Hours after the United States entered the war with Iran, dropping powerful bombs on three key nuclear sites, Tel Aviv experienced one of the most significant Iranian strikes since the war began last week. An Iranian missile directly struck a residential building in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood in north Tel Aviv, lightly wounding 13 people. Several surrounding buildings were damaged, including a nursing home from which 160 elderly residents were evacuated.
“There was a loud and frightening boom, the windows of my apartment fell,” Tamara Sadan, a resident of the nursing home, told Davar. “On each floor there is a protected room, that’s where we were during the strike.”
She said she would move back to her home in the northern town of Kfar Vradim.
Home Front Command forces quickly arrived at the scene and began scanning the building, evacuating the residents, and ensuring their safety. According to Mishan, the nursing home network, 160 residents were present during the strike.
Yair Flishteib, 17, ran a hair salon in the nursing home. “Everything is gone,” he told Davar. “I’ll try to figure out my next step.”
The Tel Aviv municipality set up an assistance station at the site, and residents registered for organized evacuation to the Dan Panorama Hotel in the city. The difference between a miracle and a disaster, it seems, depended solely on being in the protected room.
In addition to the nursing home residents, more than 100 other residents were evacuated. A support center was set up at the Alliance high school, where residents are receiving assistance from the municipality until their evacuation to the hotel.
The mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, arrived at the site of the strike. He attributed the relatively small number of wounded civilians to the residents’ adherence to Home Front Command instructions.
“We are in close contact with the security and rescue agencies and arrive at all scenes as quickly as possible. Continue to stay alert and follow the Home Front Command’s instructions,” he said.
Tel Aviv area hospitals reported the evacuation of dozens of people injured in the morning barrage, one of whom is in moderate condition and the rest lightly injured.
The strike in Ramat Aviv joins a series of attacks recorded throughout the country this morning. In videos and photos circulated on social media, extensive damage could be seen to homes, property, and civilian infrastructure.
