Israelis cheer as Iranian missile strikes Palestinian town in countrys north
A group of Israelis celebrated an Iranian missile strike on a predominantly Palestinian town in northern Israel, which killed four Palestinian citizens of Israel and injured dozens more.
In a video that has since gone viral on Israeli social media, the group can be heard cheering as a missile appears to fall on Tamra, a predominantly Christian and Muslim town some 25km from Haifa.
"On the village, on the village," a man shouts as the missile slams into Tamra.
שישרף לכם הכפר, כך צהלו בני משפחה יהודית כשראו שהטילים האיראנים נופלים על העיר טמרה. בושה וחרפה. pic.twitter.com/grhSStcU5f
— Jafar Farah (@Jafarfarah1) June 14, 2025
He and the others in the group, including several Israeli women, then sang the anti-Arab song "May your village burn", popularised by the Israeli pop singer Kobi Peretz. Others clapped and cheered as other missiles rained down.
Residents told Middle East Eye that four Christian women from the same family were killed in Saturday's attack, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
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The missile caused severe damage to their home, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building.
Within hours of the attack, Yinon Magal, a presenter on Israel's Channel 14, a right-wing network favoured by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared to downplay the deaths, claiming that most residents of Tamra "are against Israel",
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Hadash alliance, said the comments were unsurprising given the repeated anti-Palestinian rhetoric espoused by Netanyahu and members of his cabinet.
"These are the voices of Netanyahu, [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich, the warmongers and everyone who supports them," he said, adding that "these racists should be investigated and arrested".
Meanwhile, Ahmad Tibi, the chairman of the Taal party and a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, said the video and the subsequent anti-Palestinian rhetoric were a "result of a culture of racism that has spread in Israeli society and of growing fascism".
"There is a racist police minister [Ben Gvir] who encourages hatred of Arabs. There are also media figures who spread racism."
Palestinian citizens of Israel have historically faced systemic discrimination, including chronic underinvestment in their communities and, according to Adalah, a human rights and legal centre for Palestinian citizens of Israel, dozens of laws are prejudiced against them.
Before Saturday's strikes, residents of Tamra had long warned of a lack of bomb shelters in the area, noting that almost no homes were equipped with a safe room - despite such rooms being mandatory in all new properties built after 1991.
On Friday, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and striking military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.
Iran has since unleashed a deadly barrage of missile strikes on Israel, killing at least 10 Israelis and injuring hundreds.
middleeasteye.net