‘These are war crimes of the most serious kind, and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Iranian leader Ali Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” after an Iranian missile struck a hospital in Be’er Sheva, southern Israel.
Israeli media carried footage of broken windows and thick black smoke coming from the top floor of a building at the Soroka Hospital.
The hospital said in a statement that several parts of the medical center were damaged and several people with minor injuries were being treated.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service said in a statement posted on social media platform X, “Following missile strikes across Israel, 3 seriously injured, 2 moderately injured, 42 with shrapnel/blast injuries, and 18 hurt on route to shelters.”
MDA said teams are continuing to search affected areas.
The missile attacks came on the seventh day of the conflict between Israel and Iran, and followed a warning on Wednesday by Khamenei that “any form of U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm.”
On Thursday, Israeli media and news agency AFP said Katz told reporters in Holon, near Tel Aviv, “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. … A dictator like Khamenei, who heads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his mission, cannot continue to exist.”
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on June 18 that he was still deliberating whether to commit the U.S. military to the conflict.
“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” Trump said.
Earlier, Katz said on X, “These are war crimes of the most serious kind, and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes.”
Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase the intensity of attacks against “government targets in Tehran.”
The BBC reported that Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency claimed the attack was aimed at an IDF “command and intelligence headquarters” and an army intelligence camp in the Gav-Yam Technology Park, close to the hospital.
