Israel says Iranian strikes on desert cities leave over 100 injured

Israeli soldiers inspect the site of a damaged building following barrages of Iranian missiles in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Reuters-Yonhap

Iranian missile attacks on Israel's south have resulted in direct hits in the desert cities of Arad and Dimona, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani confirmed on Sunday.

He described the damage from the attacks on Saturday evening as "catastrophic," adding that more than 100 people were injured, dozens of them seriously.

Shoshani said the strikes did not involve any new type of Iranian weapon, but rather ballistic missiles similar to those used repeatedly since the start of the war.

Iran has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles at Israel since the start of the war on Feb. 28, with about 92 percent intercepted by Israeli air defense systems, according to the military.

Over the past three weeks, there were four direct hits on Israeli cities — in Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh, Arad and Dimona.

In addition, there were impacts from rocket debris or bombs from cluster munitions. According to the spokesman, there have only been civilian casualties from Iranian rocket attacks in Israel so far.

At present, the number of rockets fired at Israel every day ranges from the high single digits to the low 20s. Iran has repeatedly fired cluster munitions at population centres, including in a recent attack on Tel Aviv, the spokesman said.

The military spokesman refused to comment when asked whether there were concerns about the safety of the Israeli nuclear reactor near Dimona.

Iranian state media had reported that the missile attacks on the desert cities were aimed at a nuclear research facility located around 10 kilometers from Dimona and 30 kilometers from Arad. (DPA)