Iranian missile strike on second south Israel town wounds 30

Israeli firefighters said a "direct hit" by an Iranian missile on the southern Israeli Arad on Saturday caused extensive damage, with medics reporting around 30 people wounded, according to AFP.

Israeli media showed badly damaged buildings in Arad, about 25 kilometers northeast of Dimona, struck hours earlier near its nuclear facility.

"In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms," firefighters said.

The local fire service said there was "extensive damage," with three buildings affected and a blaze sparked in one of them.

Magen David Adom first responders said they were taking 33 wounded people to the hospital, including four seriously injured, 12 moderately injured, and 17 lightly injured.

"This is a very severe scene," emergency medical technician Yakir Talkar said in a statement, adding there were "many wounded with varying degrees of injury."

The casualties in Arad came after an Iranian missile strike on Dimona left around 30 people wounded.

Iranian state TV said the missile attack on Dimona in the Negev desert was a "response" to an earlier strike on its own nuclear site at Natanz.

Dimona

Israel's military said an Iranian missile on Saturday struck Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, after medics reported 39 people injured by shrapnel.

The army told AFP there was a "direct missile hit on a building" in the settlement in the Negev desert, , 85 kilometers south of Jerusalem.

Dimona hosts a facility just outside the main town, widely believed to possess the Middle East's sole, if undeclared, nuclear arsenal.

Magen David Adom first responders said their teams treated 39 people at a number of impact sites.

The organization, Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, released a video of a residential building ablaze in the town.

Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear program, and the Dimona plant officially focuses on research.

Images shared by Israeli media showed an object hurtling out of the sky at high speed before crashing into the town.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday it was aware of reports that a projectile had struck Dimona in Israel 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.

Earlier in the day, on Saturday, Iran accused the United States and Israel of striking the Natanz nuclear site while the country was celebrating Eid al-Fitr.