54 wounded by Iranian, Hezbollah attacks, including boy in serious condition

Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to fire missiles at Israel throughout Saturday, injuring at least 54 people and damaging property, including a kindergarten in the central city of Rishon Letzion.

Thirty-four people in Dimona were hospitalized after a cluster munition hit the Negev city at about 7 p.m. Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva said that a 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded, another victim was received in moderate condition and 25 others were lightly injured. Seven more suffered from anxiety.

The morning strike in Rishon Letzion was caused by a cluster munition whose bombs struck 11 sites in the city.

פיצוץ ענק באמצע גן הילדים: תיעוד רגע הפגיעה בזירה בראשון לציון @hadasgrinberg

צילום: עיריית ראשון לציון pic.twitter.com/hNWuh1c2aK

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“We were lucky there were no children here. A major disaster was averted,” Deputy Mayor Avi Haim was quoted as saying while visiting the scene.

The mayor, Raz Kinstlich, told Ynet that as long as incidents such as this can occur, the city will not reopen its education system.

“Tell me if you would send your children to a kindergarten like this. Granted, it’s Saturday, but it could have happened on a Sunday [when schools are open]. Look at the time of day this happened—children were supposed to be there,” Kinstlich was cited as saying.

Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf Harofeh Medical Center), located in the nearby city of Be’er Ya’akov, said that a man in his 40s was lightly wounded by the shock-wave from the cluster bomb, the report added.

Meanwhile in Israel’s north, 19 people were wounded by Hezbollah rockets that struck Kfar Vradim and Ma’alot-Tarshiha, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority. All the injured were lightly wounded or suffering from anxiety, the Magen David Adom national health service reported. Additionally, damage was caused to two buildings in Kfar Vradim and a house in Ma’alot-Tarshiha.

Earlier in the day, a Hezbollah barrage of 10 rockets was partly intercepted but scored a direct hit on a building in Israel’s northernmost town of Metula. No injuries were reported in this incident.

Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the kindergarten and told reporters at the scene that the country’s education system will be reopened in a controlled manner, avoiding unnecessary risks while allowing the economy to function.

“I came to strengthen the mayor of Rishon Letzion and the residents of the city. There are 11 impact sites in the city as a result of the use of this weapon [a cluster bomb],” public broadcaster Kan quoted Katz as saying.

“This is a war crime, but it is not surprising because the Iranian regime is a terrorist regime. The fighting will continue as long as necessary; there are very significant achievements. The amazing and unprecedented cooperation between Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and [U.S. President Donald] Trump, on both the diplomatic and operational levels, needs to continue. We are doing everything to eliminate Iran’s offensive capabilities,” he said.

The Israel Defense Forces posted images and footage on X of the damage in Rishon Letzion.

תיעודים מפעילות כוחות פיקוד העורף בזירה במרכז הארץ pic.twitter.com/mNqG0Mx4gt

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 21, 2026