Three U.S. servicemen and nine Israeli civilians were reported killed as Iran fires ballistic missiles at Israel and across the Middle East.
“U.S. Central Command said Sunday that three American service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded during Operation Epic Fury,” CBS News reported. “The military’s initial statement did not give details on where the casualties took place.”
The first casualties of the operation were reported as CENTCOM disclosed that U.S. troops had “successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”
With Iran attacking countries across the Middle East, at least nine civilians were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile strike, some 20 miles west of Jerusalem. “At least nine people were killed in a direct missile strike on a residential building in Beit Shemesh on Sunday, officials said, as rescue operations continued at the scene amid extensive destruction,” Ynetnews reported.
The ballistic missile directly struck a bomb shelter near a synagogue in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, The Times of Israel reported:
The majority of those killed in today’s Iranian missile impact in Beit Shemesh had been taking cover in a public shelter, says the Jerusalem District police chief.
Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled is speaking at the scene of a lethal strike that left nine dead and over two dozen wounded.
“As far as I know… it was likely a direct impact on the shelter and most, if not all of those killed, were in there [the public shelter],” says Peled.
He adds that police were aware during the last round of fighting with Iran in June that public shelters and safe rooms are unable to withstand the force of a direct ballistic missile impact.
The senior cop nevertheless urges civilians to continue to take shelter amid missile fire from Iran to guard from lighter impacts.
“Those located in a protected area when the damage isn’t direct, which is the majority of cases, are indeed shielded from the missile or debris that flies through the air,” Peled continues.
With Iranian missile barrages hitting neighbouring Gulf Arab states, Saudi Arabia has finally authorized its military to retaliate against these attacks, reports indicate.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY