Iran ballistic missile hits Israeli city in terrifying strike near top-secret facility that is key to country’s atomic weapons program
An Iranian ballistic missile injured a 10-year-old child and approximately 19 people in Dimona, Israel.
Footage of the attack was published on social media; It shows the bullet hurtling towards a residential area before exploding into a large fireball.
Other angles of the attack show a plane trying and failing to intercept the missile as it continued to fall towards the city.
Israeli Magen David Adom said that about 20 people, including a 10-year-old boy and a 40-year-old middle-class woman, were injured by shrapnel in the explosion.
“In the Dimona area, MDA teams are treating approximately 20 patients at all scenes with shrapnel injuries, injuries sustained en route to shelters, and symptoms of anxiety: A 10-year-old male is in moderate condition from shrapnel injuries,” X wrote.
Israel’s Home Front Command also sent search and rescue forces to the affected areas. Israeli police also released photos of officers inside a building with a large hole cut into its wall.
The city of Dimona is located in the Negev desert near the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, a top-secret Israeli nuclear weapons facility.
Although Israel says the Dimona plant is officially focused on research, it is believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.
The country has never officially confirmed its nuclear capability, but Israel is believed to have possessed a significant number of nuclear weapons since the 1960s.
Earlier this month, Iran threatened to target the site if Israel and the United States sought regime change in the Islamic Republic.
The moment an Iranian ballistic missile launched towards Dimona, Israel, injuring a 10-year-old boy and approximately 19 people
A few minutes later a huge fireball can be seen engulfing the ground
Negev Nuclear Research Center in Israel’s Negev Desert
This came hours after two ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia, a base jointly operated by the US and UK, in the Indian Ocean on Friday night.
Sources said one of the missiles failed in flight, while the other was intercepted by a US warship in what is believed to be the first attack on the military base.
The exact timing of the incident is not yet known, but the Government confirmed on Saturday that it took place before Starmer gave permission to the US; Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch now accuses the Prime Minister of ‘covering up’ the details and questions why the public were not told ‘sooner’.
Defense experts suggested that the incident was important because it revealed that Iranian missiles could travel much longer distances than previously thought.
Diego Garcia is located approximately 3,800 km (2,360 mi) from Iran, refuting the regime’s previous claim that its ballistic missiles could only reach 2,000 km (1,240 mi).
The attack on Diego Garcia came just seven days after Israeli forces struck Iran’s main space research center in Tehran over fears it was being used to ‘develop satellite attack capabilities in space’.
Experts have warned that if Iran gains more military power, the missile threat could now spread far beyond the Middle East and within distance of most capitals in Western Europe.
This includes Paris, which is 4,198 km (2,609 mi) from Tehran; London is located at the ‘vulnerability edge’ at approximately 4,435 km (2,750 miles).
Despite the strike, Keir Starmer vowed not to use his bases in Cyprus for any offensive action after a phone call with the country’s president, Nikos Christodoulide.
“The British Prime Minister reiterated that the security of the Republic of Cyprus is of fundamental importance to the United Kingdom and for this purpose a decision has been taken to strengthen the means that contribute to the preventive measures already in place,” a Cypriot government spokesman said. he said.
‘Finally, the Prime Minister reiterated that British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any military military operations.’
An Iranian Shahed drone caused minor damage when it struck facilities at Britain’s Akrotiri air base in southern Cyprus on 2 March; Later, two other drones were also stopped. There were no other known security incidents.
When Britain granted the colony its independence in 1960, it retained sovereignty over two bases on the island.
