On Friday afternoon, as Israelis prepared to celebrate Shabbat, two historic mosques in Haifa were targeted in an Iranian missile attack. Earlier in the day, the Iranians targeted a Beersheba kindergarten with cluster bombs.
By Rachel Avraham
At 3:43pm on Friday afternoon, the bomb sirens were sounded in Netanya, Dimona, Rehovot, Rishon LeZion, Caesarea, Kfar Chabad, Pardes Hanna, Haifa, Acre, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beersheva, Beit Shemesh, Efrat, Gush Etzion, Hadera, Hevron, Jerusalem, Masada, Megiddo, Nazareth, and a variety of other places across Israel. The Times of Israel reported that some 10 million people ran to bomb shelters.
One woman had a heart attack and died in a shelter in the northern city of Karmiel, while a missile impacted in Haifa, wounding at least 23 people, three of them seriously, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, the three seriously wounded in Haifa included a 16-year-old boy who sustained shrapnel wounds to his upper body, and two men, respectively aged 54 and 40, who sustained wounds to their lower bodies, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service. The other 20 wounded sustained light injuries, MDA said, adding that all the wounded were taken to hospitals, the Times of Israel noted.
The woman who died in Karmiel was identified as Yelena Sadowski, 51, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, Sadowski collapsed while running the shelter amid the missile sirens. Medics who arrived at the scene were forced to declare her dead.
Shockwaves from the missile knocked out stained glass windows and caused infrastructure damage at the Al Jarina Grand Mosque, built in 1775 and extended by the Ottoman Empire in 1901, the Times of Israel added. According to the report, the low, thick-walled stone building near Haifa’s port usually attracts up to 200 people for Friday prayers, but just 15 turned up because of a Home Front prohibition on large gatherings, according to Wakf representative Khalid Dagash. According to the report, windows were also blown out at the even older Masjid Al-Saghir, built in 1761 by Zahir Al Umar. No other damage was visible from the cordon outside. However, Muslim clerics were injured in the Iranian missile attack.
Israel’s President Yitzhak Herzog wrote on X: “This outrageous attack took place in Haifa—a city that stands as a symbol of coexistence between Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Circassians, and Baha’is. They try to kill Israelis of all faiths—Muslims included. We will defend all Israelis. All faiths included.”
“The Iranian regime is targeting Muslim, Christian, and Jewish civilians, as well as civilian sites. These are war crimes,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told the Jerusalem Post. The Israel Defense Forces estimated that the attack included some 25 missiles, the Times of Israel reported.
Earlier in the day on Friday, the Iranians utilized cluster bombs in order to target a Beersheva kindergarten run by Colel Chabad. Fortunately, no children were present in the kindergarten. Colel Chabad wrote on their Facebook page: “The affected facility is the Tchelet Mordechai Campus, York Center, part of the Ohr Chaya and Larisa Blavatnik chain of daycare centers, and one of 18 daycare centers operated by Colel Chabad across Israel.”
They stressed: “These centers provide working mothers with secure, loving, and reliable care for their young children—even during times of national emergency. This space is normally filled with laughter, joy, and learning. Today, thanks to G-d’s protection, no children or staff were injured — the attack occurred after closing time. But the building is badly damaged. Colel Chabad has served Israel’s most vulnerable for over 230 years.”
Arutz Sheva reported that staff at the daycare, part of the nationwide ‘Maonot Chaya’ network, were shocked to witness the moment of the explosion captured on security cameras. “It’s unimaginable what could have happened if there were infants here,” said Rabbi Mendy Bloi of the Chabad Kollel, which operates the daycare branches. “The Iranians target babies, the elderly, children, and hospital patients. Nothing will deter us from continuing to live here in the Land of Israel.”
Photo from CNN-News18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTOmzlPyHyc
