9 Dead and Dozens Injured in Beit Shemesh, Shrapnel Hits Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tiberias

SadaNews - The pace of Iranian attacks on Israel has intensified, resulting in direct injuries and falling shrapnel in several areas. In Beit Shemesh, a rocket fell, leading to the death of 9 people and injuring dozens of others, including four cases described as critical. The incident was declared a "mass casualty incident," and the wounded were transferred to four hospitals amid reports of extensive damage to residential buildings and communication disruptions for several individuals at the target site. In Jerusalem, a warhead was found that fell hundreds of meters from the Old City, while material damage was recorded due to rocket shrapnel in Tiberias, in addition to falling shrapnel in Haifa and central and northern regions of the country, indicating an expansion in the scope of targeting and escalating confrontation. On the second day of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, the scope of strikes has widened, with the Israeli army announcing the start of targeting "sites belonging to the Iranian regime in the heart of the capital" today, Sunday, as part of a continuous attack that followed the opening strike that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Israeli army spokesman stated that they had destroyed "about half of Iran's missile stockpile" and prevented the production of at least 1,500 additional missiles, claiming that Tehran had been producing "dozens of ground-to-ground missiles monthly" and intended to increase production to "hundreds monthly." Meanwhile, a security official stated that Israel had "achieved air superiority over the skies of Tehran" and "destroyed dozens of rocket launch platforms." In response, Tehran has escalated its political and military rhetoric; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian considered the assassination of Khamenei to be a "clear declaration of war against Muslims, especially Shiites," asserting that "seeking vengeance against the perpetrators and planners of this historical crime is a religious duty and a legitimate right." The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened the United States and Israel with strikes "unlike anything they have ever witnessed." Alongside the military escalation, Israel intensified its messages directed at the Iranian interior; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranians, in a speech in Persian, to "come out into the streets by the millions to overthrow the regime," considering the current events a "once-in-a-generation historic opportunity," and stated that Israel would continue to strike "thousands of targets" in the coming days, as he put it. On Sunday, Gulf countries experienced a wave of Iranian attacks targeting American bases and sites in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, resulting in deaths, injuries, and varying material damages, along with partial closures of airspace and flight suspensions. The Revolutionary Guard announced that it targeted 27 American bases in the region using ballistic missiles and drones.