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Ramat Gan couple in their 70s killed by Iranian cluster missile

53 0
18.03.2026

An elderly couple was killed early Wednesday morning in Ramat Gan by a cluster missile as Iran continued to fire salvoes at Israel through the night and into the morning.

From midnight to 8 a.m., there were four rounds of missile fire that caused injuries and damage to property.

Iran has been firing cluster warheads at Israel since the start of the war, raining down munitions on residential areas throughout the country.

Authorities reported that falling munitions hit multiple sites in central Israel in a barrage that began shortly after midnight, with two salvoes fired close together.

Police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said that, according to an initial assessment of the deadly impact, a residential building was hit by a cluster munition in Ramat Gan, a city just outside Tel Aviv.

The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said the man and woman in their 70s were found dead at the scene.

*Ramat Gan impact scene:* Emergency crews at the scene in Ramat Gan where a couple in their 70s were killed in the Iranian missile strike. pic.twitter.com/wAu3Lu2JuQ Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#336x280_Middle_1")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: '336x280_Middle_1', baseDivId: '336x280_Middle_1', } ]); }); } — (((IsraelMatzav))) (@IsraelMatzav) March 17, 2026

*Ramat Gan impact scene:*

Emergency crews at the scene in Ramat Gan where a couple in their 70s were killed in the Iranian missile strike. pic.twitter.com/wAu3Lu2JuQ

— (((IsraelMatzav))) (@IsraelMatzav) March 17, 2026

Police said they were headed to the bomb shelter, but the missile hit before they could get there. Tel Aviv District police commander Haim Sargaroff said that “apparently they didn’t manage to get to the safe room, they were just meters from it.”

The couple were found with a walker alongside them, the Walla news site reported.

Chen Amir, a neighbor of the couple who were killed, said that after sirens went off, he and his wife entered their own safe room.

“I heard the boom,” he told Channel 12 news. “I opened the door, and there was smoke everywhere. I saw damage; there were cracks in all the walls, and the cupboards were blown down.”

He said he opened his front door to look at his neighbors’ apartment and saw that their door was destroyed.

“It was dark in their apartment. I saw a hole in the middle of their ceiling. I went to the window and saw that their balcony was destroyed.”

Paramedics treated two other people who were lightly wounded by shrapnel in the attack, while others were injured while running to shelter or received treatment for acute anxiety.

The Home Front Command said its search and rescue teams were “operating at several sites in central Israel where reports of impacts have been received.”

Images shared by MDA showed destruction in multiple locations, including cars on fire, destroyed vehicles, and rubble.

MDA Spokesperson: Following missile fire toward the State of Israel: At this stage, there are no known casualties. MDA EMTs and paramedics are searching a location where a report was received. Updates as required. pic.twitter.com/2XXliVFURN — Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 18, 2026

MDA Spokesperson: Following missile fire toward the State of Israel:

At this stage, there are no known casualties.

MDA EMTs and paramedics are searching a location where a report was received. Updates as required. pic.twitter.com/2XXliVFURN

— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 18, 2026

Police said bomb disposal experts were “operating at several impact sites involving munition debris within the (Tel Aviv) district.”

The national railway company said in a statement posted online that shrapnel caused damage to platforms at Tel Aviv’s Savidor station, and that trains were “temporarily suspended across the country.”

The military shared footage of Home Front Command teams at the station, showing shattered glass at a platform and some damage to train windows.

In the morning, most train services resumed, the company said in an update.

Firefighters also extinguished several blazes in the central cities of Petah Tikvah and Kafr Qasim.

המוקד: נזק רב בתחנת הרכבת סבידור pic.twitter.com/T67XkWE3uG — חדשות המוקד (@hamoked_il) March 17, 2026

המוקד: נזק רב בתחנת הרכבת סבידור pic.twitter.com/T67XkWE3uG

— חדשות המוקד (@hamoked_il) March 17, 2026

Iran acknowledged launching cluster missiles at Israel, the latest use of a weapon designed to spread maximum damage and evade Israel’s multiple layers of air defenses.

A statement from the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried by Iranian state television said the force launched both Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr missiles in the attack on the Tel Aviv area.

The IRGC described the attack as revenge for Israel’s killing of top security official Ali Larijani.

Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed the release of the cluster munition from at least one missile over Israel.

The latest Iranian ballistic missile targeting central Israel appears to have carried a cluster bomb warhead, footage shows. pic.twitter.com/8j2JcLem9a — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 18, 2026

The latest Iranian ballistic missile targeting central Israel appears to have carried a cluster bomb warhead, footage shows. pic.twitter.com/8j2JcLem9a

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 18, 2026

Other footage showed that one submunition from the missile caused damage to a road.

A fourth missile attack from Iran was detected by the IDF just after 8 a.m.

The small salvo, which set off sirens in central Israel and the West Bank, was  intercepted, according to initial military assessments.

192 injured in past 24 hours

The Health Ministry reported Wednesday morning that in the preceding 24 hours, 192 injured people were taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran.

Among those treated in hospitals, four are in moderate condition, and 177 are in good condition. One person was treated for anxiety.

The ministry did not give a breakdown of the causes of injuries, and some were likely sustained by people trying to reach shelter rather than as a direct result of missile fire from Iran or rocket fire from Lebanon, where the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah has launched missiles at Israel to support its sponsor.

The ministry also said that since the beginning of the war with Iran on February 28, 3,727 people have been admitted to hospitals, 74 of whom are currently hospitalized. Among those hospitalized, seven people are in serious condition, 12 people are in moderate condition, and 54 are in good condition.

The war began with joint Israeli-US strikes on Iran, which has responded by firing drones and missiles at Israel and at countries in the region that host US bases.

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