Beit Shemesh missile strike kills 9 — synagogue and bomb shelter destroyed

On the afternoon of March 1 (local time), an Iranian ballistic missile struck a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, a city located approximately 30km west of Jerusalem. Casualty details (Magen David Adom emergency service): • 9 killed • 28 taken to hospitals • More than 40 total injured • 16-year-old Gavriel Baruch identified as the fourth named victim Impact details: • The missile destroyed a synagogue in the neighborhood. • A public bomb shelter beneath the synagogue suffered extensive damage from the direct hit. • Some victims had been sheltering in the communal bunker, per ZAKA (Israeli body recovery organization) spokesperson Zeev Druck. • Others were found out in the open. • About a dozen houses in the vicinity showed heavy damage — doors and windows blown open, rubble and broken tile scattered in streets. At the scene: approximately 200 people gathered, among them police officers and first responders. Bulldozers and heavy equipment were securing the site, collecting forensic evidence and taking witness statements. An Israeli military search-and-rescue spokesperson at the scene stated it was evidence that Iran was targeting civilians, "pointing out that there were no military bases or command centers in the vicinity." This was the deadliest single strike on Israeli territory during the conflict — 8 of the 10 total Israeli deaths occurred here. Separately, an Iranian missile struck a highway on Jerusalem's outskirts, leaving a large crater and injuring 3 people (one in moderate condition). Police bomb disposal experts conducted searches for additional munitions.