IDF says it blew up Ali Khamenei's jet at Tehran airport

Injuries and heavy damage to homes as Iran fires multiple missile salvos at Israel

Five missile attacks target north, center, south and Jerusalem; woman lightly injured after impact on home in Rishon Lezion; fragments land near Knesset, Church of Holy Sepulchre

  • The scene where a missile fired from Iran at Israel caused damage to a house in Rishon Lezion, March 16, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
    The scene where a missile fired from Iran at Israel caused damage to a house in Rishon Lezion, March 16, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
  • A missile fragment is seen in Jerusalem following an Iranian attack on March 16, 2026. (Fire and Rescue Service)
    A missile fragment is seen in Jerusalem following an Iranian attack on March 16, 2026. (Fire and Rescue Service)
  • Security and rescue forces at a house damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Shoham, March 16, 2026 (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
    Security and rescue forces at a house damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Shoham, March 16, 2026 (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
  • View of a house damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Rishon Lezion, March 16, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
    View of a house damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Rishon Lezion, March 16, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
  • A woman carrying a dog stands in a building damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Rishon Lezion in central Israel on March 16, 2026 (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
    A woman carrying a dog stands in a building damaged in an Iranian missile attack in Rishon Lezion in central Israel on March 16, 2026 (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
  • Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a missile fired from Iran caused damage in Shoham, March 16, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
    Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a missile fired from Iran caused damage in Shoham, March 16, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
  • A missile fragment is seen in Safed following an Iranian attack on March 16, 2026 (Israel Police)
    A missile fragment is seen in Safed following an Iranian attack on March 16, 2026 (Israel Police)

Iran fired several salvos of missiles at Israel on Monday, with impacts damaging homes and an apparent cluster bomb injuring one person in the central region of the country.

The Iranians launched five barrages at Israel after midnight and into the afternoon. Though air defense systems worked to shoot down the missiles, some warheads impacted on residential areas, as did debris and fragments from interceptions.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said it launched extensive strikes on Iran, destroying slain former supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s private jet, and a space research center.

The Iranian attacks on Israel set off sirens in the north, central, and southern regions, and in two attacks, also in Jerusalem.

Multiple impact sites were reported across central Israel, including a home in Rishon Lezion. On Thursday afternoon, a man in Jerusalem was lightly wounded after touching a missile fragment, and there was damage to several buildings from falling fragments.

The Fire and Rescue service said a large chunk from an intercepted missile struck a home in East Jerusalem, causing damage. Other fragments landed near the National Library, which is close to the Knesset, and in the Old City, near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

A missile fragment is seen in Jerusalem following an Iranian attack on March 16, 2026. (Fire and Rescue Service)

Lir Itzik, 30, whose home was hit in Rishon Lezion, told Hebrew media that she had entered a shelter before a warhead hit the location.

After the sirens went off, she went to the shelter, shared with the neighbors, taking her dog with her.

“The siren ended, there were booms (apparently from missile intercepts),” Itzik said. “Suddenly, there was a whistle and a really strong explosion. The whole shelter went white, I couldn’t see where to go, and I didn’t know if it was at all possible to open the door. I didn’t know if the home was on fire, I didn’t know anything.”

Itzik telephoned her father and alerted the fire and rescue services.

Her father, Yaron, arrived first, and gave the door a really hard push, she said. “I pushed from the other side.”

Between them, she said, they managed to open the door enough that she could squeeze out.

Itzik said that the walls of the home had collapsed onto the safe room door.

“I inhaled a lot of dust, and I also fell over as I was coming out of the shelter because of debris,” she said.

Itzik was taken to the Shamir Medical Center for treatment.

President Isaac Herog, center) and his wife Michal at the scene where a missile fired from Iran at Israel caused damage to a house in Rishon le Tzion, March 16, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog visited the site of the missile impact on Monday.

“Our enemies in Iran are trying, in a cowardly way, to harm citizens in the heart of a peaceful residential neighborhood. We will overcome these challenges and defeat our enemies,” he said.

Herzog urged Israelis to follow instructions from the IDF Home Front as “they save lives,” an apparent reference to several people who have been injured when they did not enter secure locations during previous missile attacks.

During the attacks, another warhead hit a home in the central region town of Shoham, causing serious damage, while a third impacted on Route 431, forcing the closure of one lane.

Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a missile fired from Iran caused damage in Shoham, March 16, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

The attacks came as the Israeli Air Force launched a new wave of “extensive” airstrikes in Tehran, Shiraz, and Tabriz, the IDF announced.

The military said the strikes were targeting Iranian regime infrastructure sites.

Among the targets hit and destroyed was an Iranian space facility in Tehran that was used by the regime to develop “capabilities for attacking satellites.”

The site was used to develop various military space programs, including the Chamran-1 satellite, as well as “capabilities to strike satellites, posing a threat to the State of Israel’s satellites and to space assets of other countries around the world,” the military said.

The military released images showing the site before and after the strike

Earlier, the military said the IAF struck and destroyed Khamenei’s aircraft at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport overnight

The IDF said the plane had been used by Khamenei and other top Iranian officials “to advance military procurement and manage relations with axis countries through domestic and international flights.”

The military added that the destruction of the “strategic asset” is a blow to Iran’s “coordination capabilities” with proxy groups, its “building of military power, and the regime’s rehabilitation capabilities.”

Khamenei and 40 other top Iranian figures were killed in the opening strikes of a joint US-Israeli air campaign against Iran that began on February 28. Iran has responded by firing missiles at countries hosting US bases in the Middle East, and Israel.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran had shown it was ready to take the war with Israel and the United States as far as necessary.

“I think by now they have learned a good lesson and understood what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that does not hesitate to defend itself and is ready to continue the war wherever it may lead, and take it as far as necessary,” said Araghchi during a weekly foreign ministry briefing.

142 injured in 24 hours

The Health Ministry reported that over the past 24 hours, 142 injured people were taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran.

Among those treated in hospitals, three were in moderate condition, and 134 were in good condition. Five were treated for anxiety.

Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a missile fired from Iran caused damage in Shoham, March 16, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

The ministry did not give a breakdown of the causes of injuries, and some may have been sustained by people trying to reach shelter rather than as a direct result of missile fire from Iran or rocket fire from Lebanon.

The ministry said that since the beginning of the war with Iran on February 28, 3,369 people have been admitted to hospitals, 81 of whom are currently hospitalized.

Among those hospitalized, one person is in critical condition, seven are in serious condition, 14 are in moderate condition, and 59 are in good condition. The ministry’s figures included both civilians and soldiers.

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