Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

WATCH: Israeli daycare destroyed by Iranian cluster missile

“There could have been kids at this kindergarten,” said Rishon Letzion Mayor Raz Kinstlich.

Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a kindergarten in Rishon LeZion, central Israel, was damaged by shrapnel from a ballistic missile fired from Iran, March 21, 2026. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Cluster bombs from an Iranian ballistic missile damaged this kindergarten in Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, on March 21, 2026. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

An Iranian cluster munition caused heavy destruction at a kindergarten and several other sites in Rishon Letzion, a Tel Aviv suburb, on Saturday.

Mayor Raz Kinstlich told Ynet that the city would keep its education system closed “until we feel that our kids are secure,” noting that the 8 a.m. missile strike “could just as easily” have happened on a weekday when the kindergarten was in session.

“You tell me if you would send your kids to a kindergarten like this,” Kinstlich said. “Look what time it happened—there could have been kids at this kindergarten.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that “only the fact that it was Saturday prevented a massacre of children,” accusing the “reckless” Iranian regime of targeting civilians.

Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch on Saturday night ordered the cancellation of all efforts to reopen schools after Iranian ballistic missiles struck two southern cities, wounding 115.

“Following the impacts in Dimona and Arad, and after consultation with the commander of the Home Front Command, I have decided that on Sunday and Monday, all exceptions will be canceled, and in-person learning will not be permitted,” Kisch said.

“Remote learning will take place nationwide and there will be no physical classes, even in ‘yellow’ areas,” he said, referring to regions that have been under lighter restrictions. “Ahead of Tuesday, a renewed situation assessment will be conducted, and further updates will be provided accordingly.”

Ignoring the connection between anti-Zionism and Jew-hatred “is a big evasion, very disappointing,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told JNS. “I think that the mayor knows better.”
The co-pilot reportedly sought to seize control of the Tel Aviv-bound plane and was subdued by crew members and passengers.
“Zionism is a lightning rod issue,” but “it’s also a fundamental part of Jewish identity, and most Jews in Montgomery County and beyond believe that Israel is a core part of their Jewish identity,” one signatory told JNS.
“We hear you, Sunkist Fruit Gems fans,” the brand stated. “The good news. Sunkist Fruit Gems are not going anywhere.”