Israel-Iran conflict escalates: Hospital bombed, nuclear sites hit, and war rhetoric intensifies

Israel declares Khamenei a target; Iran launches barrage on Israeli cities; US weighs intervention

The Israel-Iran military conflict reached a dangerous new phase on Thursday as Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant Katz declared the “elimination” of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a national war objective — a rare direct threat aimed at the top of the Iranian regime.

The announcement came as both countries exchanged heavy fire. Israeli warplanes struck Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor — a critical component of its nuclear infrastructure — just hours after issuing evacuation warnings in surrounding areas.

In retaliation, Iran launched a wave of missile attacks, with one projectile hitting the Soroka Medical Center, the largest hospital in southern Israel, causing what officials described as “extensive damage.” At least 47 people have been reported injured in Iran’s latest strikes, according to rescuers.

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the targeting of healthcare facilities as “appalling,” noting that 250 patients were evacuated from Soroka, which remains only partially functional.

Iran has also reported that an Israeli airstrike earlier this week killed three Red Crescent medics in Tehran and damaged a hospital in Kermanshah.

As the fighting escalates, the United States is reportedly preparing for possible military strikes against Iran, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials. President Donald Trump, asked about American involvement, said on Wednesday:
“I may do it, I may not do it… Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Europe, in contrast, is pushing for diplomacy. Some high-ranking European diplomats will hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday, reported Associated Press citing an European official familiar with the matter, however, there were no plans yet of the United States joining these talks.

The Iranian foreign minister will be travelling to Geneva to meet with his British, French and German counterparts on Friday in the hope that they can exert pressure on US President Donald Trump to rein in Israel’s attacks his country, Foad Izadi, a professor of international relations at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera.

An offer of mediation between Iran and Israel has also come from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, North Korea has thrown its weight behind Iran, accusing Israel of “escalating tensions and bringing the Middle East to the brink of all-out war.” In another sign of rising global alarm, Bulgaria has shut down its embassy in Tehran, evacuating diplomats and their families to neighboring Azerbaijan, citing security concerns.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a new round of missile and drone attacks on Haifa and Tel Aviv was underway. “More than 100 types of combat and suicide drones have been launched,” state media reported.

(With inputs from Agencies)

MT