Tel Aviv: Israel and Iran continued to target each other's prominent cities. In the latest strikes by Iran, an Iranian ballistic missile struck the largest hospital in Southern Israel on Thursday. Extensive damage has been caused to the Soroka Hospital. Several people are reportedly injured in the strike.
Notably, the Soroka Medical Centre is the biggest hospital in Israel's southern region. Several videos of an envelope of smoke engulfing the area after the Iranian strike surfaced online. Many people are feared trapped under the debris of the damaged building.
A spokesperson for the Soroka Medical Centre in Beer Sheba said the hospital suffered "extensive damage" in different areas and people had been wounded in the attack, reported The Associated Press.
So far, there are no reports of any casualties in the missile attack on the hospital. The Soroka Hospital has over 1,000 beds and provides services to the approximately 1 million residents of Israel's south, according to the hospital's website.
Emergency services have reached the spot.
The Israeli hospital was hit after Israel struck Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, Iranian state television said Thursday. The report said there was "no radiation danger whatsoever." The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometres southwest of Tehran.
Last week, Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' against Iran targeting its nuclear sites. In reataliation, Iran also launched missile atatcks on Israel, hitting its major cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Notably, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
