It’s Heavy on the Heart”: Israelis Reel from Iranian Missile Strike as Escalation Deepens
By Wafric - Breaking News
WafricNews - June 15, 2025
Rishon LeZion, Israel – In the quiet hours before dawn, what began as another ordinary morning in the Israeli suburb of Rishon LeZion quickly turned into a nightmare.
As air raid sirens echoed through the city, Ifat Benhaim and her family rushed into their basement for shelter. Moments later, the earth-shaking sound of an explosion tore through their home.
“We closed the door, and suddenly there was such a big boom,” she recalled, her voice trembling. “I thought the whole house had collapsed on us.”
When they emerged, they found shattered glass, cracked walls, and layers of dust blanketing their once-familiar home of 29 years. Outside, roofs had collapsed, windows were blown out, and more than 30 cars lay damaged, some crushed by falling debris.
The destruction was the result of an Iranian missile, part of a broader series of retaliatory attacks launched in the early hours of Saturday, after Israel’s major airstrikes across Iran the day before.
Lives Lost, Memories Destroyed
Among the devastation in Rishon LeZion, two people were killed, including 73-year-old Israel Aloni. Nineteen others were injured, as emergency crews and sniffer dogs scoured the area for survivors and unexploded ordnance.
“Forty years of memories are gone,” said Sally Ilan, 48, clutching cracked pieces of crockery she recovered from her parents’ home. “It was the first house in this neighbourhood. My father built it with pride. It’s heavy on the heart.”
One nearby resident, who chose to spend the night at her daughter’s home out of caution, believes that decision may have saved her life.
Across the country, three Israelis were killed and more than 70 injured in what is now being called the most serious escalation between Israel and Iran in recent memory.
Sally Ilan's childhood home was destroyed by the missile impact and explosionIfat Benhaim and her husband Zion had lived in their home for 29 years
A New Phase of Conflict
The missile strike was part of Iran’s response to Israel’s "Operation Rising Lion," a wave of targeted assassinations and military strikes launched early Friday that targeted senior Iranian military and nuclear officials, along with strategic infrastructure across Iran.
Iran claims 78 people were killed, with more than 800 injured—a death toll that includes women and children. Iranian media reported that a strike on a residential building in Tehran claimed the lives of 60 people, including 20 children.
The scenes of loss and ruin in Rishon LeZion mirror those unfolding in Tehran and other cities, underscoring the human cost of a spiraling conflict that now threatens to engulf the wider region.
A Question in the Dust
Not far from the blast site in Rishon LeZion, someone had traced a simple question into the dust on a car windshield: “Until when?”
It’s a sentiment that resonates well beyond the borders of Israel and Iran.
As diplomatic channels fall silent and missiles take their place, millions are left asking the same thing: How far will this go? And how many more lives will be changed forever?
From the ruins of a family home in suburban Israel to the collapsed apartment blocks of Tehran, the scars of this conflict are growing deeper by the day.
For residents like Ifat Benhaim and Sally Ilan, rebuilding will take time. But the trauma, like the dust still hanging in the air, may linger much longer.
“We can fix the walls,” said Ilan. “But how do you rebuild the memories?”
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