Iran had launched a heavy wave of missile at Israel overnight, and I still can’t shake the images of dust‑filled corridors at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. Early Thursday, Iranian forces fired around 30 ballistic missiles across southern and central Israel, and one slammed into the hospital complex, leaving parts of it in ruins and injuring many patients and staff theguardian.comreuters.com.
When I saw the first footage, I felt the weight of how quickly a place of healing can become a war zone. Soroka Hospital’s main buildings suffered extensive damage, with windows shattered and walls collapsed. According to a hospital spokesperson, rescue teams treated at least 65 wounded people from that strike and other impacts across Israel theguardian.comjns.org. I imagine the frantic scene: doctors guiding stretchers past rubble, and nurses rushing through smoke‑choked halls.
Iranian state media later insisted they aimed at a nearby military site, not the hospital itself reuters.com. Yet I heard from local officials that a section of the complex had been cleared out just a day earlier by health authorities. That evacuation may have saved lives, but it did not spare the building. I find it hard to accept such strikes on any targets so close to civilian zones, and I share the sorrow of families now seeking news of loved ones.
Within hours, Israel’s military announced it had struck back at nuclear facilities in Iran’s heartland. The Israeli Air Force targeted the Arak heavy water reactor and Natanz enrichment site, calling them critical to Tehran’s atomic ambitions reuters.com. I understand from international experts that while Arak has been inactive for some time, Natanz remains a hub for uranium enrichment. The message from Jerusalem was clear: attacks on Israeli civilians would not go unanswered.
Meanwhile, in Washington, I watched President Donald Trump’s carefully worded remarks on this crisis. Standing before reporters, he left his options open: “I may do it. I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said when asked about U.S. participation in strikes on Iran reuters.com. His uncertainty reflects doubts inside the administration about full‑scale involvement, even as Europe pushes for renewed nuclear talks with Iran.
On the other side, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned that any U.S. intervention would cause “irreparable damage” to the region and that Tehran would not bow to outside pressure reuters.com. Those threats underscore how fragile this moment has become. I worry that each side now risks an even deeper spiral of retaliation.
