The mayor of Tel Aviv has confirmed that a “direct strike” damaged a building on Tuesday following an Iranian missile attack warning, while Israeli first responders treated four people for light injuries.
The strike, which hit an upscale neighbourhood in the northern part of the Israeli coastal city, tore open the facade of an old three-storey building and scattered debris across the street, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters that the building had been hit by a “direct strike.”
Several Israeli media outlets, including military radio, reported that police believe the damage was caused by a cluster munition missile equipped with three to four warheads, each carrying around 100 kilograms of explosives.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service released a video from one of the affected apartments, showing extensive damage from the explosion. The MDA confirmed that four people had been treated and discharged, revising down an earlier count of six lightly wounded individuals. A source at the MDA stated that the victims had inhaled smoke from a small fire triggered by the blast.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s military issued seven warnings of incoming missile fire from Iran in central and southern Israel, along with at least six alerts regarding missiles or rockets fired from Lebanon in the north.
The Israeli military said it intercepts just over 90 percent of incoming fire from Iran and regularly reminds residents to take shelter during alerts, noting that missile defence is not completely “airtight.”
Police have deployed bomb disposal teams to “several impact sites of munitions” across the Tel Aviv district, but no further injuries were reported beyond the four people affected by the direct strike on the residential building.