At least 271 people were injured in the latest Iranian missile attack on Israel on Thursday morning, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced. Four of the injured are in serious condition, the Ministry added.
According to Israeli media, around 20–30 Iranian missiles targeted central Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon, as well as Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Be’er Sheva.
Iranian media claims that the missiles targeted the headquarters of the Israeli army and intelligence service near Soroka Hospital and that there are injuries at the hospital in the new wave of attacks.
The Israeli army stated it targeted the Arak nuclear reactor southwest of Tehran and a nuclear weapons development site in Natanz, southeast of the capital.
Iran denies targeting Soroka hospital in southern Israel
Iran on Thursday denied Israeli accusations of a deliberate attack on Soroka Hospital in southern Israel.
“Our powerful armed forces precisely eliminated the headquarters of the Israeli military command, control, and intelligence service and another important target,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a statement on the social media platform X.
He said the shockwave caused superficial damage to a small part of the nearby military hospital and that the Soroka military hospital was mostly evacuated.
“The facility is mainly used to treat Israeli soldiers involved in the genocide in Gaza, 40 kilometers away, where Israel has destroyed or damaged 94% of Palestinian hospitals,” he added.
Trump distances himself from reports he approved plans to attack Iran
United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump on Thursday angrily distanced himself from a report suggesting he had already approved plans for an attack in which the U.S. would join Israeli strikes on Iran.
“The Wall Street Journal has no idea what I think about Iran!” Trump stated on the social network Truth Social.
He did not specify exactly which reports he was responding to with his post, but it was reported on Wednesday that the U.S. president told senior officials he had approved plans to attack Iran but had not yet given the final order to carry them out.
Trump is waiting to see whether Iran will abandon its nuclear program, media reported. It is reported that the uranium enrichment facility in Fordow, buried deep under a mountain, is a potential target, but that attacking it would require the most powerful weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump told reporters he had not yet decided whether to authorize the military to join Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran.
“I don’t want to fight either. I’m not looking to fight. But if it’s a choice between fighting and them having nuclear weapons, you have to do what you have to do, and maybe we won’t have to fight,” he said in the Oval Office.
“I have ideas about what to do. I like to make the final decision the second before it’s time,” he added.
Trump said next week would be very important as he considers his decision, stating that it could take even less time.
Furthermore, it was reported that Trump hopes his threats to join Israel’s campaign will force Iran to give up its nuclear program.
Iran showers Israeli military targets with missiles and drones
Iranian armed forces yesterday conducted the fourteenth phase of the operation “True Promise III,” launching a barrage of strategic missiles and suicide drones at Israeli territory.
New-generation missiles and drones managed to breach Israel’s multilayered air defense systems and hit targets in Tel Aviv, Iranian media reported.
According to some reports, at least 50 ballistic missiles, including ones used for the first time in the operation “True Promise III,” were observed in the sky over Israel.
Moreover, many buildings belonging to the Israeli regime, including its military and intelligence services, were targeted in the latest wave, proving the increasing inefficiency of the much-touted air defense.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the combination of missiles and drones primarily targeted the “key command and intelligence center of the Israeli army near one of the hospitals, resulting in a direct hit.”
Among the new-generation missiles used by the Iranian armed forces in the operation “True Promise III” were “Kheibar Shekan,” “Fateh,” and “Sejjil.”
Putin and Xi discussed and criticized Israeli strikes in Iran as violations of the United Nations (UN) Charter
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday about the situation in the Middle East, sharply condemning Israeli actions as violations of the UN Charter, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov told reporters that during the phone call, both leaders shared “identical approaches” to the regional conflict and believe the crisis cannot be resolved through military action.
“Russia and China fully agree that the situation in the Middle East requires a political solution,” he said.
Israeli police ban media from filming attack sites
Israeli police have prevented foreign media, including the banned Al Jazeera, from filming locations of direct Iranian missile strikes, it was announced yesterday.
These measures were implemented in line with the policy of National Security Minister Ben-Gvir banning broadcasting, and under the supervision of Police Commissioner Daniel Levi, with the support of the Ministry of Communications.
Authorities have repeatedly warned against sharing information on missile interception and strike locations, as this could help Iran improve the accuracy of its attacks.
The Qatari television network Al Jazeera has been banned from operating in Israel and the West Bank since May 2024 under the pretext that it poses a security threat to Israel. Since then, the network has been reporting from Amman, the capital of Jordan.
Israel launches new wave of airstrikes on Iran
Israeli warplanes launched a new wave of airstrikes in western Iran on Thursday, the military announced.
The military statement said about 20 fighter jets took part in strikes on troops and missile infrastructure.
The military also stated that an Israeli drone struck trucks carrying ballistic missiles as they were allegedly arriving at their launch sites.
However, the statement did not provide details about the exact location of the attack.
Hostilities began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several locations across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities stated that since then, at least 24 people have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, and hundreds injured. In Iran, 585 people have been killed and more than 1.300 injured in Israeli attacks, according to reports from Iranian media.
