Iranian strike targeted Israeli military site near hospital: IRNA

The main target of Thursday morning’s missile strike was a military site next to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, not the hospital itself, Iranian state media says.

According to the IRNA news agency, the attack was aimed at an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) “command and intelligence (IDF C4i) headquarters” and an army intelligence camp in the Gav-Yam Technology Park.

“The hospital was only exposed to the blast wave and did not suffer serious damage, but the military infrastructure was a precise and direct target,” the report adds.

The Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies park’s website says it is “adjacent to the Ben Gurion University campus and the IDF C4i Branch campus”. Israeli media has also previously reported that an IDF campus is being built on this site.

Iranian missiles caused serious damage at four sites in central and southern Israel, including at the Soroka hospital, while Israeli forces are reported to have attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor.

Soroka Hospital has been extensively damaged, a spokesperson says, while Israel's emergency service says at least 65 people have been injured across the country.