Israeli Hospital Damaged by Iranian Airstrike as Missile Exchange Continues
Seventy-one people have been "slightly injured" after an Iranian missile strike damaged a hospital in Southern Israel, according to the country's health ministry.
The strike on Soroka Medical Center, in the city of Beersheba, was part of a wider barrage from Iran, hitting neighborhoods in Tel Aviv, including Holon and Ramat Gan. Israel's health ministry has said that a total of 271 people were injured in the strikes, including those at Soroka, with four in serious condition.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 'can no longer be allowed to exist,' speaking to reporters at the site of missile strikes in Holon.
'Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed—he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal,' Katz said before threatening the Ayatollah.
Iranian state media has said that the strike in southern Israel targeted a military command and intelligence center near the hospital, and that the blast from the strike caused damage to the medical center, The Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a series of its own missile attacks on Iran, targeting a nuclear reactor in Arak, nuclear facilities in Natanz, and ballistic missile sites, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says that since Israel's initial missile attack on Iran, 639 people have been killed there and a further 1,329 injured.
HRANA reported on Thursday that 263 of these deaths have been confirmed as civilians and 154 as military personnel.
In Israel, 24 people have been killed so far by Iranian strikes, with 838 injured.
Israel reacts to Iranian strike damaging hospital
Israeli government officials have responded to Thursday's strike on the hospital, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, 'We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.'
Before his comments threatening Khamenei on Thursday morning, Katz said: 'The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of the fortified bunker and fires aimed shots at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel. These are war crimes of the most serious kind— and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes.'
'The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran in order to remove threats to the State of Israel and undermine the ayatollahs' regime,' Katz continued in a statement on social media.
While visiting the damaged hospital in Beersheba, Itimar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Security Minister said: 'The regime of the ayatollahs needs to be annihilated."
'This is an historic moment, we have the opportunity to defeat the Iranian nukes, the Nazis, the ayatollahs, anyone who hates the state of Israel,' he added.
Ben-Gvir has recently been in the spotlight after he was sanctioned by the British, Canadian, Australian, Norwegian and New Zealand governments for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also faces the same sanctions, including a travel ban and the freezing of all assets in those countries.
The question of U.S. involvement in the conflict continues
On Thursday, while visiting the Soroka Medical Center, Netanyahu was asked about potential U.S. involvement in the conflict with Iran. He said: 'President Trump will do what's best for America. I trust his judgment, he is a tremendous friend, a tremendous world leader, a tremendous friend of Israel.'
Donald Trump has been considering direct U.S. military action against Iran in recent days. On Wednesday, he told reporters, ' I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do… I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble,' when asked if the U.S. was moving closer to striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian leader Khamenei issued a grave warning to the U.S. earlier on Wednesday, saying, 'The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' during a public address.
Russia has also warned about the consequences should President Trump decide to take action against Iran. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media U.S. intervention would mar 'an expansion in the conflict's geography. We are hearing from Tehran that this could lead to another dangerous escalation."
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'There will be some, but the vast majority of the MAGA movement will go, 'look, we trust your judgement, you've walked us through this, we don't like it, in fact maybe we hate it, but we'll get on board,'' Bannon said. -Francesca Chambers Contributing: Reuters
