Iran missile hit rocks sense of security in Israel nuclear town

Galit Amir said she thought the presence of a key Israeli nuclear facility on the edge of her hometown Dimona meant it would be well-protected by air defences during the war with Iran. But that sense of security was torn apart Saturday evening when a direct strike by an Iranian ballistic missile ripped open residential buildings and left dozens wounded.

“We thought we were safe,” Amir, a 50-year-old care provider, told AFP.

A day after the devastating blow in the southern town of 40,000 nestled in the Negev desert, residents spoke of shock mixed with resignation, but were largely reluctant to discuss the presence of the ultra-secret nuclear facility nearby.

Israel’s much-vaunted air defences failed to intercept the projectile, which Iran said was launched in response to a strike on its nuclear facility at Natanz.

Another Israeli town nearby was also hit just hours later by another direct strike.

“Dimona is the most safe place in Israel,” said Amir, who runs a care home not far from the nuclear site. “We didn’t expect this.”

Six people were inside her nursing home at the time of the strike and suffered minor injuries, she said.

Dimona lies next to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, a facility officially dedicated to research but widely believed by analysts to house Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

Little information has emerged about the Dimona site.

Israel maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity”, neither confirming nor denying possession of nuclear weapons.

Saturday’s strike, which hit a residential neighbourhood just kilometres from the facility, marks a significant and dangerous escalation, and has thrust the desert town into the global spotlight.

– ‘Everything was destroyed’ –

Wary of journalists, some residents avoided talking about the sensitive issue.

Asked about safety near a potentially targeted nuclear site, a young woman standing outside her home, its front door blown inward, said: “They hit a textile factory, that’s all.”

“There is no nuclear research facility,” insisted David Azran, 54, a contractor standing near a crater and the remains of his home just metres from the impact point.

“I don’t feel threatened. I have faith,” said Azran, a rifle slung over his shoulder.

At the impact site, the scale of destruction was jarring.

Debris stretched as far as the eye can see: chunks of concrete, collapsed walls, shattered glass and twisted metal scattered everywhere.

Nearby houses were blown apart, sometimes leaving only a few load-bearing walls standing like hollow shells.

Some signs of everyday life were visible too: a large exercise ball and a bag of dog food scattered in the dust.

The impact site lies about five kilometres from the nuclear facility, which is hidden in the mountains southeast of the town.

Since February 28, the Middle East has been engulfed in war triggered by joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran, to which Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and several countries in the region.

“We feel completely safe here. There is no cause for concern,” said Krishna Vishwakarma, a 34-year-old carpenter from India.

Einav Alon, 37, whose supermarket was damaged in the strike, described the scene: “When we left the bomb shelter room, everything was destroyed”.

The mother of two boys, aged eight and six, said she was “quite surprised”.

Still, she added: “We don’t feel scared.”