The Media Line: Mass Casualty Event in Arad After Missile Impact Injures Over 88, With 10 Seriously Wounded, Fatalities Likely  

Mass Casualty Event in Arad After Missile Impact Injures Over 88, With 10 Seriously Wounded, Fatalities Likely  

By The Media Line Staff  

An Iranian missile struck the southern city of Arad on Saturday, injuring at least 88 people in what Magen David Adom (MDA) described as a mass casualty event following repeated missile fire targeting southern Israel over the past 24 hours.  

Channel 13 reported “early indications of multiple fatalities.” However, deaths have not been officially confirmed.   

Ten of the wounded were reported in serious condition, including a 5-year-old girl; 19 are in moderate condition, and the others are lightly injured. Emergency responders deployed helicopters and dozens of ambulances to the scene as rescue operations continued.  

MDA Director-General Eli Bin said the impact created multiple areas of destruction. “Four seriously wounded in two destruction sites, there are people trapped. We requested assistance from the Home Front Command,” he told N12. Nine buildings were damaged in the attack, some were reportedly blown apart and collapsed.   

The strike came during what officials said was the ninth round of Iranian missile fire aimed at southern Israel within a 24-hour period. Israel Defense Forces said it is investigating the failure to intercept the missiles that hit Arad, which occurred two hours after a separate direct impact in Dimona. According to the military’s assessment, the missiles carried conventional warheads containing hundreds of kilograms of explosives.  

Thirty-seven wounded were evacuated from the scene, including four in serious condition and 12 in moderate condition prompting authorities to declare a mass casualty incident and mobilize additional emergency resources, MDA reported. Dozens of ambulances and mobile intensive care units were dispatched, and Soroka Medical Center was placed on alert to receive casualties. Helicopters were sent to the Arad airstrip to assist with evacuations.  

MDA emergency medic Yakir Talker told Channel 12: “This is a very difficult scene. We arrived with large forces of ambulances, intensive care units, and MDA motorcycles, and saw many injured with varying degrees of injuries as a result of a missile strike.”   

He added, “We immediately began setting up a casualty concentration point, triaged the injured according to severity, and provided life-saving medical treatment. There is extensive destruction and chaos at the scene. Teams are conducting thorough searches at this time and will continue to operate here as required.”  

As the Arad strike unfolded, additional missiles were fired from Iran toward northern Israel. Sirens sounded twice across the region, from the Golan Heights to Haifa, and all incoming projectiles were either intercepted or landed in open areas.  

Earlier Saturday evening, a missile barrage targeting Dimona and surrounding communities injured 31 people. Officials reported 12 impact sites across the city, including one where a building collapsed. Among the injured were a 10-year-old boy and a woman about 40 years old in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds, while the remaining casualties were classified as lightly injured.