Israel attacks Arak nuclear reactor as Iran strikes hospital
A new wave of Iranian missiles has struck multiple sites across Israel, damaging a hospital, and Israel has attacked Iran's Arak heavy water nuclear reactor as the two countries trade fire for a seventh consecutive day.
Rescue operations were under way on Thursday after an Iranian missile hit the Soroka Medical Center in the city of Beersheba in southern Israel. Iran said it was targeting a military site in the attack.
Reports said the Iranian projectiles made impact in at least six other locations, including in Tel Aviv and two of its districts – Holon and Ramat Gan. Emergency crews said at least 50 people were injured, including four who were in critical condition.
The Israeli army said its fighter jets struck dozens of sites in Iran, including the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor.
The partially built reactor was originally called Arak and is now named Khondab.
The military said it specifically targeted 'the structure of the reactor's core seal, which is a key component in plutonium production'.
Iranian media reported air defences were activated in the area of the Khondab nuclear facility and two projectiles hit an area close to it.
Officials told Iranian state TV that evacuations were made before the strikes and no risk of radiation or casualties was detected. There was no mention of any damage.
The attacks were carried out as the two countries traded fire for a seventh day after Israel launched a major attack on Friday on Iranian military facilities and nuclear sites, killing senior military officials and top nuclear scientists.
Iran responded to that attack with air strikes on Israel, and the conflict has since widened to include civilian targets, including residential areas and oil and gas facilities.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel although most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defences.
The Soroka Medical Center, which has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to about 1 million residents of southern Israel, said in a statement there was 'extensive damage' in several areas of the hospital and the emergency room was treating several minor injuries. The hospital was closed to all new patients except for life-threatening cases.
Many hospitals in Israel have activated emergency plans in the past week, converting underground parking to hospital floors and moving patients underground, especially those who are on ventilators or are difficult to move quickly.
'This is a war crime committed by the Iranian regime,' Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso was quoted as saying by Israeli Army Radio in reference to the attack on Soroka. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Iranian leaders they would pay 'a heavy price' for the attack.
The Iranian news agency IRNA said the 'main target' of the Beersheba attack 'was the large [Israeli army] Command and Intelligence (IDF C4I) headquarters and the military intelligence camp in the Gav-Yam Technology Park'. The facility is next to the Soroka Medical Center, it said, claiming the health facility suffered only minor damage from the shockwave resulting from the missile strike.
Tight military censorship in Israel means information about sites such as military and intelligence facilities are not released to the public. According to Israeli media reports, a building next to the hospital described as 'sensitive' sustained heavy damage.
Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, told Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities were focusing on the hospital attack and trying to send a 'message that the Iranians target hospitals'.
'Of course, Israelis target hospitals as well. It's important to mention that there really are very sensitive installations and headquarters very near to the hospital because Israel places its military headquarters in the midst of civilian neighbourhoods and towns,' he added, speaking from Tel Aviv.
Iranian state TV, meanwhile, reported the attack on the Arak site, saying there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever'. An Iranian state television reporter, speaking live in the nearby town of Khondab, said the facility had been evacuated and there was no damage to civilian areas around the reactor.
Israel had warned earlier on Thursday morning that it would attack the facility and urged the public to leave. The Israeli military said its latest round of air strikes also targeted Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating.
The strikes came a day after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected United States calls for a surrender and warned that any US military involvement in the conflict would cause 'irreparable damage to them'.
A Washington, DC-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran in the past week of air strikes and more than 1,300 have been wounded. Iran has fired about 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel, killing at least 24 people and wounding hundreds.
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