A massive explosion and giant fireball lit up the night sky over Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem, sending shockwaves across Israel and triggering panic among residents already on edge after recent Iran missile attacks. Dramatic visuals showed thick flames and a powerful blast erupting late Saturday night. Israel’s state-owned Tomer defense firm later confirmed the explosion was part of a pre-planned missile and rocket propulsion test, though many residents said they received no prior warning. The incident comes amid rising fears that Israel and the United States could renew military action against Iran if negotiations fail.

The war rhetoric between Iran and the United States is intensifying. In a dramatic warning directed at Donald Trump, Iranian security chief Ali Larijani has vowed revenge for what he called “the blood of Iran’s leader and its people.” Larijani, a close ally of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, claimed that Iranian forces have inflicted heavy losses on American troops during the ongoing conflict. According to Tehran, several U.S. soldiers were captured and Washington is allegedly reporting them as “killed in action” to conceal the truth. The claims have been strongly rejected by U.S. CENTCOM, which dismissed Iran’s statements as misinformation and insisted that no American troops have been taken prisoner. The exchange comes as the conflict triggered by U.S.-Israeli strikes continues to widen across the region. WATCH