‘I was afraid I'd die.' Iran's missiles rain down on Tel Aviv and its suburbs.
A chorus of alarms from damaged cars and buildings wailed on Saturday afternoon through the empty streets of central Tel Aviv. Iran's missile attack the night before had left a gaping hole in one high-rise and had blown out windows for a block around.
Six miles south, residents of the quiet suburb of Rishon LeZion were piling up shattered roof tiles and glass along the sidewalks after a projectile killed two of their neighbors in a two-story home on Saturday morning. Those who lived close to the impact site were busy gathering their belongings to evacuate to temporary housing.
The Israeli government said 17 missile impact sites had been identified across the country after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel between Friday evening and Saturday morning. The strikes were in retaliation for Israeli attacks earlier in the day. Three civilians in Israel were killed and over 170 wounded, including seven soldiers, the authorities said.
It was not immediately clear whether the damage and deaths had been caused by the missiles themselves or interceptors sent to shoot them down, or falling fragments of both. The Israeli military said both missiles and interceptors had hit areas in Israel but declined to give details.
The damaged high-rise in central Tel Aviv was near a government quarter and the military's headquarters. Residents who had evacuated from their high-rise complex after it was struck on Friday lined up to speak with a municipal official at a makeshift checkpoint near the impact site. Many appeared shaken.
Amit Tzur-Amrani, 26, said she and her husband were huddled in a fortified room in their apartment on Friday when the air-raid alarms went off after 9 p.m. Then there was a loud blast and smoke poured into their shelter.
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