BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — An Iranian ballistic missile struck a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh on March 1, 2026, killing nine people and wounding dozens after destroying a synagogue and damaging the public bomb shelter beneath it.
The impact occurred in the Ramat Lehi area, west of Jerusalem, during a wider barrage that set off warning sirens across parts of Israel. Air-defense systems were activated, but the missile was not intercepted. The Israel Defense Forces later said the failure to shoot it down was under investigation by the Air Force.
Magen David Adom reported that eight people were declared dead at the scene and that a ninth death was confirmed shortly afterward. Emergency services evacuated dozens of wounded to hospitals in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, including children. Official tallies of the injured varied in the hours after the strike as rescue work continued.
Jerusalem District Police Chief Avshalom Peled said at the scene that the missile had hit the synagogue directly and that the building collapsed onto the shelter below. He said many of the casualties were believed to have been in or near the protected space. A later investigation reported that only two of the nine people killed were inside the shelter, one was at the entrance, and the rest were outside. Home Front Command said most people who were inside at the time of impact survived. It also said the shelter met existing safety standards and that the early-warning system had functioned as designed.
Rescue teams, police, firefighters and Home Front Command crews searched the wreckage for survivors. Nearby homes and vehicles were heavily damaged. Officials said reinforced rooms and public shelters are built to protect against nearby blasts and shrapnel, not a direct hit from a heavy ballistic warhead.
The strike was among the deadliest inside Israel during that phase of the confrontation with Iran. Authorities placed emergency services on heightened alert and urged residents in affected areas to remain near protected spaces. Casualty figures were updated as identification work proceeded; all nine victims were later identified.
The security situation remained fluid after the attack. Israeli forces stayed on alert while investigators examined both the interception failure and the damage at the site.
