Israeli hospital hit as Iranian missiles leave 2 dozen wounded
TEL AVIV, Israel - A hospital in the south of Israel was hit during a massive wave of Iranian missiles on Thursday.
A missile struck the Soroka Hospital in the desert city of Beersheba, with reports saying that there was severe damage to the surgery ward.
There were also strikes in other locations in Israel, including the Tel Aviv area, with more than 20 missiles fired. A total of at least 25 people were injured, including at least three seriously.
Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso described the hospital attack as a "terrorist attack that has crossed a red line" and termed it a war crime.
According to initial reports, only a few people were slightly injured at the hospital.
Iran's Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the target had been a military base and not a hospital.
Israel's ynet online news outlet said one of the damaged buildings of the Soroka Hospital had been evacuated on Wednesday. "Luckily we cleared out one of the wards, otherwise they wouldn't be there anymore," a hospital worker said.
"The ceiling fell on us, and the shock wave threw me away," he added.
Tel Aviv's Sheba Hospital reported being struck by a falling missile fragment with slight damage reported.
Many Israeli hospitals have taken patients into bomb shelters.
The military said on social media that search and rescue teams were operating in several locations across the country where projectiles were reported to have fallen.
Since the start of the conflict last week, a total of 639 people have been killed in Iran, including at least 263 civilians, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a U.S.-based group of Iranian activists. The organization relies on official data and local reports.
In Israel, where countless shelters are available as places of refuge, there have so far been 24 deaths, all of whom were civilians, according to the Israeli side.
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Even if they're not wounded or killed, many go home empty-handed, said Jassim, a 28-year-old logistics worker hired by a local contractor working with the GHF. 'Decent people, especially the elderly and women with children, can't fight through the crowds,' he said. He added that gangs also stalk people leaving the delivery area so as to rob them and sell the precious supplies on the black market. 'Many of them carry knives. It's like a trap and I see many people killed.' When Al-Shaqra regained consciousness, he found himself in Nasser Hospital, waiting for surgery in rooms already overflowing with other casualties from that day's attacks at the GHF center. Among them was his father, Wadee al-Shaqra, who was injured by a bullet that tore through the side of his abdomen. Wadee lost track of his son after he was shot, but found him hours later, by coincidence, in one of a few tents set up near Nasser Hospital for convalescing patients. 'I thought he was killed. 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