Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that the country endured one of its most difficult nights in recent memory, with Iranian missile strikes leaving more than 180 people wounded across southern Israel.

The attacks targeted areas near the city of Dimona and Arad in the Negev desert, with the Shimon Peres nuclear research center located just 13 kilometers from some of the impact sites. The proximity of the strikes to nuclear facilities has raised grave concerns about the potential consequences of continued escalation.

Netanyahu framed Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility as a necessary response, signaling that Israel will not tolerate attacks on its strategic assets without exacting a price. The tit-for-tat exchange has raised fears of a cycle of escalation that could spin out of control.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that monitoring equipment at relevant facilities has detected no radiation leaks, providing some reassurance amid the widespread anxiety. However, experts warn that continued strikes near nuclear installations — on both sides — carry an inherent risk of catastrophic accident. The wounded, many of whom were treated at Soroka Medical Center, are a stark reminder of the human cost of the escalating exchange between two of the Middle East's most formidable military powers.