Hebrew Media: Life in “Bat Yam” Crumbles After Iranian Strike

By Staff, Agencies

Under the headline “Displaced Settlers of ‘Bat Yam’ Continue Their ‘Struggle’ to Build a New Life: The Spirit Is Broken,” the Hebrew newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” published an investigative report detailing the aftermath of the Iranian missile strike on the settlement of “Bat Yam,” located just south of “Tel Aviv,” one month after the attack.

The report noted that the Iranian missile directly hit a 10-story residential building, inflicting massive destruction.

“The building still stands behind the fence, but not for long,” the newspaper wrote. “A giant bulldozer is peeling away its sides layer by layer, and as the building disappears, piles of rubble grow at its base.”

A poignant scene is described: “A municipal worker watches the remains of the building where he lived for more than 50 years. He had returned after serving as a transport driver between the Sinai front and the Golan Heights, and later as a reservist in the First Lebanon War. But this time, war reached his home. When we visited this week—one month after the strike—his apartment was gone. Just days ago, a bulldozer tore it down with repeated blows. The demolition continues.”

Originally constructed in the late 1960s, the building had recently undergone significant renovations, including reinforcement of structural support columns.

Yanki Levi, a member of the so-called “Housing Committee”, stated: “We invested 1.5 million shekels into the project. Without the reinforcements, the result would have been over a hundred deaths.”

According to municipal figures, around 2,000 settlers were displaced by the strike. Approximately 1,150 were relocated to hotels—six in “Tel Aviv” and two in “Bat Yam”—while the rest found alternative temporary accommodations.

Additionally, 27 buildings—home to roughly 1,200 settlers—sustained such extensive damage that they may need to be demolished. Another 850 residents will not be able to return until repairs are made to shock-related damages such as shattered windows, broken shutters and doors torn from their frames.

The newspaper concludes that beyond the physical destruction, the emotional toll has been severe. “The spirit is broken,” it reported, as many displaced families now face the long, uncertain path of rebuilding both homes and lives.