Iranian Missile Strikes Hospital in Southern Israel

‘These are war crimes of the most serious kind, and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

Smoke rises from a building at the Soroka hospital complex in Be'er Sheva, Israel, on June 19, 2025. Leo Correa/AP

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Iranian leader Ali Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” after an Iranian missile struck a hospital in Be'er Sheva, southern Israel. 

Israeli media carried footage of broken windows and thick black smoke coming from the top floor of a building at the Soroka Hospital.

The hospital said in a statement that several parts of the medical center were damaged and several people with minor injuries were being treated.

Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service said in a statement posted on social media platform X, “Following missile strikes across Israel, 3 seriously injured, 2 moderately injured, 42 with shrapnel/blast injuries, and 18 hurt on route to shelters.”

MDA said teams are continuing to search affected areas.

The missile attacks came on the seventh day of the conflict between Israel and Iran, and followed a warning on Wednesday by Khamenei that “any form of U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm.”

On Thursday, Israeli media and news agency AFP said Katz told reporters in Holon, near Tel Aviv, “Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed. He personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal. ... A dictator like Khamenei, who heads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his mission, cannot continue to exist.”

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on June 18 that he was still deliberating whether to commit the U.S. military to the conflict.

“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” Trump said.

Earlier, Katz said on X, “These are war crimes of the most serious kind, and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes.”

Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase the intensity of attacks against “government targets in Tehran.”

The BBC reported that Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency claimed the attack was aimed at an IDF “command and intelligence headquarters” and an army intelligence camp in the Gav-Yam Technology Park, close to the hospital.

Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital in a social media post.

“We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran,” he said on X.

The Soroka Medical Center has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to 1 million residents in southern Israel.

Haim Bublil, a local police commander, said a fire had broken out in a six-story building at the hospital after the missile strike. He said staff were moving patients to safer areas of the complex.

Israel carried out air strikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, a key element of its nuclear program, on Thursday.

On June 13, Israel began a series of air strikes on key targets in Iran, hours after the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution declaring Iran noncompliant and in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The massive air campaign—code-named “Operation Rising Lion”—has included attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and has also taken out several senior military officers.

On June 18, the IAEA’s director general, Rafael Grossi, told Sky News, “On the basis of our inspection, and on the basis of our own evaluation, we came to the conclusion that we could not affirm that there is any systematic effort in Iran at the moment to manufacture a nuclear weapon.”

He said the IAEA’s report found Iran is enriching 60 percent uranium, so “there were elements for concern but as to saying they are building and manufacturing a nuclear weapon, no, we didn’t say that.”

A woman is evacuated from the site of a direct hit from an Iranian missile strike in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 19, 2025. Oded Balilty/AP

Putin Believes in Diplomatic Solution

On Monday, the Kremlin said Russia is prepared to mediate between Israel and Iran and to deal with Tehran’s uranium.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that it’s “a delicate issue” but “in my view, a solution could be found.”

When asked what Russia’s reaction would be if Israel killed Khamenei, Putin said, “I don’t even want to discuss such a possibility.”

He said Russia had shared its proposals with Iran, Israel, and the United States.

“We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” Putin said.

On June 14, the council of the European Union said the bloc expressed “its deepest concern at the dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the Middle East following Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran’s response.”

Speaking at an event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Spanish MEP Antonio López-Istúriz White said, “Israel taking care of Hezbollah, taking care of Hamas, taking care of the nuclear program of Iran, it’s, for us, good.”

López-Istúriz White, from the conservative People’s Party, said: “After Israel, the next target is Europe for the regime. It has always been the case.”

He warned, “When the end might feel that it is appearing on the horizon, that is the most dangerous moment.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.