Reports okayed on missile damage to apartment tower, mall near IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv

A luxury residential building close to the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv was damaged by an Iranian ballistic missile strike early on in the recent 12-day war with the Islamic Republic, the Haaretz daily reports.

This information had not previously been made public inside of Israel, as authorities gagged reports that included information on impact locations, arguing that they could be used by Iran to better calibrate its missiles.

According to Haaretz, the 32-story residential tower, located close to the Kaplan Street entrance to the IDF headquarters, caught on fire as a result of the missile impact, and its residents had to be evacuated.

Separately, Channel 12 reports that the Azrieli Mall, also located in the vicinity of the Kirya, was also damaged by a ballistic missile strike.

The main building is unharmed, but several storefronts that open out directly onto the street suffered extensive damage, estimated at over a million shekels. Some damage to the mall’s facade can also be seen from the street.

Days after the strike, looters stole large amounts of merchandise and cash from the damaged stores, the report says.

Over the course of the 12-day direct conflict, Iran launched over 500 ballistic missiles at Israel, killing 28 people and wounding thousands.