Israel-Iran conflict as it happened: Trump likens strikes on Iran to Hiroshima; Ceasefire between Iran, Israel holds
Beersheba: When trouble strikes, Rafael Aronov runs towards it.
During the October 7 attacks of 2023, the Israeli special forces police officer travelled to Ofakim, near the Gaza border, to fight off Hamas militants who had stormed into Israel and murdered civilians. When an Iranian missile struck a hospital in his home town of Beersheba last week, he served as a first responder, helping to evacuate injured patients.
On Tuesday morning, the war between Israel and Iran came into Aronov's own home when the walls of his apartment building started shaking as he and his wife, Lior, sheltered in their bedroom. An Iranian missile had struck an apartment building just a few hundred metres away, killing four of his neighbours and shattering the windows of his apartment.
The hit on Beersheba was one of the most damaging since Israel and Iran began trading fire 12 days earlier, and the last to pierce Israel's air defences before a ceasefire deal took effect.
As he cleans up the broken glass from his apartment building, Aronov expresses mixed emotions about the truce. Part of him wishes that Israel had tried to overthrow Iran's theocratic regime and redraw the political map in the Middle East, not just weaken Tehran's military capabilities.
'The job is not done,' says the professional mixed martial arts fighter, who is nicknamed 'The Cop' because of his police work. 'Yet on the other hand, 28 people have died and that's a high price.'
Among the Israelis who died on Tuesday: Eitan Zacks, an 18-year-old off-duty soldier; his mother, Michal; and his girlfriend, Noa, as they sheltered in their safe room.
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