Tel Aviv woke to scenes of devastation after one of the heaviest Iranian missile barrages of the war left parts of Israel’s commercial capital rusak parah – badly damaged – and residents gripped by fear and fury.

Just before dawn, sirens screamed across the Gush Dan metro area as dozens of ballistic missiles roared in from western Iran. Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow batteries lit up the sky, interceptors colliding with incoming warheads in chains of orange fireballs. But several missiles — some reportedly carrying cluster or heavy fragmentation warheads — punched through the defensive umbrella.

In south and east Tel Aviv, entire streets were ripped open. An industrial zone near the Ayalon highway burned for hours after fuel tanks and warehouses were hit; apartment blocks nearby stand with façades torn off, balconies hanging, cars crushed under fallen concrete. Emergency services report scores wounded by shrapnel and flying glass, with multiple fatalities confirmed as rescuers comb collapsed stairwells and underground shelters.

Tehran hails the strike as “just retaliation” for Israeli and US attacks on Iranian soil, boasting that “Zionist infrastructure lies in ruins.” Israeli officials counter that most of the salvo was intercepted, but privately admit the psychological damage may be as serious as the physical wreckage.

As smoke still curls above the skyline and shocked residents ask how such destruction broke through “the world’s best air defence,” pressure is mounting on Israel’s war cabinet to answer with an even more punishing blow on Iran — pushing a battered region closer to a point of no return.