An Iranian missile strike hit a hospital in Israel on Thursday, in what officials described as a serious escalation in the cross-border conflict between the two countries. The missile struck the Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba, causing extensive damage but avoiding mass casualties.
The strike marked the first direct hit on a hospital since Iran began launching missiles at Israel last week, following Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and the assassination of senior commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Iranian state-affiliated Fars news agency, the IRGC claimed it was targeting military facilities adjacent to the hospital.
Video footage from the scene showed shattered windows, collapsed ceiling panels, and fire-damaged corridors. Israel’s fire and rescue service shared images of debris-filled hospital wings, while hospital director Shlomi Codish confirmed the missile struck the older surgical wing. Fortunately, that section had been evacuated days earlier.
“All patients and medical staff were in protected areas when the missile struck,” Codish said. The hospital’s emergency department treated several individuals with mild injuries.
Beyond Beersheba, Iran’s missile barrage also hit areas near Tel Aviv. In Ramat Gan, over 30 people sustained minor injuries, while in Holon, 18 were wounded, including three seriously, according to Magen David Adom spokesperson Zaki Heller.
The Iranian missile strike hit a hospital in Israel just as concerns were growing over the war’s impact on civilian infrastructure. While most Iranian projectiles have been intercepted by Israeli air defence systems, Thursday’s strike shows that some still penetrate those defences.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant condemned the attack, accusing Iran of committing “war crimes.” Under international law, medical facilities are protected spaces and may not be targeted except in narrowly defined circumstances. Israel, which has faced similar accusations over its operations in Gaza, now finds itself citing those same legal protections.
According to official government figures, at least 24 people in Israel and 224 in Iran have been killed since the escalation began—many of them civilians or non-combatant personnel.
Also read: Middle East on edge as Israel–Iran conflict escalates
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