Iran on Friday launched direct strikes on southern Israel, firing up to three missiles that struck civilian and strategic sites in and around Beersheba. Among the targets was the Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park, which reportedly hosts active military and cyber installations. At least seven people were wounded in the attack.
Local media reported that one missile evaded Israel’s air defenses and impacted a residential car park, leaving a small crater amid vehicles set ablaze. Flames spread to nearby homes, and the blaze reached an office occupied by Microsoft employees. Israel Railways temporarily closed the Beersheba North–University station—part of the intercity line connecting Tel Aviv to Beersheba and Dimona—before resuming service later in the day.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) justified the strike on what it termed “close cooperation with the Israeli army” by the tech park and the Microsoft office. In an IRGC statement, it said:
“The Microsoft office was attacked due to its close cooperation with the Israeli army and its being part of the system supporting aggression, and not just a civilian entity. The cyber area that was attacked also includes the residences of people from the espionage and artificial intelligence fields, who operate in direct cooperation with the enemy army and its security apparatus.”
State media in Tehran confirmed that the missile salvo specifically targeted the Gav-Yam Negev facility. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared the operation on X: “The Zionist enemy is being punished. It is being punished right now.”
Since Israel launched its military operation against Iran last Friday, Tehran has retaliated with hundreds of missiles. Despite Israel’s advanced air-defense systems, the military has acknowledged gaps in its ability to intercept all incoming projectiles. Under military censorship rules, both local and international outlets are barred from publishing precise details of the sites struck.
دمار كبير في موقع سقوط الصارخ في بئر السبع وتضرر عدد من المباني بشكل كبير في الموقع المحيط pic.twitter.com/2zzDsMIWur
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MOSCOW NEWS (@M0SC0W0) June 20, 2025
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
