TEL AVIV, Israel (BN24) — The confirmed death toll in Israel has risen to 10 following a wave of Iranian missile strikes, with authorities recovering two additional bodies from the rubble in the coastal city of Bat Yam, Israeli emergency officials reported Sunday. The revised toll includes six fatalities in Bat Yam, where search teams are continuing to sift through debris from buildings hit overnight.
According to Daniel Hadad, the regional police commander, at least 180 people were injured in Bat Yam alone, and seven individuals remain missing. “There is great destruction here, lots of rubble and debris that has to be lifted to find the missing,” Hadad told reporters, as quoted by the Times of Israel. He warned that the search could take several more days due to the scale of the damage.
The Iranian missile barrage was part of an escalating conflict following Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure, sparking fears of a prolonged regional confrontation.
Meanwhile, Israel’s airspace remains shut for a third consecutive day, authorities said Sunday, citing ongoing security concerns. In a joint statement, Israel’s transport and foreign ministries announced that all civilian aviation operations are suspended, with no incoming or outgoing flights allowed.
“Due to the security situation and in accordance with the instructions of security authorities, Israeli airspace is currently closed to civilian aviation,” the ministries stated, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Thousands of Israeli nationals remain stranded overseas following the initial closure on Friday, coinciding with Israel’s launch of a coordinated aerial assault on Iranian military and nuclear sites.
A spokesperson for Israel Airports Authority confirmed that Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, would remain closed. “A notice regarding its reopening will be given with at least six hours’ advance warning,” the statement read. “A decision to resume flights to Israel will only be made once it is deemed safe to do so.”
While air travel is suspended, Israel’s land border crossings to Jordan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula continue to operate, authorities confirmed.
Elsewhere, Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Israel targeted a facility affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Defence in Isfahan, in the latest strike on the third day of sustained Israeli military action.
“One of the centres affiliated with the Ministry of Defence in Isfahan was attacked, and possible damages are under investigation,” said Akbar Salehi, a deputy provincial governor, according to Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency.
The strike comes amid heightened international calls for de-escalation, as both countries continue to exchange retaliatory attacks across multiple fronts in what analysts warn could spiral into a broader Middle East conflict.
