In a rare moment, Israel is confirming at least nine people killed and over 40 injured after an Iranian ballistic missile slammed into a residential area west of Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon.

The missile impact was in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, and according to Israeli media destroyed a synagogue and even caused damage to a bomb shelter beneath surrounding homes. There's a likelihood that the death toll throughout the country will climb given Tehran's ongoing massive retaliation.

"The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it declared the deaths of eight victims at the scene and took 28 others to hospitals, two in serious condition," Times of Israel reports. "The death of the ninth victim was declared a short time later."

The military says it is investigating how the projectile slipped pass Israel's high tech anti-air defense systems. However, it's also clear from the June war that there are significant gaps, and that many of Iran's missiles have indeed been making it through.

Israel's military censors are likely preventing the true extent of devastation across the country from getting out - as was the case during the June war.

It was reportedly a massive warhead, powerful enough to penetrate a bunker, which resulted in the mass casualties:

The Home Front Command was also investigating the circumstances, including the integrity of the shelter, which directly sustained the impact of the estimated 500-kilogram warhead on the Iranian ballistic missile.

Some unverified reports are saying it was an Iranian hypersonic missile that evaded Israel's defenses and slammed into the area.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera cites mounting casualties from the Gulf countries which host US bases:

More explosions have been heard across the Gulf states, and at least three people have been killed in the United Arab Emirates as Iran carries out attacks in retaliation for strikes by the United States and Israel that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials.

The explosions were heard for a second day on Sunday in Dubai, the UAE; Bahrain’s capital, Manama; and Qatar’s capital, Doha, raising fears of a wider conflict in a region long seen as a haven of peace and security in an otherwise turbulent Middle East.

Hundreds of drones and missiles have at this point been unleashed on America's Gulf allies, as the US-Israeli attack on Iran is fast spiraling into a broader regional conflict.

As we've reported, the US has also taken its first casualties, with CENTCOM confirming three troops killed Sunday, along with five seriously wounded.