Residential block turned to rubble in central Israeli town
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
Damaged residential homes in Bat Yam, Israel, on Sunday, following missile attack from Iran.
Chen Kalifa/Reuters
A CNN team on the ground witnessed the destruction caused in a central Israeli town after it came under fire from Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A barrage of Iranian missiles struck Bat Yam at around 2.30 a.m. local time. CNN’s Nic Robertson witnessed the aftermath of the attack, and saw how buildings had been turned to rubble.
The Iranian strikes appeared to have hit a residential block, with children’s toys seen lying in the ruins of the building.
Speaking to CNN live on air, Dean Elsdunne, an international spokesperson for the Israel Police, said that extensive rescue efforts were still ongoing, with people feared trapped under the rubble.
“This is the result of yet another barrage of rockets targeting our civiilian populations,” Elsdunne said.
The police spokesperson declined to give an exact figure for the number of casualties in the town, but said that “scores” had been injured and that that number was growing as police work to locate more individuals.
Elsdunne added that the “civilian discipline” instilled in Israelis was helping to save many lives, with the authorities asking the public to follow multiple instructions for their own safety. “Obviously to stay close to protected shelter, to be in protected shelter until you get a notification to leave, but also not to share locations of impact sites,” he said.
“It’s very dangerous, the Iranian regime is obviously using this to continue their targeting of the civilian population,” he added.
“We ask them to continuously listen to these instructions.”
