“Many children under the rubble, come help,” “Several incidents in Arad,” were some of the reports heard over the radio following the Iranian ballistic missile attack that struck the southern Israeli town of Arad on Saturday, according to a report by N12.
At around 10 p.m. that evening, while rescue teams were operating at an impact site in Dimona, citizens of Arad received an early warning of a missile strike. Shortly afterwards, reports of a strike started coming in, and within minutes, it became clear that it was a major incident, described the report.
Multiple missing individuals reported, including child
Reports of wounded and missing individuals, including children, started trickling in. Police officers who arrived at the scene began searching through the debris, assessing the situation and attempting to locate trapped individuals.
Civilians described a child being thrown from the fourth floor during the impact, according to N12.
During the searches, officers also went down into shelters, scanned apartments, and began evacuating residents amid fears of structural collapse. They instructed residents to evacuate the area while assisting the elderly and other vulnerable individuals.
“There is blood here,” one officer reported, as forces moved from building to building to ensure no additional people were trapped.
Sgt. Maj. Aharonov, who was among the first to arrive at the scene according to N12, reported that the missing child was located. “We conducted searches inside the house, and then I heard that contact was made with the child, and he was found,” he described.
Aharanov also had to make sure that his family, also residents of Arad, were okay after the strike. “While I was operating at the scene, I needed to make sure my home was okay and that the people close to me were okay,” he said. “It’s something that is always in the back of your mind.”
115 people were wounded in the incident and evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Eight were in serious condition.
Police noted that forces had prepared in advance for scenarios of this kind, and that this readiness enabled a rapid response at a complex scene, according to N12.
Despite the destruction, there were no casualties, said the police, who described the event as a “very big miracle.”