Suspected Iranian cluster bomb attack damages Kindergarten, injures people in Israel

Two people were injured a kindergarten was damaged in the latest missile attack from Iran towards Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday with contribution from Reuters.

As per the Jerusalem Post, the two people were injured in what appears to be an example of a splitting warhead--a challenge for Israel's missile defence shield.

It further mentioned that a kindergarten in Rishon Lezion was reportedly damaged on Saturday after a suspected cluster missile was launched from Iran that targeted the Gush Dan area in central Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Post, initial reports suggest that shrapnel caused significant damage to the structure, however no direct missile impact was reported. Meanwhile, a man in his 70s was lightly injured while making his way to a shelter and as per the Shamir Medical Center, a man in his 40's was treated for mild injuries sustained from a blast in Rishon Lezion.

The report noted that the missile is believed to have weighed around 100 kilograms, according to Hebrew media, however it has not been officially confirmed.

As tensions continue to escalate in West Asia and the Gulf region, Jerusalem Post reported that initial reports suggested over 20 sites being impacted across Israel--including Rishon Lezion, Bnei Brak, Shoham, and Rosh Ha'ayin. MDA later confirmed seven impact sites in Rishon Lezion, including two residential buildings.

"We will restore everything to its original state," Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich said while visiting the site of the struck kindergarten on Saturday morning.
"The windows were blown out, with some landing on the other side of the street," he said. "This is a kindergarten, a place where children were supposed to learn," he continued, emphasizing that, fortunately, the children were not at the kindergarten during the strike.

Iran has launched dozens of missiles with cluster munition warheads at Israel since the beginning of the conflict in West Asia.

As per Jerusalem Post, cluster munitions open in mid-air and scatter as many as several hundred "bomblets" over a wide area. Often failing to explode, they create virtual minefields that can kill or injure anyone who finds them later.

Earlier on Friday, Iran launched a missile barrage targeting large areas in central Israel and the Jerusalem area. Shrapnel fell in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and Rehovot, causing damage but no major injuries, it added.

(With inputs from ANI)