By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has threatened to assassinate Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after one or more Iranian ballistic missiles struck the hospital in Beersheba, the main city in Israel’s Negev desert.
He spoke as Israeli troops rushed to Beersheba’s hospital, Soroka Medical Center, to evacuate hundreds of patients, with at least 70 people injured at the site. In total, at least 240 people were wounded across Israel in Thursday’s strikes, including at the hospital, Israel’s Health Ministry said.
Katz said, “Khamenei will pay for his crimes. 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. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.”
It was not immediately clear whether the United States had given the green light for such a move after U.S. President Donald J. Trump urged Khamenei to surrender.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!),” Trump wrote this week on the Truth Social media platform, adding: “at least not for now.
However, Israeli Health Minister Uriel Busso made clear that the Iranian missile attack on the Soroka Medical Center marked “a significant event for the state” and a major escalation in the conflict.
DIFFERENT ATTACK
Busso quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned Tehran after the Soroka hit that “Israel will exact a heavy price from Iran, and they will pay for what they did.”
The health minister said Thursday’s attack stood out from previous intentional rocket fire by Iran toward populated areas.
Busso noted that the Iranian ballistic missile strike caused damage in several areas of the hospital.
There were also direct impacts from the missile barrage in various central Israeli cities, with at least 89 people being wounded from the impacts across the country, announced Israel’s leading rescue service, Magen David Adom (MDA).
“This is a terrorist act deliberately targeting a hospital; it’s a red line to attack hospitals that treat women, children, the elderly, and the helpless,” Busso told the Jerusalem Post newspaper’s website.
“A strike on a hospital that provides aid without distinction of religion is a red line. This is a significant event for the state,” Busso emphasized.
REDUCING ACTIVITY
He stressed that the hospital “may need to reduce activity—originally it’s a hospital with 1,000 beds, but since the attack, it’s down to 700 beds, and now we’re going to evacuate about another 200–250 patients. Some will be discharged, and others transferred to other centers.”
Tehran says its missile strikes are in response to Israel targeting sites in Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, and killings of key officials.
Israel says some 13 military officials, dozens more senior and medium-level officials, were killed while Iran’s entire anti-aircraft defense network of over 70 platforms was destroyed.
The Israeli government says the military action, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” is aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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