Buildings ablaze as Israel rocked by more missile strikes
Residents in southern Israel have been rocked by more Iranian missile strikes while Israel has continued to hit dozens of targets in Iran, as the conflict over nuclear sites and weapons enters its eighth day.
On Friday morning, an Iranian ballistic missile struck just outside several apartment buildings in Beersheba, causing heavy damage and injuries. Images shared on social media show buildings on fire, with firefighters working to put out blazes.
Dr Shafir Botner, a paramedic school director from MDA, Israel's national Emergency Medical Service, who is on the scene in the south, said MDA teams were searching all apartments to check for injuries.
'Luckily, so far we've only found six people who were lightly injured,' he said in a video posted to X.
MDA says those injured by the shockwave suffered blunt trauma, smoke inhalation, as well as acute anxiety.
In today's conflict, the Israeli Air Force has also struck three ballistic missile launchers primed for an attack on Israel, along with an Iranian military commander who was operating at the launch site in Iran, The Times of Israel reports.
Israel's military says more than 60 Israeli Air Force fighter jets also hit dozens of targets in Iran, including the Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research headquarters.
'As part of the ongoing efforts to degrade the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons program, the IDF struck the SPND headquarters in Tehran,' the military said.
'The SPND headquarters is used for research and development of advanced technologies and weapons supporting the Iranian regime's military capabilities.'
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Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structures on Friday, deploying warplanes and drones to target key facilities, killing top generals and six scientists. Israel has claimed the barrage code-named 'Operation Rising Lion' was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon.
Iran has retaliated against Israel's airstrike campaign by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel.
As of day seven of the operation, Israel's MDA says teams have treated 1,007 casualties in Israel, including 23 fatalities and 14 in a serious condition.
Meanwhile, a week of Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 657 people and wounded 2,037 others, the Washington-based Human Rights Activist group said Friday.
The latest missile strikes on Israel came after US President Donald Trump said he would hold off on any US intervention in the conflict for another two weeks, in a bid to give the Islamic Republic one last chance of coming to a negotiation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday (local time) that she was delivering a direct message from Mr Trump, stressing that it should come as no surprise that the US President is firmly committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb.
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Ms Leavitt quoted Mr Trump, saying: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.'
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision of whether the US should enter the conflict rests solely with Mr Trump.
'He'll do what's good for the United States, and I'll do what's good for the State of Israel,' the Prime Minister said, adding, 'as the saying goes — every contribution is welcome.'
Mr Netanyahu's comments follow his signal that Israel has the firepower to strike all of Iran's nuclear sites, including the heavily fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, buried deep beneath a mountain.
'We will achieve all our objectives and hit all of their nuclear facilities. We have the capability to do that,' he said when asked directly about Fordow.
Already, Israel's campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have also killed top generals and six nuclear scientists.
Iran's military leaders had vowed earlier this week that Israel would soon see more attacks.
'The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,' Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran's army, said in a video.
'The punishment operation will be carried out soon.'
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