The open conflict caused by the barrage of Israel’s sudden attacks on Israeli nuclear and military structures shows no signs of waning on the seventh day of hostilities between two longtime enemies that threaten to sneak into a wider, more dangerous regional war.
Iranian missiles attacked hospitals in southern Israel early Thursday, but others attacked apartments in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Central Israel, causing injuries to at least 40 people. The barrage has led to Israeli defense ministers clearly threatening Iran’s top leader.
Meanwhile, Israel has struck Iran’s heavy water reactor, part of the country’s nuclear program. The government argues that it is for peaceful purposes only. Israel says Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
President Donald Trump has made increasingly sharp warnings about the possibility that the US could take part in attacks against Iran, but Iranian leaders have warned that if this were the case, the US would suffer “irreparable damage.”
The strike began last Friday, when Israel targeted Iran’s military and nuclear sites, killing some of the best military officials and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated in Israel by launching hundreds of missiles and drones. Some of them have invaded the country’s proud multi-layered air defense system.
The region has been on the edge for the past two years as Israel seeks to annihilate militant groups in Hamas, an Iranian ally in the Gaza Strip.
Here’s what you need to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran:
Hits at missile hospital
Iranian missiles attacked Soroka Medical Center in Bercheva city in southern Israel early Thursday, attacking an old surgical building that had recently been evacuated. The hospital, the largest medical facility in southern Israel, has over 1,000 beds and serves around 1 million residents in the area.
Local authorities said several people were mildly injured on the strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and vowed to “precise the full price from Tehran’s tyrants.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the strike, saying the military “knows that this man should never continue to exist in order to achieve all his goals.”
US officials said this week that Trump rejected Israel’s plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said he had no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”
Many Israeli hospitals revitalized emergency plans last week, moving patients underground and receiving treatment in parking lots converted to hospital beds. Israel also boasts a fortified underground blood bank.
On Monday, Iranian authorities said at least 224 people were killed and more than 1,200 were injured in the Israeli strike. Although updated figures are not available, the Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people have been killed and more than 1,300 have been injured, including 263 civilians. Retaliatory Iranian strikes against Israel have killed 24 people and injured hundreds.
Targeted heavy water reactor
Israeli fighter jets targeted Iran’s Arak Heavy Water Reactor, located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran on Thursday. Heavy water is used as a coolant in certain types of reactors, and plutonium can be used to make atomic bombs – produced as a by-product.
“The strike targeted components intended to produce plutonium to prevent nuclear reactors from being restored and used in the development of nuclear weapons,” the Israeli military said.
Television in the Iranian province said there was “no radiation risk,” and that the facility was evacuated prior to the attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the heavy water research reactor was a hit, adding that “it was not working and contained no nuclear material, so there was no radiologic effect.” The UN nuclear watchdog said there was no information on whether the heavy water plants next to the reactor were attacked.
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat, saying that airstrikes are needed to prevent Iran from building atomic weapons. The US intelligence agency and the IAEA have repeatedly said that when Israel unleashes airstrikes, Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons.
However, UN agencies questioned Iran’s wealth of uranium stockpile and denounced the country last week for failing to comply with inspectors. Iran enriches uranium by 60%. This is a short technical step away from the 90% weapon grade level. It is the only nuclear-free weapon that enriches it at that level.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, but does not acknowledge it has such weapons.
Tensions were high during UN Security Council meetings on Friday to deal with missile strikes between Israel and Iran. “We must at any cost to avoid a huge fire that will bring about great global outcomes,” warned Governor Rosemary DiCarlo.
“I’m not looking to fight.”
Trump has issued increasingly pointed warnings about the possibility that US military might be involved in the conflict. On Wednesday, he said he didn’t want to carry out a US strike against Iran, but suggested he was ready to act if necessary.
“I’m not looking to fight,” Trump told reporters in the oval office. “But if it’s a choice between fighting and having nuclear weapons, you have to do what you have to do.”
He is uncommitted about what his plans are.
“I might do that, I might not,” Trump said of the possibility of a strike in the US. “I mean, no one knows what I’m trying to do. Nothing has finished until it’s finished. It’s going to be really big next week – probably not even a week.”
Khamenei rejected the call for surrender, saying, “The Iranian state is not going to surrender.”
“Americans should know that military involvement by the US will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,” he said in a video statement Wednesday.
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