Air raid sirens blared across Israel early Thursday morning as Iran launched a large-scale ballistic missile attack targeting nearly the entire country.

Civilians were ordered to remain in bomb shelters as more than 20 ballistic missiles were launched from Iranian territory, according to Israeli media. The barrage was significantly larger than previous salvos in the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

Large explosions echoed across southern Israel, and reports quickly emerged of seven missile impact sites in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Holon, and Beersheba.

One of the most serious incidents occurred in Beer Sheva, where a missile directly struck Soroka Medical Center — one of the country’s major hospitals. A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that several areas of the facility sustained “extensive damage” and that there were casualties. Rescue teams worked to extract individuals trapped in an elevator as a result of the blast. The hospital has asked the public not to arrive for treatment unless absolutely necessary.

A doctor at Soroka told Kan News that the hospital narrowly avoided an even greater tragedy. “Just yesterday, we evacuated the old surgical building that took a direct hit today. It’s a great miracle,” he said.

A total of 147 people were injured, six seriously, at missile impact sites in Holon, Ramat Gan and Be’er Sheva.

Rescue worker Eli Tobol said, “We arrived at the scene in Ramat Gan without entry points, we couldn’t get into the apartments. A resident led me to the parking lot, and from there 24 fighters entered and started climbing the floors—up to the 26th floor. We rescued dozens of residents by hand and opened a passage for the Home Front Command.

“On the way out, I heard a woman together with a young man and a baby screaming for help. We took the baby—a few months old—wrapped in blankets, and handed him over to a Border Police officer who went down the stairs. I went inside to help get the child out, four and a half years old. He was afraid to go out, I started talking to him and calming him down. He is about the age of my child, four and a half. We saved dozens of residents, we rescued them through a staircase, part of which collapsed, risking our lives.”

Sgt Noa Becker, a Border Police officer, said, “After the fall, we were rushed to the scene in Ramat Gan. We entered a multi-story building and opened a passage in the stairs. The destruction was immense, apartments are crushed. We went up to an apartment on the 26th floor, where a family with four small children lives, with a baby a few weeks old. First thing I did was pick up the baby and go down the stairs with him. The team evacuated the family safely. We made sure the children saw their mother, that they felt safe, and we calmed them down. When we got out, we transferred the family to the rescue forces who were at the scene. It is a privilege to save residents’ lives.”

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was seriously damaged in the strike.

The missile barrage came shortly after Israel struck Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor — a critical component of Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure. Iranian state media confirmed the strike and claimed there was “no radiation danger whatsoever,” adding that the site had been evacuated prior to the attack. Israel had issued public warnings earlier in the morning, urging residents near the facility to flee.

The Arak reactor was still under construction and was slated to become operational next year, according to reports Iran submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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