Iranian missiles struck yesterday the southern Israeli city of Dimona, home to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, believed to be central to Israel’s long-denied nuclear weapons program. Iran’s state TV said the missile barrage was a response to the strike on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility earlier in the day. (The IDF denied any role in that attack.) There was no report on damage to the Dimona nuclear facility, however Israel maintains a policy of never confirming or denying anything about the facility.
Nobody was killed but Israel’s Health Ministry reported 180 injuries at Dimona and Arad, towns that lie at opposite ends of the nuclear complex, 5-20 miles away. As of this morning, Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center had treated 175 people, of whom 36 were kept overnight.
The scandal in Israel is that the vaunted Iron Dome air defense system failed to intercept the two ballistic missiles. According to The Times of Israel, the “military said the Israeli Air Force was investigating the failure to intercept both ballistic missiles. It confirmed air defenses had engaged both projectiles, but the interceptors failed to knock them down.” IDF spokesman Effie Defrin posted on X: “The air defense systems operated but did not intercept the missile. We will investigate the incident and learn from it. This is not a special or unfamiliar type of munition.”
Israeli firefighters, according to Al Jazeera, reported: “In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel had a “very difficult evening in the campaign for our future” and he advised the residents to pay attention to air raid sirens.
