Speaking from the missile impact site in Arad, Mayor Yair Maayan spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News moments after Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit.
"I showed the Prime Minister the impact site and the massive damage caused to numerous buildings - significant damage to four structures and secondary but still substantial damage to another 10-12 buildings within a 500-meter radius of the impact point. Shattered glass, broken doors, and damage to building facades," Maayan recounted. He also highlighted the Prime Minister's astonishment at the miracle that occurred when the missile struck an open area between the buildings rather than hitting one directly.
"The buildings sustained only damage from the blast, without shrapnel, to their exteriors. A shelter wall where residents were sheltering remained completely unscathed. Had the missile struck one of the buildings, it could have resulted in dozens of fatalities and building collapses. Because it hit the ground, most of the blast was absorbed into the earth, with only a small portion dispersing toward the buildings - and yet it still caused such extensive damage across hundreds of meters."
Maayan received the alert at 9:59 p.m., and at 10:09 p.m., "we heard an extremely powerful explosion, unlike anything we'd heard before - not the sound of an interception. Within 2-3 minutes, reports began circulating in groups about broken windows in buildings. No one yet knew the exact location. After three minutes, I decided to drive to the city center to locate the impact site. Upon arriving in the central area, we identified smoke rising from one of the apartments that had caught fire. Firefighters were already on scene extinguishing the blaze, and Magen David Adom teams arrived to evacuate dozens of injured individuals."
Regarding the rumors that spread rapidly, Maayan said he, too, became aware of them. "For some reason, rumors circulated about the most severe disaster site since the war with Iran began, claiming six or more fatalities. Relative to the missile's power and compared to previous incidents in the war, this site sustained relatively light damage. Only four buildings were hit relatively hard on their facades. Within a few minutes, we received confirmation that all the injured had been evacuated. We had a few missing persons whose status was unknown, but they, too, were located during the night. It's unclear where this bizarre wave of rumors originated. People leave destruction sites and start spreading rumors."
Maayan clarified that the neighborhood which was hit was not a haredi neighborhood, as initially reported, but a mixed one which is home to both Gur Hasidim families and immigrant families from Russia, elderly residents, and young couples.
200 residents from the affected buildings were evacuated to hotels by the Dead Sea, with an additional 300 later relocated to Arad and then onward to Jerusalem hotels under strict kosher supervision. "The remaining residents are self-evacuating to friends, family, or other arrangements."
Maayan noted that municipal representatives are assisting the evacuees, having gone to both the hotels and Soroka Hospital, where several injured individuals remain in varying conditions.
The message Maayan conveyed firmly to the Prime Minister was resolute: "Continue your operations in Iran - we're holding the home front strong. Keep doing your job until the war ends."
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