United Hatzalah said that its paramedics treated 95 patients, including 10 in serious condition and some who were hospitalized, after a “mass casualty incident” in Arad, in southern Israel, some 25 miles east of Be’er Sheva.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the attack on Arad and one earlier in the day on Dimona a “blatant war crime” and “pure terrorism.”
Aerial footage that United Hatzalah posted appeared to show a large area in which the missile impacted, including blown-out residential buildings.
Magen David Adom said in Hebrew that as of 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, its medics and paramedics treated 88 people, including 10 seriously hurt, and evacuated patients to hospitals in “dozens” of ambulances. Earlier the ambulatory service said that one of those in serious condition was a girl who is about 5-years-old.
“This has been a very difficult evening in the battle for our future. A short while ago, I spoke with Arad mayor Yair Ma’ayan, and asked to convey, on behalf of all the citizens of Israel, our prayers for the recovery of the wounded,” stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Simmy Allen, international spokesman for United Hatzalah, stated that “these were extremely complex and challenging scenes.”
“Our medics and volunteers operated under intense conditions, working tirelessly to deliver immediate, life saving care while also supporting those experiencing profound emotional distress,” Allen said. “United Hatzalah’s specialized drone unit was on the scene helping guide search and rescue teams to locate people in the rubble and monitor structural integrity of the buildings impacted.”
Shortly before 3 a.m., the Israeli military said that it was “conducting strikes on Iranian terror regime targets in the heart of Tehran.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued two statements about Iran since the attack on Arad.
“The United States has blown Iran off of the map, and yet their lightweight analyst, David Sanger, says that I haven’t met my own goals. Yes I have, and weeks ahead of schedule,” the president stated. “Their leadership is gone, their navy and air force are dead, they have absolutely no defense and they want to make a deal. I don’t!”
“We are weeks ahead of schedule. Just like their incompetent election coverage of me, the failing New York Times always gets it wrong,” he wrote.
In a second post, Trump wrote that “if Iran doesn’t fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.”
