JERUSALEM, March 19 (V7N)  — Iranian missile attacks have killed three Palestinian women in the occupied West Bank and a foreign worker in central Israel, medics confirmed Thursday, marking a deadly escalation in the ongoing Middle East conflict.

According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, falling shrapnel struck a hair salon in the town of Beit Awa late Wednesday, killing three women and injuring at least eight others. One of the wounded remains in critical condition.

The victims included 17-year-old Mays Ghazi Masalmeh, as reported by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The salon, set up in a metal caravan beside a residential home, was heavily damaged, with its roof punctured by the impact. Images from the scene showed blood-stained interiors and scattered debris.

The incident marks the first reported Palestinian fatalities resulting from Iranian missile fire since the conflict began.

Missile fragments were reported across multiple areas of the West Bank, including Hebron, following a fresh wave of Iranian launches, according to Israeli military sources.

Shortly after, Israeli emergency services reported a fatality in central Israel. The Magen David Adom confirmed that a foreign worker was killed by shrapnel in Moshav Adanim, approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Tel Aviv.

The victim, identified by Israeli media as a Thai national working in agriculture, died from “severe shrapnel injuries,” according to medic Idan Shina. Thailand’s foreign ministry later confirmed the death based on information from Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military said it had detected multiple waves of missile and drone launches from Iran and was actively intercepting incoming threats. Air raid sirens sounded across central and northern Israel, as well as in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating it had targeted multiple locations across Israel. Iranian media outlets reported the use of both missiles and drones in the overnight assault.

Israeli media suggested that some of the barrages involved cluster munitions — weapons that disperse smaller explosives over a wide area — though no official confirmation was provided. Both Iran and Israel have previously accused each other of deploying such weapons.

International concern continues to mount as civilian casualties rise. Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh received a call from UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who condemned the attack on civilians, according to Emirati state media.

The United Arab Emirates itself has faced repeated Iranian strikes since the conflict erupted on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran.

As hostilities intensify, the growing toll on civilians in both Israel and the Palestinian territories underscores the widening humanitarian impact of the war, with fears mounting over further escalation in the region.

END/WD/RH