Strikes on Israeli towns sow mass panic

Sheltering from an Iranian missile attack on his town in southern Israel on Saturday, 17-year-old Ido Franky heard “terrifying” blasts like nothing he had experienced before.

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A drone view shows a crater in a residential neighbourhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Arad, southern Israel, yesterday.

(REUTERS)

An Iranian missile hit Franky's town of Arad, hours after another struck Dimona — home to a nuclear facility — wounding dozens and leaving entire apartment blocks with heavy damage.

Franky rushed to shelter with his family as air raid sirens sounded, warning of an incoming attack.

"There was a 'boom, boom!, my mother was screaming," he said near the impact site, where an AFP correspondent saw three damaged buildings and firefighters reported a blaze.

"This was terrifying... this town had never seen anything like this," the teenager told AFP.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said 84 wounded people were taken to hospitals from the Arad scene, including 10 in serious condition.