Iran launched another missile strike at Israel early Thursday morning, with one of the ballistic missiles directly hitting Soroka Medical Center, the largest hospital in southern Israel, located in the city of Be’er Sheva.

The Iranian barrage included at least 25 missiles, all aimed at civilian population centers in central Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Soroka Hospital suffered extensive structural damage in the attack. “We heard the siren, ran into the stairwell, and then there was a huge explosion... the ceiling literally flew off,” one patient told i24 News. A hospital spokesperson confirmed “extensive damage” in multiple wings of the facility and said that several people had been injured. The outlet reported that a media outlet linked to the Iranian Revolutionay Guard said the missile strike in Soroka targeted a "medical building used by soldiers." 

The hospital has issued an urgent request for the public not to come in for treatment. A doctor at Soroka Medical Center told Kan News that the old surgical floor, which took a direct hit, was evacuated just yesterday. "It's a huge miracle, " he said.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported a suspected hazardous material leak on one of the floors at Soroka Hospital following the strike, prompting evacuation and removal operations by emergency teams.

According to Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, dozens were injured in the missile strikes. Among the wounded is an 80-year-old man in serious condition due to blast wounds and shrapnel. In Holon, three other individuals sustained serious injuries and nearly two dozen more suffered light wounds after a missile exploded in a residential area.

President Isaac Herzog wrote on social media after the strike, "A baby in intensive care and his caring mother at his bedside, a dedicated doctor going from patient to patient, an elderly woman in a nursing home - these were the targets of the Iranian missile attack on Israeli citizens this morning. Soroka Medical Center is one of the best hospitals in Israel. The dedicated hospital staff - both Jewish and Arab - work shoulder to shoulder in extraordinary harmony, united in the sacred mission: saving the lives of the residents of the Negev of all religions, beliefs and lifestyles - Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians alike."

He continued, "In these moments, we remember well the magnitude of the hour, what is at stake, and our values, the values of humanity and humanity, the values of civilization, which are under attack by a jihadist regime that seeks to destroy us."

The Iranian assault follows an Israeli airstrike on the partially constructed Arak heavy water nuclear reactor in central Iran, which Tehran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency was scheduled to go online next year. Iranian state television reported that the facility had been evacuated in advance and that “there is no radiation danger whatsoever.” Israel had warned earlier in the day that it would target the Arak site and urged civilians in the area to evacuate.

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump was asked if the US would be bombing Iran. “I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven’t made a final decision,” Trump said. “I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due… because things change, especially with war.” He added that his priority is preventing the terrorist regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.