{"id":57734,"date":"2026-03-22T04:54:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/iranian-missiles-injure-160-in-towns-near-israeli-nuclear-site\/22\/03\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T04:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:54:31","slug":"iranian-missiles-injure-160-in-towns-near-israeli-nuclear-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/iranian-missiles-injure-160-in-towns-near-israeli-nuclear-site\/22\/03\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranian missiles injure 160 in towns near Israeli nuclear site"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">More than 160 people have been injured &#8211; some seriously &#8211; in Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns close to a nuclear facility, Israeli emergency officials say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">They say 84 people are being treated in Arad and another 78 in Dimona, after ballistic missiles hit the towns on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it is not aware of any damage to the nuclear research facility located about 13km (eight miles) outside Dimona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Iranian state TV earlier said the strikes were in response to an attack on Iran&#8217;s Natanz nuclear facility on Saturday. The IAEA says &#8220;no increase in off-site radiation levels&#8221; has been reported there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>A large Iranian missile shattered apartment blocks in Arad, southern Israel [Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Iranian ballistic missiles got through Israel&#8217;s sophisticated air defences late on Saturday, hitting buildings in the two southern Israeli towns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In Arad, local residents said the blasts they heard were terrifying. The missile badly damaged several buildings, leaving a deep crater.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;This is a very severe scene,&#8221; emergency medical technician Yakir Talkar said in a statement describing Arad, adding there were &#8220;many wounded with varying degrees of injury&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The nearby town of Dimona experienced a similar missile strike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Among the many injured there is a 10-year-old boy. Medics describe his condition as serious.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Israeli authorities are now investigating how the Iranian missiles made it through air defence systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms,&#8221; Israeli firefighters said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center &#8211; located in the Negev desert &#8211; is often referred to colloquially as the &#8220;Dimona reactor&#8221;. It is long accepted as holding Israel&#8217;s undeclared arsenal of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Officially, the site is said to focus solely on research but for about six decades, it has been an open secret that Israel developed a nuclear bomb there, even if each succeeding government has maintained a position of ambiguity over this.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It has meant that Israel is the only nuclear power in the Middle East. So any indication that it is being targeted is taken with the utmost gravity by Israel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"A satellite image shows a small grid of grey buildings in the desert.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"615\" height=\"346\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/17MXtaOiNTTBWMOmcHTamw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/a3b3d420cf8772b970c0c365f07c21f0\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>A satellite image of the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Facility, taken in 2020 [Maxar]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Both Israel and the US have set the elimination of any possible Iranian capacity to develop a nuclear bomb as the key aim of the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Iran&#8217;s own Atomic Energy Organisation described the attack on Natanz as a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, though it said &#8220;no leakage of radioactive materials&#8221; was reported and there was &#8220;no danger to residents of the surrounding areas&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Natanz was also targeted in the first days of the war, which started on 28 February, by US-Israeli strikes, as well as during the 12-day war in June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Asked about Natanz on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Israeli and international media that they were not aware of a strike in the area.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">More on the Iran war<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/iranian-strike-hits-near-israeli-230112749.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 160 people have been injured &ndash; some seriously &ndash; in Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns close to<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/iranian-missiles-injure-160-in-towns-near-israeli-nuclear-site\/22\/03\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/7d46f891e65837fa22588b4b511b2f20","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}