Jun 19, 2025
Heavy damage, injuries as Iranian missile hits Beersheba hospital; dozens hurt in central cities.
Some 30 missiles fired in early-morning barrage, warhead causes extensive damage to Soroka, the main hospital in southern Israel; 6 people seriously injured in Ramat Gan and Holon.
Iran fired a barrage of some 30 ballistic missiles early Thursday, scoring a direct hit on Israel’s main southern hospital, the Soroka Medical Center, and two other impacts in the central cities of Holon and Ramat Gan that wounded dozens of people, including six in serious condition.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said that a man, 80, and two women, both in their 70s, were among six people seriously hurt. Two people were moderately injured, and at least 42 others suffered light injuries from shock waves and shrapnel at the various impact sites. In addition, 18 people were lightly injured as they scrambled to bomb shelters when sirens went off.
The barrage was the latest from Iran as it bombards Israel with ballistic missiles. Israel began attacking Iranian nuclear and military sites last week, citing the immediate existential threat they pose.
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Iran fired a barrage of some 30 ballistic missiles early Thursday, scoring a direct hit on Israel’s main southern hospital, the Soroka Medical Center, and two other impacts in the central cities of Holon and Ramat Gan that wounded dozens of people, including six in serious condition.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said that a man, 80, and two women, both in their 70s, were among six people seriously hurt. Two people were moderately injured, and at least 42 others suffered light injuries from shock waves and shrapnel at the various impact sites. In addition, 18 people were lightly injured as they scrambled to bomb shelters when sirens went off.
The barrage was the latest from Iran as it bombards Israel with ballistic missiles. Israel began attacking Iranian nuclear and military sites last week, citing the immediate existential threat they pose.
Soroka Medical Center is the main hospital in Israel’s south. The hospital’s director general Prof. Shlomi Kodesh told the media, “A missile hit the old surgical ward building at Soroka. It’s a relatively old building that had been evacuated in recent days.” He added, “There is widespread damage to other buildings at the hospital. All patients and all staff were in shelters. The several injured we have are lightly hurt, mostly from the blast shockwave.”
Eli Bin, head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service, said a floor at Soroka that was hit had been evacuated of patients only the day before amid the war. “Many lives were saved,” Bin said. There are no Israeli military facilities in the vicinity of Soroka Hospital. The IDF’s Southern Command base is located over two kilometers away, and there is an under-construction army base just over a kilometer away.
The hospital has over 1,000 beds and provides services to the approximately 1 million residents of Israel’s south, according to the hospital’s website.
Following the strike, the hospital was closed to all new patients except for life-threatening cases.
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SOURCE: Times of Israel