Two killed as Iranian missile hits Haifa, Iran vows devastating retaliation

At least two people were killed after an Iranian ballistic missile struck a residential building in the Israeli city of Haifa, triggering extensive search and rescue operations, Israeli media reported.

According to the Israeli Fire and Rescue Service, the victims were trapped under the rubble following the impact. Their bodies were later recovered from the debris.

Emergency crews continued efforts to locate at least two more people believed to be missing beneath the wreckage.

The missile hit a six-storey residential building on Sunday, sparking a fire and leaving the structure at risk of collapse. Rescue operations were ongoing overnight and into Monday, with teams working through damaged concrete and debris.

Local broadcaster Channel 12 reported that more than 10 sites across Haifa were hit in the attack, with footage showing damaged buildings, debris-strewn streets and at least one vehicle engulfed in flames.

Reports also indicated fresh missile strikes in parts of the city, prompting continued emergency response operations.

The strike took place minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran at around 1500 GMT.

Elad Edri, chief of staff of Israel's Home Front Command, said that four people were missing.

"We have a major destruction site," he said in a video statement.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said later that two of the four people trapped under the rubble had been found dead.

The building was hit by a "direct impact of a missile", a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming it was fired from Iran.

Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded in the strike, including a 10-month-old baby who suffered a head injury.

An 82-year-old man was also in a "serious condition", MDA said. A hospital later said he was stable.

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

Dozens of Israeli security and members of rescue forces were deployed at the site of the strike, an AFP correspondent reported.

Images and footage published by MDA show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, "we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground".

On Monday, the military detected fresh waves of missiles fired from Iran, and each time it said its "defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat".

Iran has fired missiles daily at Israel since February 28, in retaliation to joint US-Israeli attacks on the country that have killed several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Since the start of the conflict, Israeli and US airstrikes have attacked a number of Iran's missile production sites and also nuclear facilities.

Iran warns of 'much more devastating' retaliation 

The attack comes amid escalating tensions in the region, with Iran warning of further retaliation if civilian targets are struck.

In a statement carried by state media, a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said any repeat attacks on civilian areas would be met with “much more devastating and widespread” responses.

The warning follows heightened rhetoric after the US set a deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of broader regional confrontation.

Widening conflict

The latest strike on Haifa is part of a broader wave of attacks across the region. Reports suggest US-Israeli strikes have hit multiple locations in Iran, while Iranian retaliatory attacks have targeted infrastructure in Gulf countries, including energy facilities.

With both sides exchanging threats and strikes, concerns are mounting over the risk of a wider conflict that could destabilise the region further.

Rescue operations in Haifa were still ongoing as authorities assessed the full extent of casualties and damage.

Source: AFP, Al Jazeera