Iranian missile strikes kill 6 in central Israel, injure at least 140: authorities

JERUSALEM, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian aerial attacks killed at least six people and injured 140 others in Israel early on Sunday, Israeli authorities said.

Air sirens and sounds of explosions sent millions running to shelters in dozens of cities across Israel, the military said in a statement.

A residential building in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, was hit by a missile, causing it to collapse. Another missile struck a residential area in Rehovot, a city in Israel's Central District, causing dozens of injuries.

The police said in a statement that at least two of the fatalities were children, and added that at least seven people were still missing.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot sustained damage to several campus buildings as a result of the Iranian missile barrage, but no injuries were reported, the institute said in a statement.

At least 140 people were wounded in the two attacks, Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service reported, adding that the vast majority of them sustained light injuries.

Also overnight, the number of fatalities from a missile attack that hit Tamra, an Arab city in the North District of Israel, on Saturday night rose to four, according to the MDA. They were identified as a mother and her two daughters and another relative. Dozens were injured.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli Air Force said it had intercepted seven drones launched toward northern and southern Israel within about an hour.

Overnight, Israeli warplanes continued to strike targets in Iran, including in the capital, Tehran, hitting fuel tankers and suspected nuclear sites, the Israeli military said in a statement. A second wave of airstrikes targeted missile launchers and storage facilities in western Iran.

Meanwhile, Israel issued on Sunday an evacuation warning to Iranians living near weapons production facilities in Tehran, urging them "not to return until further notice."

"Being near these facilities puts your lives at risk," Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post in Persian and Arabic on social media platform X.

The warning was issued following an instruction from the Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz. A senior Israeli security official told Xinhua that the directive to evacuate residents in Tehran "is part of a pre-approved plan to exert pressure on the regime by displacing the population, in response to the missile fire on Israel's home front."

Israel launched its heaviest air attack on Iran on Friday, targeting nuclear facilities across Iran. Israel said several nuclear scientists and senior military officials were killed in the strikes.

Iran said at least 78 people were killed on Friday, with dozens more killed on Saturday. It said the fatalities included at least 29 children. ■