Israel Condemns Iran's Alleged Targeting of Hospital
Footage circulating online shows significant structural damage, though the hospital's director confirmed that all staff and patients were safe in fortified shelters, resulting in no serious injuries.
The strike came hours after Israel launched fresh airstrikes on Iran — which the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) claimed were aimed at nuclear facilities — continuing to frame their aggression as 'retaliatory.'
In contrast, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its missile barrage was a precise attack on military infrastructure, not civilian targets. Iranian sources emphasized that any damage to the hospital was caused by shockwaves and denied that civilian infrastructure was deliberately targeted.
Human shields and war crimes
Iranian outlets also noted that Soroka Hospital sits between two key Israeli military installations — the IOF's main intelligence headquarters and a central command facility located in the Gav-Yam Technology Park. These sites reportedly serve as hubs for Israeli cyberwarfare and digital command systems.
The proximity of a hospital to such critical military infrastructure raises serious questions about Israel's long-standing practice of embedding civilian sites around military assets — a tactic it routinely accuses others of using.
While Iranian officials reiterated the strike's military intent, Israel and its allies rushed to denounce the hospital damage as a war crime — a stunning display of hypocrisy from a state that has spent the past 20 months systematically bombing hospitals across Gaza.
Israel has raided medical facilities, kidnapped doctors, and imposed a blockade that denies even basic medical supplies. Palestinian surgeons have been forced to operate without anesthesia, amputating limbs with rudimentary tools under siege. And yet, it is only now — when an Israeli hospital sustains damage — that Israeli leaders rediscover the language of international law.
Israel's moral posturing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Gaza, quickly took to X to vow revenge:
'This morning, Iran's 'terrorist tyrants' launched missiles at Soroka hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in central Israel,' he wrote. 'Israel will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.'
Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel echoed Netanyahu, claiming:
'Iran just hit Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva with a ballistic missile. Not a military base. A hospital. Deliberate. Criminal. Civilian target.'
Haskel has consistently defended Israel's genocide in Gaza and dismissed international condemnations as 'blood libel.' She also baselessly accused 10,000 UNRWA staff of being Hamas members — a falsehood that helped justify the defunding of a vital lifeline for besieged Palestinians.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said that the IOF has been instructed to escalate operations, warning of intensified strikes on what he called 'strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran.'
Katz, continuing the state's hypocritical messaging, accused Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of committing war crimes:
'These are war crimes of the most serious kind – and Khamenei will be held accountable.'
This comes from the same minister who personally oversaw the complete humanitarian blockade on Gaza, manufacturing starvation for over two million people.
Katz later issued a direct threat to Khamenei:
'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 exist.'
A tale of two narratives
While Iran has denied deliberately targeting the hospital, many observers have pointed out that — even if it had —the strike would be considered 'legitimate' by Israel's own warped logic. Israel routinely labeled every hospital in Gaza a Hamas 'command center' and used that claim to justify repeated attacks on Gaza's medical infrastructure, despite never providing credible evidence.
In fact, as Israel prepared for potential Iranian strikes, hospitals across the country activated emergency protocols and moved patients to underground shelters. Footage circulating online appears to show armed Israeli soldiers taking cover alongside medical staff in hospital basements—exposing Israel's own use of the very tactics it falsely accuses others of employing.
International media swiftly echoed Israel's narrative, reporting on the strike as a hospital attack by Iran — a level of outrage and clarity that has been consistently absent in coverage of Israel's relentless bombing of Gaza's hospitals. When Palestinian hospitals are attacked , the language softens: murders become 'deaths,' baseless Israeli accusations are parroted without evidence, and Israel itself is often omitted as the perpetrator.
Also missing from headlines are Israel's recent attacks on Iranian hospitals. In recent days, Israeli airstrikes targeted two civilian hospitals in Tehran and Kermanshah — a flagrant act that has drawn little international condemnation and even fewer headlines.
According to the Iran-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Israel's strikes have killed at least 639 people and injured 1,329. Meanwhile, reporting from Jordan due to being banned from Israel and the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera said six Israelis are in critical condition following Iran's attacks on Thursday.
The Israeli death toll remains officially at 24 — a figure shrouded in media ambiguity, as Israel appears to both conceal the scale of its own losses and exaggerate civilian targeting to amplify its victim narrative.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Morocco World
31 minutes ago
- Morocco World
Liam Fox Celebrates UK-Morocco Strong Relations, Calls for Deeper Cooperation
Rabat – Liam Fox, Former UK defense and international trade secretary, has commended the upward trend in cooperation between Morocco and the UK. In an opinion to the National, Fox emphasized the importance of the UK's newfound position, welcoming the decision of his country to endorse Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the most credible, viable, and pragmatic basis for resolving the Western Sahara dispute. The UK made its decision on June 1, during Foreign Secretary David Lammy's visit to Rabat. In a joint statement, the UK declares that 'it is ready, willing, and determined to provide active support and engagement with the Personal Envoy and with the parties involved,' noting that it shares Morocco's view on the urgent need for a resolution for the longstanding dispute. In his opinion published today, Fox said that the UK's decision brings his country into line 'with allies such as the United States, France, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the UAE, who recognize Morocco to be a trusted and dependable ally and a lynchpin for regional security in the Sahel.' Emphasizing Morocco's assets as a strong and oldest ally to the UK, the UK politician emphasized how the Moroccan autonomy initiative represents the 'only credible and pragmatic solution to the issue.' In his opinion, Fox recalled the opportunities his country could seize through a strong partnership with Morocco, including the Dakhla Atlantic Port. 'The UK has an opportunity to make the most of the new trade and economic opportunities underpinned by the security outlined in the Autonomy Plan,' he said, adding that a strong partnership between the two countries comes at a critical moment, citing instability in the region. 'The risks of instability in the region are not limited to migration, a lack of investment, and terrorism, but as the world is looking towards the Middle East, another Iranian proxy has been allowed to strengthen in West Africa,' he wrote. Fox has been among the international experts and politicians who have been urging the international community to stand against the terror threats posed by the Polisario separatist group. Earlier this year, Fox described Polisario as an 'Iranian proxy organization', urging Western governments to move quickly to designate it as a terrorist group. Many politicians, including US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, joined the international campaign urging their countries to label the separatist group as a terrorist organization. In April, the congressman said he would introduce legislation to that effect, and later officially submitted the bill to US Congress ini June. Fox recalled his earlier appeal during the new opinion, noting how the Polisario Front has links to Iran and other terrorist organizations that should 'worry those committed to stability.' 'The Polisario has pursued a state of disorder, instability, and chaos which aligns with the Russian, Iranian, and Chinese approach to the Sahel,' he said. The former UK secretary also mentioned the Polisario's attacks on civilian infrastructure in Es-Semara, which marked a series of similar terrorist acts from the separatist group to undermine Morocco's security. Tags: algeria ad polisarioAlgeria and the Western Sahara
Morocco World
4 hours ago
- Morocco World
Gaza Death Toll Tops 58,000 as Ceasefire Talks Stall
Rabat – The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of people Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed since the war began in October 2023 has surpassed 58,026, as ceasefire talks remain deadlocked. At least 138,500 people have been injured. The devastating war on Gaza has pushed over two million people in Gaza to the brink of famine. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported on Sunday that a seven-month-old baby girl named Salam died from malnutrition. Gaza authorities say 67 children have already died of hunger. UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, said 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in June, with more than 1,000 in severe condition. 'Children's bodies are wasting away. This is not just a nutrition crisis. It's a child survival emergency,' UNICEF said. Eight UN agencies, including UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization, warned that their operations in Gaza could stop completely due to a lack of fuel. Without fuel, hospitals, ambulances, and clean water systems cannot function. Gaza's Government Media Office accused Israel and its allies of targeting civilians at aid distribution points. It called US-backed humanitarian aid areas 'death traps' and accused Israel of carrying out 'genocide engineering' with US support – a concern that has been echoed by international humanitarian agencies. Since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in May, at least 805 people have been killed and 5,250 wounded while trying to collect aid, according to Palestinian officials. Meanwhile, ceasefire talks are still underway in Doha, Qatar. US President Donald Trump said he hopes a deal will be reached soon. His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in talks with Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup Final in the US. However, a US-backed plan for a 60-day ceasefire remains stuck. Muhammad al-Hindi, a senior leader in Palestinian Islamic Jihad, told Al Jazeera that Israel is refusing to commit to key demands, including ending the war, withdrawing troops, and allowing safe delivery of aid. He said the talks cannot move forward until those conditions are met. 'We cannot legitimize these aid traps that are killing our people. The resistance will not sign any agreement that amounts to surrender,' he said.
Ya Biladi
a day ago
- Ya Biladi
Mauritania denies meeting between its President and Netanyahu
The Mauritanian government has officially denied reports of a meeting in Washington between President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to media outlets based in Nouakchott. «These claims [circulating in the American press, editor's note] are completely baseless», said Houssein Ould Meddou, Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication, and Relations with Parliament, and the government spokesperson. However, the Mauritanian authorities have not addressed ongoing speculation about the country potentially joining the Abraham Accords, launched in 2020 under former U.S. President Donald Trump. «Normalization between Nouakchott and Tel Aviv is underway. The two countries are simply waiting for the right moment to announce it», a Mauritanian source told Yabiladi. President Ould El Ghazouani took part on Wednesday in a summit at the White House, which brought together the United States and several West African nations, including Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal. On the sidelines of the event, the Mauritanian leader also met with Christopher Landau, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
