Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has ordered a comprehensive military operation to target Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following a missile barrage from Iran that struck the main hospital in southern Israel and several residential buildings near Tel Aviv.
According to the Israeli Health Ministry, at least 240 people sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack, with four in serious condition.
The vast majority were lightly wounded, including more than 70 people from the Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba, where smoke rose as emergency teams evacuated patients.
In the aftermath of the strikes, Katz squarely blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader, stating that the military has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.
“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, Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist,” he told journalists in Holon, near Tel Aviv.
Calling Khamenei a “cowardly war criminal,” the minister vowed “He 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 government facilities in Tehran, in order to neutralize threats to Israel and destabilize the ayatollahs’ regime,” he added.
The missile strike caused significant damage to Soroka Medical Center, though no fatalities were reported, as patients and staff had been relocated to protected areas, said hospital director, Shlomi Kodesh.
Video clips shared on social media Thursday showed corridors strewn with debris and stunned medical staff surveying the aftermath.
A hospital spokesperson confirmed “damage to the hospital and extensive destruction in various areas.” The public was urged to avoid the hospital unless facing a life-threatening emergency.
Two doctors who witnessed the blast said the missile struck shortly after air raid sirens began, causing a loud explosion audible even from secure underground rooms.
The main impact hit an old surgery building that had recently been evacuated.
The hospital was subsequently closed to all patients except emergency cases. Soroka, with more than 1,000 beds, serves approximately one million residents in southern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the site in Beersheba, condemned the attack and promised retaliation.
“We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran,” he said.
In response, Israeli fighter jets launched fresh airstrikes on Iranian targets, including the Arak heavy-water reactor and the Natanz nuclear facility.
When asked about possible American involvement, Netanyahu said that President Trump would act in America’s best interest.
“I trust his judgment. He is a tremendous leader, a great friend of Israel and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said.
“We are committed to eliminating the threat of nuclear annihilation. The partnership with the United States—and with President Trump, whom I speak to almost daily, is incredible. His determination and clarity when he says Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon is unmatched,” he added.
“He gave them the opportunity to negotiate. They strung him along. But you don’t string along Donald Trump, he knows the game. We’re both committed to ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.”
Netanyahu said whether the U.S. would join Israel militarily was up to Trump, but noted that America was already “helping a lot” in defending Israeli airspace.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in recent days, the majority of which have been intercepted by Israel’s multi-layered air defense system. Still, Israeli officials admit the system is not foolproof.
In response to escalating tensions, many Israeli hospitals have activated emergency protocols, converting underground parking areas into patient wards and relocating critical patients—especially those on ventilators—into bombproof areas.
Israel’s subterranean national blood bank has also been reactivated, having originally been set up after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
