Israel's defense minister openly threatened Iran's supreme leader on Thursday after a recent rocket attack from Iran damaged a major hospital in southern Israel and hit several other residential compounds near Tel Aviv.
At the same time, Israel attacked a heavy water reactor that is part of Iran's nuclear program.
According to the Israeli Health Ministry, at least 240 people were injured by Iranian missiles, four of whom were seriously injured.
Most of the victims suffered minor injuries, including more than 70 people from Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba, where smoke erupted while patients were being evacuated.
Following the attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, adding that the military “received instructions and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this person must not continue to exist.”
The White House said from Washington that US President Donald Trump would decide within two weeks whether to support Israel's campaign against Iran's military and nuclear programme, stressing that Mr Trump was still considering diplomatic intervention to meet Israeli and US demands regarding Iran's nuclear programme.
“Given that there is a significant possibility of negotiations with Iran that may or may not happen in the near future, I will make a decision within the next two weeks whether to go,” spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said, citing Mr. Trump’s words.
This week, American officials said Mr. Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to assassinate Mr. Khamenei. Mr. Trump later clarified that there were no plans to kill him “at least at this time.”
Israel attacked Iran's heavy water reactor at Arak in its latest operation against the country's vast nuclear programme on the seventh day of a conflict that began with a sudden wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military targets, senior officers and nuclear scientists.
The Washington-based human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, had been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in Iran.
In response, Iran fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and injuring hundreds.
Meanwhile, an Israeli military spokesman said that on Thursday
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
