The threat comes hours after Iranian missiles target Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba
TEL AVIV — Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has threatened to eliminate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Such a person is forbidden to exist,” Katz said in statements on Thursday carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, media reports said.
The minister also said Khamenei will be held accountable for the missile attack on Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba.
Katz’s threat came hours after some 20-30 Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s central cities, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon, as well as Soroka Hospital.
More than 80 Israelis were injured in the attack, according to Israeli authorities. Some other reports said injured Israeli soldiers were being treated in the Soroka Hospital.
According to the Iranian state news agency IRNA, Tehran claimed the main target of the missile attack that hit the hospital in southern Israel was the Jewish state’s military and intelligence base, not the health facility. Israeli rescuers reported at least 47 people were injured in the attack.
“The main target of the attack was the Israeli Army Command and Intelligence Base (IDF C4I) and the Army Intelligence Camp in Gav-Yam Technology Park, located in the vicinity of the Soroka Hospital,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA said.
Israeli officials said they would intensify strikes on “strategic targets” in Iran, while President Donald Trump has left open the possibility of the US military striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israeli Strikes on Gaza Hospitals
Since 2023, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s hospitals have inflicted devastating damage on the territory’s fragile healthcare infrastructure.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), between October 2023 and September 2024, there were nearly 500 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including medical workers, and leaving most hospitals partially or completely non-operational.
Major hospitals such as the European Hospital in Khan Yunis and Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City have been repeatedly targeted, with strikes causing extensive destruction to critical infrastructure like emergency rooms, water, and sewage systems.
Israel’s claims that these attacks targeted Hamas command centres and militants allegedly operating within or beneath medical facilities have been widely challenged and criticised by international observers and humanitarian groups for lack of evidence and the disproportionate harm caused to civilians. — With inputs from agencies
