Iran launched around 20 ballistic missiles at Israel early Thursday, on the seventh day of conflict between the two countries.
One of the missiles struck Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, causing a direct hit, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a swift response.
“This morning, Iran’s ‘terrorist tyrants’ launched missiles at Soroka hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in central Israel,” Netanyahu said in a post on X, warning that Israel would "exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran."
The barrage appeared to be in direct retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
State-run Iranian news agency IRNA confirmed the strike, but said the primary targets were Israeli military centres near the hospital, specifically the IDF intelligence headquarters and army intelligence camp at the Gav-Yam Technology Park.
Officials from the hospital said several people were wounded in the attack and asked the public not to come in for treatment.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military issued a warning urging Iranian civilians to evacuate the area around the Arak heavy water reactor. The alert was shared on social media and included a satellite image of the facility marked with a red circle.
Iranian state-run television later confirmed that the area had been hit, but reported there was “no radiation danger whatsoever” and that the facility had already been evacuated before the attack.
Despite reports indicating further US involvement in the conflict, President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether to intervene militarily. Reports suggest he is weighing potential support for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that any US military involvement would cause “irreparable damage".
