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Just hours after the United States carried out precision airstrikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, Iran responded on Sunday by launching more than 40 missiles toward Israel. The barrage caused significant destruction in multiple cities, including Tel Aviv, and left at least 23 people injured. Despite the scale of the attack, casualties remained relatively low due to timely evacuations and the use of bomb shelters.

In Tel Aviv, one of the missiles struck a densely populated neighborhood, tearing off the front of a multi-storey residential building and damaging several surrounding structures, including a nursing home. The blast affected a wide radius, with windows shattered as high as the 11th floor. Deputy Mayor Haim Goren, who was assisting at the site, said it was “miraculous” that more people were not seriously hurt.

 

 

Relatives and health aides were seen helping elderly residents, many in wheelchairs or using walkers, to evacuate the damaged nursing home. “It’s like a typhoon came through my apartment,” said Ofer Berger, a resident of a nearby high-rise who lives on the seventh floor. “All of the apartments in this area are destroyed.”

Emergency services reported that one person was moderately injured by shrapnel, while dozens suffered minor injuries during the missile barrage. Families affected by the strike were seen gathering their belongings outside the damaged buildings, some with pets and a few belongings packed in bags, carts, or baskets. One resident sat beside a shopping cart filled with Buddha statues and a child's bicycle.

Volunteers from the organisation One Heart arrived on the scene to assist residents in salvaging what they could from the debris. The Israeli military said over 9,000 people have been displaced from their homes since the conflict began, with missiles damaging 240 residential buildings and affecting more than 2,000 individual apartments.

 

 

Mira Goshen, a 79-year-old resident, recounted how her apartment was completely destroyed. She survived by taking shelter in her mamad, a reinforced safe room that is legally required in all new Israeli constructions. “My mamad was shaking like a leaf, and I thought it was the end of the world,” Goshen said, crediting the safe room with saving her life. In many impacted areas, while the rest of the home collapsed, the reinforced shelters remained intact.

 

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In an unexpected survival story, Goshen’s pet bird, Chica, survived an 11-storey fall when her cage was blown off the balcony by the explosion. A rescuer later found the bird trembling and nestled into Goshen’s neck as she stood outside speaking with officials and neighbors.

Municipal workers arrived shortly after the strike to clear shattered glass and debris from the area. Aid stations were set up nearby, providing water and sandwiches to affected families. Several local businesses had their storefronts destroyed, with windows blown out and merchandise strewn across the floors. Despite the damage, a local supermarket managed to reopen, stacking crates of fruit in front of its shattered window while customers crowded the aisles.

Though residents appeared calm in the immediate aftermath, Deputy Mayor Goren noted that the ongoing missile barrages and the repeated need to seek shelter are wearing down the community. “There’s a lot of stress and pressure building, lots of nerves,” he said, adding that local aid groups are working continuously to find emergency housing and support for displaced families. The city is also converting public spaces like parking garages, train stations, and bus terminals into temporary shelters. As for the political implications of the U.S. strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, many residents said they were more concerned with immediate needs. “I’m far away from politics,” Goshen said. “And what I think doesn’t matter, actually, because they don’t listen to ordinary people.”

 

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