Jerusalem: At least 47 people were injured on Saturday in an Iranian missile attack on Israel’s southern city of Dimona. Rescue services gave this information. The city is famous for the domed structure of its nuclear power plant and is also known as “Little India”.
Megan David Adom (MDA) Rescue services and local residents reported that the injured included a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured by shrapnel. A woman in her 30s was injured by glass fragments, while 31 others suffered minor injuries from shrapnel or falls while running towards shelters, he said. Additionally, 14 people were treated for discomfort at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
A local resident said, “The missile fell on a community building and due to its impact, old houses nearby collapsed.” Most of the people were in shelters, so they were not seriously injured, except for one boy who was left outside. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating why the Iranian ballistic missile could not be intercepted. According to the Army, the air defense system tried to stop the missile, but the ‘interceptors’ could not succeed in shooting it down. “This incident will be investigated,” he said.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) appealed for “maximum military restraint” after the attack. It said in a post on ‘X’, “The IAEA is aware of a missile falling on the Israeli city of Dimona, but there is no sign of damage to the Negev nuclear research center.” At the same time, Iran said that it targeted Dimona in response to the earlier attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment center.
However, the IDF denied that it had attacked Natanz earlier the same day. Dimona has a large Indian-Jewish population, most of whom are from Maharashtra and have strong ties to India. For this reason this city is called “Little India”. The city is full of Indian shops and Marathi language is heard everywhere. About 7,500 people of Indian origin live here, which is about 30 percent of the city’s population. Cricket is quite popular here and the younger generation is well acquainted with Indian dishes like ‘Sonpapadi’, ‘Gulab Jamun’, ‘Papadi Chaat’ and ‘Bhelpuri’ which are available at many shops.
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