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Despite Ceasefire Announcement, Iran Launches Six Missile Barrages on Israel, Killing Four in Be’er Sheva

By: Fern Sidman

In a dramatic and deadly turn of events, Iranian forces launched six successive missile barrages at Israel early Tuesday, even as a ceasefire agreement—brokered and announced by President Donald Trump—was scheduled to take effect. The Israeli government has yet to formally comment on the purported ceasefire, though the aftermath of the attacks was tragically clear in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, where four Israeli civilians were killed and multiple others injured.

According to a report at Israel National News (INN), the pre-dawn missile strikes began shortly after 5:00 a.m., with Iran firing wave after wave of ballistic projectiles toward various regions of Israel, including the Negev, central Israel, and as far north as Haifa. The attacks coincided with, and in some cases extended beyond, the official 7:00 a.m. start of the 12-hour ceasefire President Trump declared hours earlier.

The first barrage, launched at approximately 5:00 a.m., consisted of two missiles that were successfully intercepted, resulting in no injuries or reported impact damage, according to Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service.

However, the second barrage, fired around 5:30 a.m., had devastating consequences. One of the four missiles in that wave scored a direct hit on a residential apartment complex in Be’er Sheva, collapsing parts of a seven-story building. As INN reported, emergency teams arriving at the scene found significant destruction and multiple casualties. Among the dead were a 40-year-old man, a 30-year-old woman, and a 20-year-old man. The body of a fourth victim was discovered hours later under the rubble.

Seven additional victims sustained moderate to light injuries and were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center, the region’s major trauma facility. Search-and-rescue efforts were ongoing late into the morning, with three people still believed to be trapped under debris as of this writing.

In emotionally charged field reports, MDA paramedics and volunteers painted a harrowing picture of the aftermath. “We saw thick smoke rising from the impact site,” said Senior EMT Shimrit Sela, speaking to INN from Be’er Sheva. “As we got closer, we saw extensive destruction to several buildings. At the entrance to one of them, an unconscious man was lying outside. Inside, we discovered two more unconscious victims. Sadly, we were forced to pronounce them dead.”

MDA paramedic Dvir Ben Ze’ev added, “We deployed Mobile Intensive Care Units, ambulances, and medicycles to the scene. The destruction was enormous. It looked like a warzone.”

Eliyahu Yitzhak Tuval, head of the United Hatzalah Be’er Sheva branch, described the scene as “a very difficult one, with extensive damage and destruction to a residential building.” Tuval confirmed that United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma Unit was also dispatched to the site to provide emotional support to victims suffering from acute anxiety.

The Jewish state remained under siege as four more barrages followed over the next two hours, even as the ceasefire’s start time approached. According to the information provided in the INN report, the third barrage, just after 6:10 a.m., targeted central Israel, the Sharon region, and parts of Samaria. Though all three missiles in that wave were intercepted, sirens triggered panic across heavily populated areas.

The fourth barrage, shortly after 6:30 a.m., again targeted the Sharon, Shefla, and Samaria regions. Two to three missiles were detected. Then, at 6:53 a.m., just minutes before the ceasefire was to take hold, the Home Front Command confirmed a fifth barrage, prompting sirens in northern Israel, including Haifa. All missiles in that wave were intercepted, and no injuries were reported.

A sixth and final barrage occurred at 7:15 a.m., already beyond the agreed-upon time for Iran to halt hostilities. This final volley once again targeted the Sharon and northern Israel, triggering alarms in towns that had not seen fire since the early stages of the war.

In Hadera, a 15-year-old girl was moderately wounded by shrapnel, likely the result of a missile interception.

President Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform Monday evening, stated that Iran and Israel had agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire, set to begin at 7:00 a.m. Israel time on Tuesday. Under the terms of the agreement, Iran was to cease hostilities six hours before the truce’s activation, with Israel following suit at the designated hour.

“In six hours, Iran will halt all offensive action. Israel will reciprocate six hours later. This temporary ceasefire aims to deescalate the situation and open a path for longer-term stability,” Trump wrote.

But as the INN report emphasized, Iran’s aggressive launches—occurring both before and after the start of the ceasefire—have cast serious doubt on Tehran’s commitment to the truce. Israeli officials have so far refrained from issuing a formal statement about the ceasefire, perhaps reflecting skepticism regarding its validity in light of the continuing missile fire.

According to INN, the Israeli Cabinet is now facing a difficult decision. Having absorbed heavy losses and mourned four civilian deaths in the hours immediately preceding a supposed ceasefire, public pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond decisively.

Several members of Israel’s Security Cabinet are reportedly urging a resumption of military operations, citing the barrage as proof that Iran cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments.

In addition to the human toll, the missile attacks have reignited debate over Israel’s reliance on missile interception systems, such as the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow system, which have performed with high success but are being strained by the volume and frequency of the attacks.

While President Trump’s announcement was initially met with cautious optimism, the events of Tuesday morning have clouded prospects for genuine de-escalation. As Israel National News bluntly noted, “The ceasefire appears to be in effect on paper but not in practice.” The repeated Iranian violations of the truce timeline raise pressing questions about whether the agreement was entered into sincerely—or simply used by Iran as a stalling tactic to reposition and rearm.

In the meantime, the residents of Be’er Sheva and other impacted communities are left to grapple with the emotional and physical scars left by yet another morning of fear, smoke, and sirens. For them, the word “ceasefire” feels cruelly premature.

As rescue workers continue to clear rubble and mourners gather to bury their dead, Israel faces a sobering reality: peace cannot be declared through press releases alone. It must be lived, honored—and defended.

President Trump’s proclamation, issued on his Truth Social platform late Monday night, carried his signature tone of finality and triumph: “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE.” However, he added that military operations already underway would be allowed to “wind down” in phases, and that the cessation of hostilities would not be immediate. This phrasing — deliberately vague — left room for interpretation and, as events soon revealed, for continued conflict.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added to the confusion, suggesting on social media at approximately 4:30 a.m. local time that the ceasefire had already taken effect. He stated that the Iranian military had fought until “the very last minute,” implying that Tehran had completed its offensive window.

 

The precise terms and timing of the ceasefire remain murky, but The New York Times reported that Qatari mediation played a critical role. Three diplomats, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the negotiations, confirmed that senior Qatari officials had acted as intermediaries between Washington and Tehran. With assurances that Israel had agreed to the American proposal, Qatar reportedly persuaded Iranian leadership to halt further military escalation.

The Trump administration appears to have relied heavily on this Gulf state diplomacy to secure the agreement, sidestepping more traditional European channels, which have expressed growing frustration with both the lack of clarity and the pace of U.S. diplomatic engagement.

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a strong indication earlier in the week that his government was preparing to scale down military operations. In a nationally televised statement Sunday night, Netanyahu declared that Israel was “very, very close” to achieving its strategic objectives in the conflict, though he did not specify what benchmarks would trigger a formal halt to Israeli operations.

Further complicating the picture, Iran fired missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar late Monday — the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East and headquarters of U.S. Central Command. Though the strike was intended as retaliation for the devastating U.S. raids on Iran’s nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, it was notably accompanied by forewarning that allowed American forces to seek shelter, thereby minimizing damage and casualties.

The New York Times report emphasized that the warning signal from Iran to the U.S. — a rare gesture even in wartime — suggested that Tehran was signaling an end to direct confrontation while retaining symbolic leverage. Some U.S. defense officials interpreted the move as Iran’s attempt to “save face” after the destruction of vital nuclear infrastructure, without provoking a further American military escalation.

While President Trump projected unambiguous certainty in his declaration of peace, Vice President J.D. Vance offered a more restrained assessment. Speaking hours after the announcement, Vance stated that the war appeared to be “effectively over,” and that a window had now opened to “restart a real peace process.”

The contrast between the two statements emphasizes the tension within the U.S. administration as it navigates the volatile post-conflict landscape. With tens of thousands of American personnel still stationed across the region, including at sites now directly targeted by Iran, the path forward remains uncertain.

Markets responded swiftly to the ceasefire news and the apparent de-escalation. As The New York Times reported, global oil prices fell, and major stock indices ticked upward amid hopes that hostilities would not further disrupt shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for international energy trade.

Yet, European leaders offered less sanguine responses. After an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued a stern warning: “The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge.” Kallas, like many others, urged all parties to commit to diplomacy, warning that any backsliding could be catastrophic.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened an emergency session. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that the world was now “dangerously close to the edge,” and cautioned that without clear commitments from both Israel and Iran regarding non-proliferation, “violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels.”

Though the current ceasefire is being heralded in some circles as a breakthrough, its fragility cannot be overstated. The New York Times report noted that neither Iran nor Israel has yet released a detailed roadmap for next steps — whether that involves negotiations, third-party monitoring, or a mutual return to deterrence.

What is clear, however, is that Tuesday’s ceasefire — ambiguous and uneven as its implementation may be — has created a rare moment of stillness in a region that has seen too little of it. Whether it marks the end of a devastating chapter or simply a pause in a longer struggle will depend on what leaders do next — and how sincerely they pursue a durable peace.