Ukrainian cancer patient aged 7 killed in Israel by Iranian missile

The Iranian missile that slammed into Bat Yam to the south of Tel Aviv on Sunday claimed the life of a Ukrainian girl aged 7, who was in Israel for medical treatment, and other members of her family, the ynet online news outlet has reported.

The girl called Nastia, who was suffering from leukaemia, had come to Israel from Odessa in southern Ukraine for a period of two and a half years.

Her grandmother and two young cousins were also killed, the ynet report said. Rescue workers were still seeking her mother Maria amid the rubble. She is believed to have been killed as well. The father had remained in Ukraine fighting in the army.

In a post on X showing a photo of Nastia, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Israel mourned with Nastia's father. "She came seeking life. Instead, she was murdered - along with her mother Maria, her young cousins Konstantin and Ilya, and her grandmother Lena - by a murderous Iranian missile that struck a residential building in Bat Yam," he posted.

Herzog called on the world to condemn Iran's crimes and to "stand with Israel against Tehran's Empire of Evil."

Attacks were continuing on Wednesday after Israel launched air raids on Iran on Friday aimed primarily at destroying its nuclear programme.

According to official reports, 24 people have died in Israel and more than 800 have been injured.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a US-based group of Iranian activists, reported on Tuesday that 585 people had been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 people injured.