Shrapnel wounds 20 after Iran missile warning in Israel nuclear town

Summary

• Shrapnel wounded 20 people in Dimona, Israel, following warnings of incoming missile fire, including a child and a woman in moderate condition.
• Dimona is home to a nuclear facility, which Israel neither confirms nor denies, but states that it focuses on research.
• The incident occurred after Iran said its Natanz nuclear facility was struck in a US-Israeli bombing campaign, according to AFP.

JERUSALEM - Israeli medics said shrapnel wounded 20 people in the town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, after warnings of incoming missile fire from Iran.

Magen David Adom first responders said their teams were treating approximately 20 victims at a number of impact sites, including a 10-year-old boy and a 40-year-old woman in moderate condition.

Israeli police released pictures of officers in a building with a large hole blown in the wall.

Dimona in southern Israel hosts a facility widely believed to possess the Middle East’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear arsenal.

Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear programme, and the Dimona plant officially focuses on research.

The casualties in Dimona came after Iranian authorities said the nuclear facility at Natanz in the Islamic republic was struck in the US-Israeli bombing campaign. AFP