The Israeli military announced on Sunday that Iran has launched more than 400 ballistic missiles at targets inside Israel since the start of the full-scale military confrontation on March 25.
The military report stated that air defense systems intercepted approximately 92% of these missiles.
However, the latest barrages caused significant human and material damage, particularly in the Negev and central regions.
Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani described the missile attacks targeting the cities of Arad and Dimona on Saturday evening as “catastrophic.”
175 people injured
Medical records revealed that 175 people received treatment following the attacks. Arad Hospital reported receiving 31 injured individuals,
including 18 children, at least nine of whom were in critical condition. Dozens more sustained minor injuries.
In Dimona, five people were hospitalized, including a 12-year-old boy in very serious condition.
The attacks were not confined to the Negev. Israeli emergency services reported that
at least 15 people were injured in new Iranian attacks on Sunday, following the fall of a cluster bomb on Tel Aviv.
Use of cluster munitions
The military spokesperson confirmed that the recent attacks did not involve new types of missile technology,
but rather relied on ballistic missiles similar to those used since the beginning of the war.
There was a significant focus on the use of cluster munitions against densely populated population centers.
According to Israeli military statistics, four direct hits were recorded on major cities in the past three weeks.
These included Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh, Arad, and Dimona, in addition to missile debris and munitions falling in various other areas.
The spokesperson also emphasized that all victims of Iranian missile attacks to date have been civilians.
He further noted that the daily launch rate currently ranges between 10 and 20 missiles.
successive waves of bombing
For its part, Iranian state media claimed that the shelling targeting southern cities in the Negev region was aimed at nuclear research facilities.
These facilities are located approximately 10 kilometers from Dimona and 30 kilometers from Arad.
However, Israeli field reports confirmed that cluster bombs and missiles landed in the heart of residential areas,
exacerbating the casualties among children and civilians.
This occurred amidst a continued state of high alert among ambulance and civil defense crews,
who were on high alert to counter the successive waves of shelling launched by the Revolutionary Guard.
