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Israel acknowledged the strikes but disputed Iranian characterizations of civilian targeting. A United States Central Command spokesperson stated early in the conflict that the protection of civilians was of “utmost importance” and that American and Israeli forces had never and would never deliberately target civilians. Iranian officials rejected these assurances, with the deputy health minister insisting that the vast majority of those killed were civilians going about their daily lives.
Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel have been substantial, though Israeli air defenses have intercepted the majority of incoming threats. Iran launched nine separate salvoes of missiles at Israel over the course of the conflict. Israeli authorities reported that falling debris and cluster munitions from intercepted and unintercepted Iranian missiles caused widespread damage across central and northern Israel. The deadliest single strike on Israeli territory came on March 1, when nine civilians were killed in a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh. Missile fragments fell in the Old City of Jerusalem, causing damage near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Later in the conflict, Iranian ballistic missiles broke through Israeli defenses to directly strike the cities of Dimona and Arad in the south, wounding more than 100 people in those two strikes alone.
Israel strikes intended to ‘cripple’ Iran’s nuclear program, destabilize regime: Experts