Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz blamed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for Thursday’s barrage and said the military “has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.”
While it remained unclear whether US President Donald Trump would task American forces to join Israel’s sweeping campaign against Iran’s military and nuclear programme, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would “do what’s best for America.”
“I can tell you that they’re already helping a lot,” Netanyahu said from the rubble and shattered glass around the Soroka Medical Centre in Israel’s southern city of Beersheba.
US officials said earlier this week that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”
The US has been weighing whether to join Israel’s attack by striking Iran’s well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs.
The conflict began last Friday with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists. At least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
Iran has retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles and drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.
More than 200 wounded, including dozens in the hospital strike
At least 240 people were wounded by the latest Iranian attack on Israel, among them 80 wounded in the strike on the Soroka Medical Centre. The vast majority were lightly wounded, as much of the hospital building had been evacuated in recent days.
(With inputs from PTI)
