A cluster missile launched from Iran this morning (Wednesday) hit several areas in the Dan bloc - including Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv - at around 8:00 AM. The strike injured 14 people in Bnei Brak and caused heavy damage to property and buildings.
Among the injured is an 11-year-old girl who is hospitalized at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer in critical condition - and doctors are fighting for her life.
According to Channel 12, an initial investigation conducted on the ground by the Dan Region Police, Fire Department, and Home Front Command indicates that the girl and her father were staying in an old building where there was a shelter.
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The scattered ammunition hit the building, and the two were injured by the impact that destroyed part of the building's interior walls.
As a result of the impact, the girl was critically injured and was evacuated to the hospital by rescue forces.
Her father, seeing his daughter seriously injured, went into shock and fainted. The father also suffered from the impact and is in moderate condition.
The scene of the attack in Bnei Brak. Photo: Flash90
The source who participated in the investigation called on the public to make sure to reach a protected area when an alarm is sounded and not to give up on doing so throughout the holiday.
""Some of the babies were taken out with helmets on their heads""
Hanoch, who lives in a building near the scene of the impact, told Maariv: "We woke up with the alarms. We heard the explosion on the way to the shelter, while we were coming down. It was early morning, Passover Eve, when people were still thinking about going to the hametz incinerator. On the way to the shelter, we heard the loud explosion, and we realized that there had been some kind of fall here. Just a few minutes after that, we heard that there had been a fall here, and apparently there were also casualties. We went out here, and when I arrived, I saw a lot of destruction in the place. I saw children and babies being taken out of the area, some of the babies were even taken out with helmets on their heads.".
He added: "This is more or less the scene we see right now: lots of curious people and people. There was panic, a very big panic at first. Of course, the municipal teams also arrived within a few minutes, and this is a point that can be noted positively - both from welfare and engineering. Everything related to this can be noted positively.".
Additional details from the scene indicate that the residents of the building that was hit went down to a shelter and were not injured. The injured were in nearby buildings and were hit by shrapnel.
The security establishment estimated in advance that the shooting was expected to increase in the run-up to Passover, and from the morning hours a series of alarms were heard in large areas of the country.
At other scenes in Bnei Brak, a 36-year-old woman in moderate condition with a shrapnel wound was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital, as was her 13-year-old son, whose condition improved after initially being classified as seriously injured by the projectile.
At the same time, fire and rescue teams were working at the scene where shrapnel hit gas cylinders and caused a leak, and were conducting scans of buildings where damage was caused to the upper floors to rule out the presence of anyone trapped.
