Iran strikes southern Israel's largest hospital, injuring dozens
Iran launched around 20 ballistic missiles at Israel early Thursday, on the seventh day of conflict between the two countries.
One of the missiles struck Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, causing a direct hit, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a swift response.
'This morning, Iran's 'terrorist tyrants' launched missiles at Soroka hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in central Israel,' Netanyahu said in a post on X, warning that Israel would "exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran."
The barrage appeared to be in direct retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
State-run Iranian news agency IRNA confirmed the strike, but said the primary targets were Israeli military centres near the hospital, specifically the IDF intelligence headquarters and army intelligence camp at the Gav-Yam Technology Park.
Officials from the hospital said several people were wounded in the attack and asked the public not to come in for treatment.
Meanwhile, Israel's military issued a warning urging Iranian civilians to evacuate the area around the Arak heavy water reactor. The alert was shared on social media and included a satellite image of the facility marked with a red circle.
Iranian state-run television later confirmed that the area had been hit, but reported there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever' and that the facility had already been evacuated before the attack.
Despite reports indicating further US involvement in the conflict, President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether to intervene militarily. Reports suggest he is weighing potential support for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that any US military involvement would cause 'irreparable damage".
It's day 6 of the OTP Bank World Judo Championships.
At -78kg, Germany's Anna Monta OLEK stepped onto the tatami with confidence. Already a Grand Slam winner and one of the most consistent young talents in the category. OLEK arrived in Budapest ready to challenge the world's best and prove that she belongs among them. Could this be her moment?
Facing her was Italy's Alice BELLANDI – the reigning Olympic Champion and one of the most dominant forces in the category. With her trademark intensity and experience on her side, BELLANDI was out to add the World title to her already impressive resume. Her sights were on gold.
In the final, everything was on the line. After an intense Golden Score it was Alice BELLANDI who came out with the World title after finding the opening she needed and sealing the victory with a decisive score. Reigning Olympic, and now World Champion. Undisputed and unstoppable, BELLANDI stands alone at the top.
Minister of the Prime-Minister's Office of Hungary Mr Gergely GULYÁS awarded the medals.
At -100kg, Matvey KANIKOVSKIY was in fantastic form, driving his way through the preliminaries and into the final. With confident judo, he controlled his contests and his intent was clear. He was headed for the biggest moment of his career.
Dota ARAI was the man who would contest the gold medal match. Throughout the day he showed grit and determination to power past his opponents!
In the final, it was Matvey KANIKOVSKIY who rose to the occasion. Scoring with a waza-ari and transitioning into osaekomi. Ippon – and with it, the red backpatch. A dominant finish to an outstanding day.
MET Group Chairman & CEO Mr Benjamin LAKATOS awarded the medals.
Join us tomorrow for the heavyweights!
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'I think the reason why the United States is insisting on saying, we've done it, we're finished, is that Trump does not want to be drawn into a longer war,' said Dorsey. Playing the long game Trump may be blindsided by the short term, but Iran has a history of playing the long game by adopting a cat-and-mouse strategy with the IAEA. In 2018, when Trump, under his first presidency, withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also called the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran waited for a year for Washington to come back to the deal before announcing its partial withdrawal in May 2019. Two years later, Tehran halted its implementation of the Additional Protocol stipulated in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which permitted the IAEA enhanced inspection rights – including snap inspections and continuous surveillance. 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They insist the US-Israeli strikes have 'obliterated' and 'decimated' Iran's nuclear capacity. While some Iranian officials admitted the country's nuclear facilities have been heavily damaged, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday insisted that Tehran's enemies 'did not achieve anything from this war. They attacked our nuclear facilities, but they were unable to do anything important.' Audibert is dismissive of the claims and counterclaims on both sides. 'We are in a posturing phase, which is not taking reality into account,' he noted. 'What Khamenei said has no link with reality. He said it's a big victory [for Iran], that Israel almost collapsed, and that Iran slapped the United States in the face. This doesn't make sense. On the other hand, the US defence secretary is trying to explain to everybody that it has been a full success. I'm not putting the two on the same level, but it's the same posturing phase.' Providing a 'pretext' for Israel's 'unlawful attack' For the facts to be established, evidence must be gathered on the ground. While the war on Iran raged for 12 days, the IAEA deemed it impossible to assess the damage to nuclear sites and material on the ground since the UN agency 'lost visibility [on enriched uranium stocks] from the moment hostilities began", Grossi told French TV station France 2 on Wednesday. 'During a war, we cannot inspect, we cannot move. But as soon as hostilities stopped, and especially given the sensitivity surrounding this material, I believe it is in everyone's interest that we resume our activities as soon as possible,' said Grossi. The IAEA chief also slammed Iran's decision to suspend cooperation with the UN watchdog agency. 'Iran's cooperation with us is not a favour, it is a legal obligation as long as Iran remains a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty,' he noted. But Tehran is particularly piqued with the UN nuclear agency after the IAEA board passed a resolution on June 12 declaring that Iran was breaching its non-proliferation obligations. The next day, Israel launched its attacks on Iran. While Israel did not mention the IAEA resolution, US Vice President JD Vance cited the IAEA resolution to make a case for the military action against Iran. In the initial days of the war, Grossi took to the airwaves to repeatedly explain that the IAEA had not assessed that Tehran was building a nuclear weapon. But Grossi's clarifications failed to mollify Iranian authorities. 'This is too late, Mr. Grossi. You obscured this truth in your absolutely biased report,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Baqaei said in a post on X, excoriating the IAEA for providing a 'pretext' for Israel's 'unlawful attack on our peaceful nuclear facilities'. On Friday night, amid mounting pressure to establish the facts on the ground, Iran once again slammed Grossi, rejecting his request to visit its nuclear sites. "Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent," Araghchi said on X. "Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defence of its interests, its people and its sovereignty." Russia wants Iran-IAEA cooperation But apart from its fiery rhetoric, Iran has very little room for maneouvre in its dealings with the IAEA at the UN Security Council. In the event of non-cooperation, such as refusal of access, concealment of materials, or failure to provide justification for the presence of uranium, the IAEA has the right to refer the matter to the UN Security Council, which could result in sanctions, increased diplomatic pressure, or calls for the resumption of negotiations. On the nuclear issue, Iran is isolated at the top rung of the top UN body, with the five veto-holding permanent Security Council members keen to see Tehran back under inspections. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday spoke out against Iran suspending cooperation with the IAEA. "We are interested in continuing cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, so that everybody respects Iran's repeated statements that Iran does not have and will not have plans to develop a nuclear weapon," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. During the recent war, Iran's closest allies, Russia and China, provided rhetorical, but very little concrete support for Iran. Both Russia and China are nuclear powers and permanent UN Security Council members with little appetite to handle a nuclear armed Iran further destabilising the Middle East powder keg region. Withdrawing from the NPT risks further isolation since a UN Security Council resolution could see sanctions that add further burdens to Iran's long-suffering population. 'Suspending inspections is a violation [of the NPT],' said Dorsey. 'This is not a free membership, you sign up to obligations and those obligations include the degree of enrichment and they include inspections.' While some members of the international community may understand Iran's position in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Israeli and US strikes, there will be pressure on Iran to fall in line with its nuclear commitments. 'If Iran does not comply, it's going to be interpreted as retaining the freedom to develop a weapon,' said Dorsey. 'Iran is a country that has been sanctioned for much of the existence of the Islamic Republic since 1979. Let's be clear about it, in that sense, Iran is its own worst enemy.'
