Over 100 wounded in Arad, Dimona, and North in direct hits amid barrage from Iran, Lebanon

Over 100 people were wounded throughout Saturday after Iranian ballistic missiles directly struck residential buildings across southern Israel as Hezbollah pummeled northern Israeli border towns with rockets.

At least 47 were injured in Dimona after a building, reportedly a school, collapsed as a result of an impact from an Iranian munition, Magen David Adom said, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition. A woman in her 30s was moderately wounded by glass shards in the impact, it added.

Some 31 others were lightly wounded, including those wounded in at least 12 separate shrapnel impact sites across the southern Israeli city.

IDF sources confirmed that it failed to intercept missiles in both Dimona and Arad, adding that the military was investigating the incidents. The sources added that the missiles were of the kind that Israel has intercepted in the past.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of reports that a projectile had struck the city of Dimona, but had received no indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research center there.

The agency said regional authorities reported no abnormal radiation levels following the incident and that it was closely monitoring the situation and would continue to seek further information.

In the North, at least 19 people were wounded in several direct hits on homes across northern Israeli border towns, as per MDA.

A fire broke out in Kfar Vradim after a rocket directly struck a house, which sustained minor damage. Four other shrapnel impact sites were reported in the area.

Another direct hit was reported on a home in the border town of Ma’alot-Tarshiha. External damage was also caused to a four-story building.

Initial reports suggest that shrapnel caused significant damage to the structure, with no direct missile impact reported. MDA said a man in his 70s was lightly injured while making his way to a shelter. The Shamir Medical Center said a man in his 40's was treated for mild injuries sustained from a blast in Rishon Lezion.

The missile is believed to have weighed around 100 kilograms, according to Hebrew media, though this has not been officially confirmed. The incident appears to be another example of a splitting warhead, which has been used in previous missile strikes on central Israel.

Initial reports suggested over 20 impact sites across central Israel, including in Rishon Lezion, Bnei Brak, Shoham, and Rosh Ha'ayin. MDA later confirmed at least seven impact sites in Rishon Lezion, including damage to two residential buildings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that he spoke with Dimona Mayor Benny Biton and Rishon LeZion Mayor Raz Kinstlich after the incidents.

The prime minister praised the residents’ resilience and wished a speedy recovery to those who were wounded following the firing from Iran.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel would continue its campaign against Iran for as long as necessary, stressing that the operation would not be halted by the upcoming Passover holiday.

Talking to reporters at a missile impact site in Rishon Lezion, Katz said Israel’s ability to press ahead depends in large part on the resilience of the civilian home front, and said the fighting would continue until its objectives are met.

“The strength of the home front is what allows us to keep going, and we will continue until the objectives are achieved,” he said.

Katz said 11 impact sites had been identified in the city, and accused Iran of using weapons that amount to a war crime. Katz added that such conduct was consistent with what he described as the behavior of a terror regime.

“We will restore everything to its original state,” Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich said while visiting the site of the struck kindergarten on Saturday morning.

“The windows were blown out, with some landing on the other side of the street,” he said. “This is a kindergarten, a place where children were supposed to learn,” he continued, emphasizing that, fortunately, the children were not at the kindergarten during the strike, as schools are closed on Shabbat.

"There’s a hole in the ceiling. You can see it outside. Until I feel secure, the education system in Rishon Lezion will not return. I want to thank the residents for their discipline.”

Cluster munitions open in mid-air and scatter as many as several hundred "bomblets" over a wide area. They ​often fail to explode, creating virtual minefields that can kill or injure anyone who finds them later.