Iranian missile hits Israeli hospital as Trump plays coy over potential US bombing of nuclear sites
Beersheba, Israel - A hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack on Thursday as Tehran continued to hit back hard in the escalating war between the two countries.
The Soroka Hospital in the southern town of Beersheba was left in flames following an early morning barrage of "dozens" of Iranian ballistic missiles, with impacts also reported in two Israeli towns close to coastal hub Tel Aviv.
Speaking at the scene of the hospital, director Shlomi Kodesh said that a surgical building which had been evacuated in the past few days was hit, adding that 40 people had sustained injuries.
"Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital with damage to buildings, structures, windows, ceilings across the medical center," he told journalists.
Iran said it was targeting an Israeli military and intelligence base adjacent to the health facility.
The latest escalation came on the seventh day of deadly exchanges between the two countries, with President Donald Trump maintaining suspense about whether Washington will enter the war alongside Israel.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Trump's demand for an "unconditional surrender", despite claims from the US leader that "Iran's got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate" – which Tehran also categorically denied.
Trump has left his intentions on joining the conflict deliberately ambiguous, saying Wednesday: "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do."
"The next week is going to be very big," he added, without further details.
Trump yet to make "final decision" on US involvement
Any US involvement would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordow, for which special bunker-busting bombs have been developed.
The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday.
"I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final (decision)," Trump said. "I like to make the final decision one second before it's due, because things change. Especially with war."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear program, which even US intelligence does not consider to be aimed at developing weapons.
The Republican had initially seemed to favor a diplomatic route, seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term.
But since Israel unleashed its unprovoked assault last week, Trump has poured fuel on the flames with increasingly violent threats, egged on by members of his administration who have long angled for an all-out war with Iran.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS