“Tonight, the sky over southern Israel will be very bright!” This was the stark warning issued by Tehran—specifically by the Revolutionary Guards—before another fierce attack on southern Israel, which resulted in at least 200 people being injured, 15 of them in critical condition.

The Protothema.gr correspondent was on the ground in the city of Arad last night, documenting the devastation and fear left behind by yet another Iranian strike. Arad is an ultra-Orthodox community located just a few kilometers from the Dead Sea.

The ultra-Orthodox population in the area had converted the vast majority of shelters into synagogues. Women are not allowed in these spaces, which is why most of the injured are women, as the correspondent explains.

Footage from the only Greek media outlet present in Arad shows rescue teams desperately searching for survivors in the rubble, as the Iranian ballistic missile destroyed at least one entire building.

Damage is widespread due to the force of the strike—destroyed vehicles, roads, and a general scene of devastation everywhere.

Immediately after the strike, special army units rushed to Arad to analyze debris and assist the injured. The area effectively turned into a war zone in the middle of a residential community which, due to its religious nature, has no military involvement and no military installations.

“The mobilization is the largest we’ve seen in the 22 days we’ve been in the region,” said Protothema.gr correspondent Giannis Charamidís.

Strike near nuclear reactor

Earlier, an Iranian missile hit the city of Dimona—on the outskirts of which lies a nuclear research center in the Negev desert—injuring around 30 people.

“It is a very difficult night in the struggle for our future,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, assuring that “we will continue to strike our enemies decisively on all fronts.”

Following attacks on energy infrastructure, the conflict in the Middle East has now expanded to include nuclear-related targets, with Iran targeting Dimona in retaliation for the strike on Natanz.

The residential area hit in Dimona is located about 5 kilometers from the nuclear research center.

Israel is believed to be the only country in the Middle East that possesses nuclear weapons, although it has never officially confirmed this. Tehran claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Dimona, calling it “retaliation” for what it described as a “hostile” attack on nuclear facilities in Natanz, in central Iran.