Death and pessimism about the ceasefire in one of the Israeli cities hardest hit by Iran

“We went up to the sixth floor, opened the door, and what I saw was the sky. Nothing remained of the house. I saw dead and wounded people,” recalls 40-year-old Israeli combat medic Adir Nahmany, standing in front of a half-ruined building in the southern city of Beersheba. An Iranian missile struck here early Tuesday morning, killing four residents shortly before a ceasefire went into effect that both Israel and Iran accuse each other of violating. At least two of the victims were in the house’s safe room, but the impact of the 400-kilogram Qader missile was direct. In the neighborhood, which has been seized by security forces and emergency services and where the damage is evident on several surrounding streets, there is not exactly a climate of optimism regarding a definitive end to the attacks.

After hearing the explosion, Private Nahmany—who held a municipal employee position in less turbulent times—checked the location of the attack on his cellphone. He soon arrived on the scene, wearing his uniform as a volunteer paramedic with the United Hatzalah emergency medical services. With the building severely damaged behind him, he describes his experience a few hours later: “I started hearing voices from the building [...]. I entered accompanied by firefighters and police officers [...]. We went down floor by floor, picking up babies and grandmothers in our arms... We went up and down, up and down…”

Nahmany had just left Khan Yunis (in southern Gaza) on Monday. The Palestinian Strip is the main theater of the war, where more than 55,000 people have already died. After traveling about 25 miles, he returned to his home in Beersheba. He didn’t know, however, that on his days off, he would be moving from the Palestinian powder keg to an Israeli one. The prelude to the ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump was a series of six waves of Iranian missiles in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a final salvo before the ayatollahs’ regime accepted the cessation of hostilities. And this Beersheba area bore the brunt.

The Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, acknowledges that they waited until the last minute to launch the missiles. The regime, however, denies that they broke the truce by launching new attacks later, as Israel has accused them of.

Osher (who does not wish to publish his last name), 19, is currently doing his military service and is also serving with the occupation troops in Khan Yunis. The Iranian attack caught him on vacation in Beersheba, the largest city in the Negev Desert. The young man appears relaxed, wearing summer clothes in a café. “We have to protect the Negev because there are many important sites here,” he says, without wishing to explicitly refer to military facilities or the Israeli nuclear program. He shows no confidence in the declared ceasefire and predicts a “major war” with Tehran.

Third missile against Beersheba

Tuesday’s attack was the third Iranian missile to hit Beersheba in less than a week. On Thursday, Soroka Hospital, one of the country’s largest hospitals, sustained severe damage. It continues to operate at less than half its capacity. This has allowed more than 10 people injured in Tuesday’s attack to receive treatment. A day later, on Friday, one person died when another missile struck an apartment building next to a kindergarten. “When I’m at the army base, I feel safer,” said Adir Nahmany, who is not confident in the attacks ending permanently, moments before Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived at the site of the attack.

“It is my sincere hope that the ceasefire will be respected after Iran violated it this morning, and that we can embark on a new era in our region, beginning with the immediate return of our hostages held in Gaza,” the president said.

Surrounded by his three children, 45-year-old theater and television actor Oren Cohen, who is speaking to reporters, walks around the scene. His apartment, he says, is located just a few feet from the spot where the missile landed. Cohen explains that since the Israeli offensive against Iran began and the Islamic Republic began responding, the children have spent their nights in the house’s safe room. It is a protected room mandated by law in homes built in the last three decades.

Cohen estimates that around six in the morning, a message arrived on his cell phone announcing the attack minutes in advance so that the population could be sheltering by the time the sirens began wailing. “But this time it wasn’t normal, because the impact came very soon after. I don’t know what happened, since there was hardly any time. The whole house shook and the windows blew out. When we left the room after waiting, we checked what had happened in my house, in the garden...” he explains, surrounded by his three children.

The actor underscores that he grew up in Sderot, the Israeli city closest to Gaza, implying that he knows what it’s like to live in the shadow of violence. “This is Israel, this isn’t going to end,” he notes. Despite everything, he maintains a certain optimism about the ceasefire with Iran and sighs: “I think we’re on the right path, or so I hope.” “It depends on Iran. If they stop, we’ll stop,” he adds. When asked if Tehran may be targeting the strategic targets around Beersheba with its attacks, he doesn’t rule it out. “Maybe so, but let’s not give them any ideas,” he replies with a smile.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition