An Iranian missile attack in central Israel killed at least nine people, with 11 others missing and dozens injured, marking the deadliest single strike since the conflict began.

BEIT SHEMESH: At least nine people were killed and 11 others are missing following an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday. Police confirmed the toll, stating it was the deadliest single strike in the country since the war began.

“So far, more than 45 injured people in varying degrees of severity have been evacuated, and the bodies of nine fatalities have been recovered,” police said in a statement. “At this time, there are 11 missing persons with whom contact has not yet been established,” it added, noting search operations were ongoing.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services also pronounced nine people dead at the scene. Dozens of rescue personnel were deployed to the impact site, where an AFP photographer saw teams removing a body from the rubble of a heavily damaged building.

“They are bringing all kinds of equipment to try to locate people,” said another AFP photographer at the scene. “Apparently, there are still people underneath,” he added, as rescue efforts continued.

Photographs from Beit Shemesh showed a house destroyed by the blast, its roof reduced to mangled concrete and twisted iron bars. “When I arrived, I saw a terrible scene,” said MDA paramedic Yehuda Shlomo. “I saw heavy structural damage, smoke in the air, and a great deal of chaos, with dozens of frightened casualties emerging from damaged buildings.”

The attack was part of a rapid retaliation from Tehran. It followed a wave of US and Israeli strikes against Iran on Saturday, which killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During a previous 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June, nine people were killed in an Iranian missile strike in the city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.

 The Sun Malaysia