Beersheba/Tehran: In a sharp escalation of hostilities, Iran launched a missile strike on Thursday that directly hit Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, southern Israel’s largest hospital. The attack caused extensive damage to several parts of the facility and left multiple individuals injured, according to hospital authorities.
The Soroka Medical Center, which serves nearly a million residents in southern Israel, has now urged citizens to avoid the hospital unless in critical need, as emergency services work to assess and repair damage under continuing security threats.
The Iranian strike came shortly after Israeli forces reportedly launched an assault on Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, an incident confirmed by Iranian state media. The reactor, located near the town of Khondab, was evacuated following the attack. Iranian authorities claimed that no radiation leaks occurred and that no civilian infrastructure was affected.
Israel had earlier publicly warned it would target the reactor and advised local evacuations. The Israeli military later confirmed a series of coordinated strikes across Tehran and other key regions in Iran but withheld operational specifics.
In retaliation, Iran fired another barrage of missiles at Israel later in the day, prompting the Israeli Home Front Command to issue urgent shelter alerts across several regions. Sirens wailed in cities including Tel Aviv, Ashdod, and Jerusalem as tensions escalated to dangerous new levels.
This latest exchange marks one of the most intense direct confrontations between Iran and Israel to date, sparking global concerns of a wider regional conflict that could draw in multiple nations and destabilise the Middle East. International leaders have called for restraint, while emergency diplomatic efforts are reportedly underway behind the scenes.
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