Tehran-Tel Aviv Tensions Boil Over as Missiles Hit Hospital Amid Nuclear Reactor Strike
The Israel-Iran conflict has sharply escalated following a major missile exchange, with the latest salvo involving a direct Iranian ballistic missile strike on Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba&mdash;Israel&rsquo;s largest hospital&mdash;leaving a trail of destruction and severely wounding multiple civilians and medical staff.
This act came in response to Israel's audacious strike on Iran's <a title="Iran" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/israel-hits-arak-reactor-iran-strikes-back-hard/14242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arak nuclear</a> reactor earlier this week, which marked a significant crossing of red lines in an already volatile region. The Arak facility has long been considered one of the more sensitive elements of Iran&rsquo;s nuclear infrastructure.
<a title="Israel" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/netanyahu-world-backs-israel-s-war-efforts/14234" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israeli</a> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Iranian strike in no uncertain terms, calling it an assault by &ldquo;terrorist tyrants in Tehran&rdquo;. In a public statement, he warned, &ldquo;We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran,&rdquo; making clear that a broader Israeli response was already underway.
Defence Minister Israel Katz went further, issuing an unprecedented threat to Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader. &ldquo;Khamenei will pay for his crimes,&rdquo; Katz declared, adding that Israel would now begin targeting a new tier of strategic assets inside Iran &ldquo;to remove the threats hanging over the State of Israel and to shake the ayatollah's regime.&rdquo;
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Iranian officials, for their part, have denied that Soroka was the intended target. While they acknowledge launching a coordinated missile barrage&mdash;estimated at 30 ballistic missiles&mdash;they insist the objective was to neutralise Israel&rsquo;s adjacent military infrastructure.
Soroka Hospital lies nestled between two critical Israeli Defence Forces installations within the Gav-Yam Technology Park: the IDF&rsquo;s primary cyber intelligence command centre and a central C4ISR facility&mdash;core components of Israel's digital military architecture.
Tehran contends that while the hospital was not a primary target, its proximity to these high-value military assets rendered the area a legitimate target. Iranian sources further allege that the hospital basement was being used to stabilise wounded Israeli soldiers evacuated from combat zones in Gaza, a claim Israel vehemently denies.
The Iranian strike caused significant damage to the hospital&rsquo;s older surgical building. Emergency services at Soroka are now restricted to life-threatening cases, while military engineering units from the Home Front Command carry out structural evaluations across the campus.
Outrage has swept across Israeli society and its political establishment. Zion Hagay, Chairman of the Israel Medical Association, labelled the incident a flagrant war crime, declaring:
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&ldquo;The eyes of the world should be turned this morning to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba to understand what a war crime really looks like.&rdquo;
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Hagay further contrasted Israel&rsquo;s own targeting protocols with Iran&rsquo;s alleged recklessness:
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&ldquo;While Israel targets security objectives, the Iranians deliberately shoot at population centres to harm as many civilians as possible.&rdquo;
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In a stark warning, Katz accused Ayatollah Khamenei of directing intentional attacks on civilians:
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&ldquo;The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of a fortified bunker and fires aimed shots at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel. These are war crimes of the most serious kind&mdash;and Khamenei will be held accountable.&rdquo;
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The Israeli government has authorised the IDF to escalate its operations, signalling a potential shift towards direct strikes on Tehran and symbolic government institutions. The rhetoric is now unambiguously personal&mdash;Israel appears willing to consider decapitation strikes.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah, Iran&rsquo;s most powerful regional ally, issued a fierce rebuke to Israel and the United States over the threats against Khamenei.
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&ldquo;Threats to assassinate [Khamenei] are foolish and reckless, and will have disastrous consequences,&rdquo; read their official statement. &ldquo;Today, we are more determined and united around him.&rdquo;
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Despite its support for Tehran, Hezbollah has not entered the fray since Israel&rsquo;s initial strike inside Iran. The Lebanese-based group has signalled restraint, reportedly informing Beirut that it does not plan to escalate&mdash;at least for now.
As the war enters its second week, the scale of escalation suggests that both sides have crossed psychological thresholds that could alter the strategic map of the Middle East. What began as a covert conflict is now teetering on the brink of open regional war.
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June 19, 2025 | 19:09 IST