Iranian Missile Strikes Israeli Hospital as IDF Hits Arak Nuclear Site
A ballistic missile launched by Iran slammed into Soroka Medical Centre in Be’er Sheva earlier today, injuring civilians and causing widespread damage to one of southern Israel’s largest hospitals.
The facility, with more than 1,000 beds, was reportedly not the intended target. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated the missile had been aimed at Israeli military intelligence headquarters located nearby.
The Israeli government denounced the missile strike as a breach of international norms.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation, declaring that Iran would “pay a full price.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel called the hit on Soroka Medical Centre “a deliberate and criminal attack on a civilian site,” and wrote on X: “Not a military base. A hospital. Deliberate. Civilian target.”
In swift response, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including the Arak heavy-water facility.
The IDF reported it struck the reactor’s core seal—considered essential for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. Additional attacks targeted a weapons development site in Natanz, which Israel claims housed specialised nuclear equipment.
As reported by MSN News, other Iranian missiles hit a residential tower in Tel Aviv and struck several other populated areas. In anticipation of further attacks, Israeli hospitals had activated emergency plans earlier in the week—relocating vulnerable patients, particularly those on ventilators, to fortified underground wards.
Following the strike on Soroka Hospital, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the IDF would escalate its operations, targeting Iran’s strategic and government-linked facilities.
“The threat must be dismantled at its source,” he said in a public statement.
Iranian state media later confirmed that the Arak nuclear facility had been evacuated ahead of the Israeli strike and reported no radiation risk.
A correspondent broadcasting from the nearby town of Khondab said there was no damage reported in surrounding civilian areas.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned the United States against any military involvement, saying on Iranian state media that “all necessary options” were on the table. “If the U.S. intervenes in support of Israel, we will respond decisively to defend our national security,” he added.
