Israeli authorities have confirmed that the death toll from Tuesday morning’s Iranian ballistic missile strike on a residential building in Beersheba has risen to four. This update follows a correction by the Fire and Rescue Service, which had initially and mistakenly reported five fatalities.
Another 20 people were wounded in the devastating early-morning attack, with two remaining in moderate condition, according to emergency services.
The missile strike, part of a broader Iranian barrage targeting southern Israel, struck a sixth-floor apartment in Beersheba at approximately 5:40 a.m., shortly after an early warning was issued. However, residents have raised concerns that sirens only sounded shortly before the impact.
As previously reported, a preliminary investigation by the IDF Home Front Command confirmed that all four fatalities occurred inside reinforced bomb-safe rooms that sustained a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile.
During the salvo, two ballistic missiles were fired at Beersheba. One was successfully intercepted, while the other bypassed Israel’s air defenses and struck the reinforced rooms of two separate apartments. One of the apartments was completely destroyed, resulting in the immediate deaths of its occupants.
Although safe rooms referred to as “mamad” in Hebrew are built to withstand shockwaves and shrapnel from rocket and missile attacks, they are not designed to endure a direct impact from large explosive warheads like those carried by Iranian ballistic missiles.
This incident represents the second time reinforced safe rooms have suffered fatal direct hits amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
In response, the Israeli Air Force has launched an investigation to determine why the second missile was not intercepted, particularly in light of the early warning issued at 5:07 a.m.
Military officials confirmed that Iran fired a total of 20 ballistic missiles at Israel over the course of the morning, delivered in six separate salvos between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m.
In spite of the tragic outcome, the Home Front Command emphasized that reinforced safe rooms continue to be the most secure shelter option during missile attacks—even as threats from long-range precision-guided weapons evolve.
