Iran attacks a hospital in southern Israel with missiles

BarcelonaIran launched a new wave of projectiles at central and southern Israel early this morning, one of which hit Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, in the south of the country, injuring dozens. The medical center's facilities were partially destroyed by the impact, which occurred shortly before 7:00 a.m. local time and caused a fire. Images shared by social media users and local media showed ordinary people walking through corridors filled with smoke and debris, and burned-out vehicles around the center. The building suffered severe damage to its facade, more than four stories high, and widespread destruction inside. With more than 1,000 beds, Soroka Hospital is the largest in southern Israel and serves a region with more than one million inhabitants. Explosions were also reported in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Tehran admitted through its Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, that Iranian projectiles caused "superficial damage to a small section" of the hospital, and defended the attack by claiming that the center had been "largely evacuated" and had been used primarily to "treat" Gaza. "Our powerful armed forces will continue to strike at the criminals who attack our people until they stop and pay for their criminal aggression against our nation," he said, urging Israeli civilians to avoid military facilities.

Iranian state media claims the target of the attack was a military facility located next to the medical center: the large Command and Intelligence (IDF C4I) headquarters and the military intelligence camp in the Gav-Y Technology Park. But Israeli authorities interpreted the attack as a red line and promised retaliation.

Khamenei "cannot continue to exist"

The country's leaders have closed ranks and moved to the scene, from where they have raised the tone of their threats against Iran. The most forceful was Defense Minister Israel Katz, who stated that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is "the modern-day Hitler" and that he "cannot continue to exist." "A dictator like Khamenei, who leads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of the State of Israel his declared goal [...] cannot be allowed to continue," he argued from the attacked medical center. Katz said that if Israel had had an army during the Holocaust and knew it could send its troops into a bunker to capture "the enemy of the Jewish people," it would have done so. "We would have sent the army, taken them out, and eliminated them. And that's how I see the current situation."

Furthermore, following the attack on the hospital, Katz has ordered intensified attacks against "strategic" and government targets in Tehran to destabilize the Persian regime. "Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and I have ordered the Israel Defense Forces to intensify attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran to eliminate threats to the State of Israel and undermine the regime of the ayatollahs," he announced in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Iran will pay "the full price" for the attacks. "This morning, Iran's terrorist tyrants launched missiles at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and at the civilian population in the center of the country. We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran," he said via X message. Later, Netanyahu reiterated that the fall of the Iranian regime was not an objective of the objective.

In a slightly more moderate tone, President Isaac Herzog pledged to strike "a heavy blow" against Iran to ensure a better future for Israel and the region. "We will rebuild everything. This is a certainty. We will demonstrate resilience and change our destiny and that of the entire region," he said, accompanied by the director general of the center. "For the sake of our future, we must fight and change reality, which means striking a heavy blow to the head of the snake in Tehran."

Iran's nuclear facilities affected

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued to bombard Iran overnight and claims its missiles hit several nuclear facilities. Tel Aviv says it attacked the Khondab nuclear facility near the central Iranian city of Arak, which houses a heavy water reactor. These types of reactors produce plutonium, which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atomic bomb. The impact was confirmed by the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, which claims to have noted the impact on the reactor but insists it did not contain radioactive material.

The Israeli military says its missiles also hit facilities in the Natanz area that contained specialized components and equipment used to advance the development of nuclear weapons.