A powerful Iranian missile carrying a heavy payload struck a residential building in Arad tonight, hitting a structure housing Gur chassidim after Israeli air defenses were unable to stop it.

Emergency responders from Magen David Adom reported a mass-casualty situation at the scene, with 75 people hurt to varying degrees. Authorities fear that some individuals remain unaccounted for and possibly trapped beneath the debris, as rescue teams continue intensive operations at the site.

Among those wounded are several in serious and critical condition, in addition to others suffering lighter injuries. According to MDA, 68 victims have so far been transported to Soroka Medical Center. Of those, 10 are listed in serious condition and 13 in moderate condition, while 48 sustained light injuries and four were treated for shock. A five-year-old girl is among those critically injured, and four individuals were reported unconscious. The hospital had been placed on alert ahead of the arrivals, and helicopters were dispatched to a landing zone in Arad to assist with evacuations.

MDA Senior EMT Saar Shachori described the aftermath: “This is a severe scene. We saw extensive destruction in several buildings, with thick black smoke rising from multiple locations, and there was a lot of chaos. Together with the many MDA teams that arrived, we began searching for injured people and set up a casualty treatment point near the scene. Using a megaphone, we called for injured individuals to come to the point, where we provided initial medical care, and those requiring hospital transport were evacuated via MDA ambulances and mobile intensive care units. Through the rubble, I noticed four injured people: a 4-year-old girl in serious condition, one in moderate condition, and two children in mild condition. They were frightened and called for help; I ran to them, assisted them out of the rubble, provided life-saving medical treatment, and transported them to the hospital.”

Medical teams remain on the ground treating additional casualties while continuing searches for anyone still buried. Officials formally classified the situation as a multi-casualty incident.

Preliminary findings indicate the missile landed between residential buildings, causing major destruction to at least four structures and inflicting additional damage to surrounding properties.

Although interceptor missiles were launched in response, officials have not yet determined why the incoming projectile was not successfully neutralized.

The IDF later confirmed that the missile, weighing approximately 450 kilograms, struck Arad directly after two separate interception attempts failed.

According to the military, Home Front Command search-and-rescue units are actively working at the impact site in southern Israel, conducting scans for survivors and assisting civilians. The IDF added that “Israeli Air Force helicopters were dispatched to the scene to assist the civilian population in the area.”

“The public is requested to avoid gathering in these areas,” the IDF stressed. “The Home Front Command calls on the public to continue following the guidelines.”

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu addressed the nation following the attack, saying: “This has been a very difficult evening in the battle for our future. A short while ago, I spoke with Arad Mayor Yair Ma’ayan, and asked to convey, on behalf of all the citizens of Israel, our prayers for the recovery of the wounded.”

“I have instructed the Director General of my office to provide the full necessary assistance together with all government ministries.

“I offer my support to the emergency and rescue forces currently operating on the ground, and I call upon everyone to follow Home Front Command instructions.

“We are determined to continue striking our enemies on all fronts,” he added.

Earlier in the evening, a separate missile strike in Dimona left 47 people injured after a direct hit on a residential building.

Among the victims there, a ten-year-old boy was listed in serious condition, while a woman in her thirties sustained moderate injuries. The boy’s mother said her son had been heading toward a bomb shelter but was unable to reach it before the impact.

All those injured in the Dimona strike were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva for treatment.

A report in Haaretz noted that footage from the scene suggests the missile struck roughly nine seconds after the warning siren was activated.