At least seven people were wounded, with one in serious condition, on Sunday afternoon after fragments of Iranian ballistic missiles showered down over the Gush Dan portion of central Israel, according to the Israel Police and rescue services.
Despite ongoing progress by Jerusalem and Washington in reducing overall missile fire by Iran, sirens sounded across Israel repeatedly throughout Sunday, once again sending millions into bomb shelters and safe rooms following missile attack after missile attack from the Islamic Republic as Operation Roaring Lion entered its second week.
While this was the fourth major hit on the home front, along with prior major hits in Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh, and Beersheba, it was the first major hit in several days, even as the total number of missiles fired per day has dropped from around 100 to around 10.
Due to the large hit and the volume of sirens, the IDF extended remote schooling nationally and other restrictions on gatherings of more than 50 persons at least through Thursday.
Authorities said they were en route to the site of the main point of impact in central Israel on Sunday afternoon after a missile was intercepted in the area.
Earlier on Sunday, Magen David Adom stated that, in addition to several people injured on their way to shelters, paramedics were treating seven who had been wounded by the fallen fragments, including a 40-year-old man in serious condition, a 25-year-old man in moderate condition, and a 56-year-old man with light injuries.
Prior to that, the Fire and Rescue Authority stated that firefighters were working at two main fragment impact sites in central Israel, originating from a missile that had spread multiple cluster bombs.
MDA EMT Yechezkel Goldreich, one of the first to arrive at the scene, said he was in a park near the missile strike site when the sirens suddenly sounded.
“A short time later, I heard a loud explosion,” he recalled. “I noticed a large amount of smoke rising from the impact area and quickly went to scan the scene. There, I found frightened people lying on the grass and a man around 40 years old who was suffering from a severe shrapnel injury. I provided him with initial medical treatment at the scene, and later, together with additional MDA teams who arrived, we evacuated him to the hospital in serious condition.”
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Rescue forces from Home Front Command also worked with local emergency teams at shrapnel impact sites across central Israel, an IDF spokesperson announced.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war with Iran, 1,619 Israelis have been taken to the hospital, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday.
Of those brought to the hospital due to the war, 87 remain hospitalized, with four in critical condition, two as a direct result of Iranian missile impacts; 31 in moderate condition; 50 with light injuries; and two undergoing medical evaluation.
Meanwhile, the IDF struck over 400 targets throughout Iran over the last 24 hours, a military spokesperson announced on Sunday.
Among the targets the IDF successfully took out were several of Iran’s F-14 fighter jets, along with detection and air defense systems that posed a threat to Israeli aircraft.
The jets were located at the airport in Isfahan, where Israel had previously destroyed Ghadr-class ballistic missiles and their launch platforms.
Another strike conducted on Friday by the military destroyed 16 Quds Force aircraft at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran.
Some 19 people were killed in airstrikes near Isfahan on Sunday morning, Iranian media later reported.
In a statement issued later on Sunday by the IDF, the military said it struck some 50 ammunition bunkers and additional regime targets in Tehran throughout Sunday.
Iran received 79 of the US-made F-14s in 1976, when the country was still ruled by the Shah. These were taken over by the Islamic Republic after the 1979 revolution.
The F-14 was retired by the US Navy in 2006, being replaced by the F-18.
The Islamic Republic is the only country that still uses the twin-engine fighter jet.
Also on Sunday, the IDF announced that a senior Iranian military official tasked with coordinating regime operations against Israel was killed in a precision strike in the heart of Tehran.
The military identified the target as Abu al-Qassem Baba’iyan, who, it said, served as head of the military bureau of Iran’s supreme leader and chief of staff of the regime’s emergency command.
According to the IDF, Baba’iyan was responsible for coordinating between different branches of the Iranian regime to advance operations against Israel and activate the regime’s emergency mechanisms amid the ongoing conflict.
Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.