A hospital in southern Israel and two towns near Tel Aviv were struck after a barrage of Iranian missiles on Thursday morning, with rescuers reporting at least 47 people injured in the latest attacks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran would “pay a heavy price” after the strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba in southern Israel, while Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had been ordered to “intensify” strikes on Iran.
“This morning, Iran’s terrorist dictators fired missiles at Soroka Hospital… and at civilians in the centre of the country. We will make the tyrants in Tehran pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a post on X.
A spokesperson for the hospital reported “damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries. We ask the public not to come to the hospital at this time”.
AFP footage showed smoke billowing from the complex, which serves populations in southern Israel, but is also known to treat soldiers wounded in Gaza.