BAT YAM — Amid the shattered remains of a residential building in this central Israeli city, rescue teams worked tirelessly Sunday morning, racing against time to locate survivors after a devastating Iranian missile strike leveled part of the coastal city overnight.
At least seven people were confirmed dead, and three others were still feared missing beneath the rubble.
The late-night strike caused widespread damage to both residential and commercial buildings, destroying entire floors and injuring nearly 200 people.
Those who had taken shelter in designated safe rooms and underground bunkers were unharmed, Home Front Command officials say, while all the casualties occurred outside of protected spaces.
Leah Shalom, a resident of Bat Yam, was in her apartment’s reinforced room when an Iranian missile slammed directly into her building.
“I was alone with my dog — my son is in Tel Aviv,” she recounted. “I heard several booms… When I received the all clear, I opened the door. Then suddenly, something crashed hard inside my home. I’m lucky that I didn’t leave” the room.
Shalom said her apartment suffered extensive damage — shattered windows, a destroyed bathroom, and a broken air conditioning unit. Too shaken to assess the full extent, she said she has no idea when, or if, she’ll be able to return.
Regional police commander Daniel Hadad told reporters Sunday that the death toll stood at six, with 180 people wounded and three still missing. Another body was pulled from the rubble in the afternoon.
“Our main effort at the moment is to find the missing and to coordinate between reports of those who are missing,” Hadad said. He added that several buildings were damaged by the enormous blast and that “this could take days.”
A hotline has been established at 105 for those with concerns about missing persons or dangerous situations.
“There is great destruction here, lots of rubble and debris that has to be lifted to find the missing,” Hadad said, noting that local authorities were also working to assist hundreds of residents who have become homeless.
On the ground, the atmosphere on Sunday morning was tense and surreal. Families of the missing sat in silence, watching emergency crews sift through the debris.
Residents of neighboring buildings, many of whom are dealing with shattered windows and structural damage, have been barred from returning home. Entire roads have been sealed off.
Amid the devastation, one local handed his phone to a military police officer blocking access to the site, asking him to snap a photo of the damage to his office building located beyond the caution tape.
“I just want to see which campaign poster is still hanging,” he said with a grim smile — a dark joke that underscored not only the surreal aftermath of the attack, but also Israel’s ongoing internal political turmoil, which remains visible even in the wreckage.
Several Israeli political figures visited the scene as rescue teams continued their efforts on Sunday afternoon, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
“Iran will pay a very heavy price for the murder of civilians — women, children — that it carried out deliberately. We will achieve our objectives, and we will strike them with overwhelming force,” said Netanyahu according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Dozens of homes in this area were completely damaged by a single missile launched from Iran in a cruel and terrible missile attack that was launched across the entire country,” Herzog said at the scene.
Meanwhile, Ben Gvir emphasized the importance of civilians entering bomb shelters because “it saves lives.”
“We see it time and time again, even here in this building — pay attention to what remains of the building, only the protected area. Enter the protected areas,” he said.
The IDF reiterated its warning to the public: “Follow Home Front Command instructions, they save lives.” Military officials have stressed that Israel’s air defense systems, while advanced, are not foolproof, and proper sheltering remains critical in protecting civilians.
Rescue forces — including the IDF’s Home Front Command, the National Rescue Unit, and reserve teams from across the country — rushed to the scene overnight, along with units deployed to similar impact zones in Tamra in the north and Rehovot in Israel’s center. In Bat Yam, officials say rescue operations are expected to continue for at least another full day.
Despite the devastation, signs of resilience are beginning to emerge. In Bat Yam, a handful of storefronts have cautiously reopened, while other business owners continue to assess shattered windows, structural damage, and the uncertainty of what comes next.
Still, recovery remains a long way off. The search for those believed to be trapped under the rubble presses on, and the silent vigil of waiting families serves as a stark reminder of the profound human toll of Iran’s strike.