Tensions between Iran and Israel have reached a dangerous new level, as both countries launched fresh missile attacks in an ongoing conflict that has lasted over a week.
Early Thursday morning, a missile from Iran hit near the Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, southern Israel. The hospital reported serious damage and several injuries. However, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, claimed the actual target was a nearby Israeli military intelligence centre, not the hospital.
“The military infrastructure was a precise and direct target,” IRNA said, adding that the hospital only suffered minor damage from the shockwave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, calling it a dangerous act of aggression. “We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran,” he warned.
In another wave of missile strikes, at least 47 people were wounded in separate attacks near Tel Aviv, where a high-rise building and several residential areas were also hit.
In response, Israel carried out airstrikes on key parts of Iran’s nuclear programme, including the Arak heavy water reactor, which Israeli officials say could be used to produce nuclear weapons material. Israel claimed its jets hit the reactor’s core seal to disable it.
Israel also said it struck another nuclear-related facility near Natanz, one of Iran’s most important atomic sites.
Iranian state television confirmed the attack on Arak but said there was no radiation risk from the site.
The latest exchange marks a sharp escalation in the crisis, which started after a surprise Israeli airstrike on Iranian military positions and nuclear scientists. Israel is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, though it has never officially confirmed this.
Analysts warn that if the conflict continues, it could spread further across the region, drawing in other countries and increasing instability in the Middle East.
