On Friday, Iran launched direct missile strikes on southern Israel, hitting several targets including a technology center, a Microsoft office, and military infrastructure. At least seven Israelis were reportedly wounded in the attack.
#BREAKING #Israel: Iran fired only one missile this morning towards the southern sector of Be’er Sheva, which causes a direct impact near the Microsoft building with at least about 20 injuries.
Noteworthy: Israeli air defense systems were completely unable to detect the missile. pic.twitter.com/vZs30zmX9R
— Fryer’s Intel (@FreyersIntel) June 20, 2025
One of the primary sites struck was the Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park, known to house both military and cyber facilities. According to Israeli media, Iran fired between one and three missiles, one of which evaded Israel’s air defenses and hit the city of Beersheba.
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Footage circulating online shows a small crater and several cars engulfed in flames in the parking area of a residential building. The missile strike also damaged nearby homes and triggered a major fire, which reportedly reached a Microsoft office. Additionally, the Beersheba North-University train station suffered damage, prompting a temporary shutdown. Israel Railways has since reopened the station, which connects Tel Aviv to Beersheba-Dimona.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that the Microsoft office was a deliberate target, claiming it plays a role in supporting Israel’s military operations. “The Microsoft office was attacked because of its close cooperation with the Israeli army and its involvement in the aggression system—not merely as a civilian facility,” the IRGC stated.
The IRGC further claimed that the cyber zone targeted includes residences of individuals involved in espionage and artificial intelligence projects directly linked to Israel’s military and security services. Iranian state media also confirmed that the missile strike specifically targeted the technology park.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commented on the assault via X (formerly Twitter), declaring, “The Zionist enemy is being punished. It is being punished right now.”
The attack follows a week of escalating conflict after Israel launched a military operation against Iran last Friday. Since then, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel. Despite the sophistication of Israel’s air defense system, officials acknowledged that not all incoming missiles have been intercepted.
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Israel’s military censor has restricted both domestic and foreign media from disclosing specific details about the locations targeted. However, the Israeli army admitted earlier this week that its air defenses are not fully capable of stopping every missile strike.
Israel Retaliates with Strikes on Tehran
In response, Israel carried out airstrikes across Iran, including an overnight assault on the East Azerbaijan Province, where the IRGC reported three of its members were killed.
According to the Israeli military, these strikes targeted various military facilities and a “research and development center for Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” as well as a site involved in missile component production. In a post on X, Israel’s army claimed that “more than 50 fighter jets attacked selected targets of the nuclear weapons programme and industrial sites for missile production in Tehran overnight.”
Later on Friday, reports emerged of an Israeli drone strike in central Tehran’s Gisha area, allegedly killing a nuclear scientist inside his apartment. Israeli media sources have confirmed the scientist’s assassination.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Israeli strikes across Iran have so far resulted in 639 deaths and over 1,300 injuries.