Miracle near Haifa? Resident narrowly avoids death as Iranian cluster munition explodes inside his apartment

At least six people sustained light injuries after another night of intense missile fire from Iran kept millions of Israelis awake.

Most of the wounded were injured when an Iranian missile hit Tel Aviv Tuesday morning, while a resident of Nesher, near Haifa, narrowly avoided a direct impact of a cluster submunition in his apartment.

Magen David Adom emergency services responded to reports of the impact in Tel Aviv, noting that six people were treated for minor injuries, mostly sustained while rushing to bomb shelters. 

Multiple buildings and vehicles were also damaged by shrapnel due to the blast. Several vehicles were destroyed after catching fire from the explosion. 

מאחת הזירות במרכז. צילום: תיעוד מבצעי - מד״א pic.twitter.com/LHBmSlOVyu

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Home Front Command official Col. Miki David says an Iranian warhead that impacted this morning on a street in Tel Aviv caused significant damage to three nearby buildings, but resulted in no serious injuries.

“I’m happy to say that in this incident you’re seeing behind me, which appears visually dramatic, there are only three light injuries,” he tells reporters at the scene, adding that most residents took cover in a nearby bomb shelter. 

David further assessed that the damage caused by the explosion indicates the warhead was not a cluster munition, but appears to be smaller than the conventional, non-cluster, warheads launched by Iran so far. 

Channel 12 reported that initial findings indicate the warhead contained some 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of explosives, a relatively small size compared to other missiles, which can range up to a ton of explosives.

David told Kan News that the explosion created “a massive blast wave” which caused most of the damage to the building. He also pointed out that the residents of the buildings were spared injuries due to entering their bomb shelters. 

הירי מאיראן: זירת נפילה בתל אביב, 6 פצועים קל במקום@AnnaPines_ @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/FhiE4zj1VE

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“Those who were there [in the shelters] were not injured,” he stated. 

Police Commissioner-General Major General Danny Levy also arrived at the impact site in the city and told local media, “We are again at a scene where there is destruction. Fortunately, with very few casualties, if any. We are already after the force reviews. There are currently no additional casualties and we are working to restore life to its normal course.” 

Impacts from shrapnel and interceptor fragments were also reported in the nearby community of Rosh Ha’ayin, but there was no evidence of direct impact from cluster munitions. 

Additionally, an apartment building in the northern city of Nesher, outside of Haifa, was damaged by impact from a cluster munition late Monday night. 

The cluster munition entered the top apartment, destroying it, while doing minimal damage to the other units. Authorities said there were no injuries from the impact, as all the residents were in the building’s underground bomb shelter. 

השיגור מאיראן: תיעוד מתוך הבית שנפגע בנשר

(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/SoUWbcvXbh

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The resident of the apartment, Nadav Katan, told Ynet News that he almost decided to keep sleeping when he heard the alarm, but decided to go to the shelter after hearing shouts from the neighbors. 

“I was mostly asleep, lying in bed and hearing the neighbors,” Katan said. “I usually don't wake up. I heard the neighbors screaming, I said to them, 'What's up?' I saw that there was an advance warning, I wanted to continue sleeping, and then there was a frenzy of screaming from the neighbors. I put something on myself and ran to the shelter.” 

“As soon as I got down, there was a guy who closed the door with me. If I hadn't gone down to the shelter, we wouldn't be standing here talking,” he noted. 

A representative of the IDF Home Front Command said the munition penetrated the roof of the apartment, exploding inside. 

“What happened is that the missile hit the ceiling, but it exploded inside the house,” the officer told Nadav Katan. “What saved you was the protected space. If you hadn’t gone down, we would probably be talking to you somewhere else — injured, or worse.” 

Neighbors said it was the first time Katan had come to the bomb shelter since the start of the war. 

Firefighting teams reported at least three impact sites in the area from the cluster munitions. 

רסיס מטיל איראני שנפל בשומרון. pic.twitter.com/MCRzOg4SDb

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A piece of an Iranian missile fired at central Israel earlier Tuesday fell near a Palestinian village in Samaria.