Iran struck Dimona, an Israeli city with a nuclear research center, this Saturday, injuring at least 47 people. A 10-year-old child is in critical condition. At least 47 people were injured on Saturday, March 21, in the evening by an Iranian missile strike on the city of Dimona, in southern Israel, where a nuclear research center is located, according to a new report from Israeli emergency services. The Magen David Adom (MDA) teams, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, reported that they had treated “a boy of about ten years old in critical condition (…) suffering from shrapnel wounds” as well as “a woman of about 30 years old (…) suffering from glass shrapnel wounds.” They also evacuated “31 patients” to the hospital who were slightly injured by shrapnel while seeking shelter, as well as 14 people showing symptoms of anxiety.
An apartment was hit, with the kitchen wall blown out. The precise locations of the impacted sites were not yet known, but online images and live broadcasts show impacts on urban areas, including a building with a largely destroyed facade, riddled with shrapnel, and vehicles on fire. The army stated in a press release that “before the impact, interception attempts were made” unsuccessfully, and that the causes of the impact “will be examined.”
The city of Dimona houses the Negev Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center, a nuclear facility for research purposes, which according to foreign press reports has been involved in the production of nuclear weapons over the past decades. Little information is available about the Dimona nuclear site. Israel maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity,” neither confirming nor denying the possession of nuclear weapons.
Iran claimed responsibility for the missile strike, stating it was a “response” to the “enemy” attack on the Natanz complex, reported earlier by Tehran. Shortly thereafter, Israel reported a missile launch towards the Eilat region, located about 200 kilometers south of Dimona.
