “accident site”.
Reporting on missile strikes is subject to strict military censorship rules in Israel, but at least 50 impacts have been officially acknowledged nationwide and 25 people have been killed since the war began with Iran on June 13, according to official figures.
Tel Aviv, the southern city of Beersheba and the northern port of Haifa have been the three areas most frequently targeted by Iran.
Israel’s sophisticated air defences have intercepted more than 450 missiles with around 1000 drones, according to the latest figures from the Israeli military.
