Iranian missiles have attacked two towns in southern Israel leaving more than 100 people injured on Saturday, according to emergency responders, after air defence systems failed to stop the incoming projectiles.

The strikes directly hit residential areas in Arad and Dimona, ripping through buildings and leaving large craters at the impact sites.

Magen David Adom said 84 people were wounded in Arad, with 10 in serious condition, while another 33 people were injured earlier in Dimona.

Iranian state television described the strike on Dimona, home to a sensitive nuclear facility, as a “response” to a previous attack on its own nuclear site in Natanz.

Rescue efforts were intense in Arad, where emergency workers combed through the debris of damaged buildings.

Firefighters battled a blaze sparked by the impact, while medics attended to the injured.

The Israeli military confirmed the interception failure and said it would review what went wrong. “The air defence systems operated but did not intercept the missile, we will investigate the incident and learn from it,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin wrote on X.

Officials on the ground described scenes of destruction and confusion following the strikes.

The local fire service reported “extensive damage” to at least three buildings in Arad. Medic Riyad Abu Ajaj also spoke of the scale of the devastation, saying, “There was a lot of chaos at the scene,” as responders worked to reach victims trapped in the rubble.

Similar scenes played out in Dimona, about 25 kilometres away, where a large crater and shattered buildings marked the impact zone. Medics said they treated dozens of casualties, including a boy seriously injured by shrapnel.

Following the attacks, Israel ordered schools to switch to online learning, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with military operations, calling it a “very difficult evening.”