Israel's Soroka hospital in Beer Sheba and seven sites in the center of the country were hit during a ballistic missile attack from Iran on Thursday morning.
Following the missile strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, there is a suspicion of a leak of hazardous materials on an upper floor of the building. The police have begun evacuating and removing people from the area.
Watch the moment of the impact on Soroka Hospital:
Moment of impact on Soroka Hospital
Strike on Soroka Hospital
Police reported a suspected hazardous materials incident on one of the hospital floors, and an evacuation began. But the concern was later removed.
Doctors were in shelters with patients at the time of the impact. "Suddenly everything broke," said those who were at the hospital. "There is no building. The dining hall building collapsed." Following the impact, water is flowing in the main building, which has become a mass of rubble.
The Ministry of Health issued a directive to hospitals in the center to prepare to receive patients from Soroka, after first directing some to in Barzilai and Assuta Ashdod.
Iran said it did not aim for Soroka, claiming that the target was a military base near the hospital.
Ilanit, who is at the scene, said: "There is almost no place in the hospital that was not damaged. The ceilings fell, the medical teams rushed to get the patients into a protected space, now they have evacuated us to the grass, but I don't know how protected we are."
Ilan Stolero, a volunteer helping patients, said the strike evokes "a feeling of the Twin Towers here. It's really serious."
"It was really stressful" a patient in the emergency room said. "We heard the alarm and went to the stairwell, the protected space, and then suddenly we heard an abnormal boom. Things were flying. The ceiling was flying." Gal from Ofakim added: "We heard a very big boom inside the hospital. We were here in the emergency room. It was very stressful."
"I entered the stairwell and all the safety doors closed," said Yoram from Soroka. "The ceiling fell on us, the impact threw me off. Until you experience something like this, you don't believe it could happen, it's impossible to digest something like this. The patients in the wards are being evacuated, it's lucky we evacuated one of the wards yesterday, otherwise there wouldn't have been a ward."
A nurse at the medical center said: "There is no ward now. When we arrived, there was a rush of people, chaos. We went straight to the emergency room to see if we needed help. Now they are evacuating the entire hospital to protected areas, the building is not safe. We are quite shocked."
President Isaac Herzog commented on the attack: "A baby in intensive care. A mother by their bedside. A doctor rushing between beds. An elderly resident in a nursing home. These were some of the targets of Iran’s missile attacks on Israeli civilians this morning.
"Soroka Hospital, located in Be’er Sheva, is one of Israel’s finest—serving the entire Negev region, caring for Israelis of all faiths and our neighbors the Palestinians who come especially to be treated there. Its devoted staff—Jews and Arabs—work side by side in extraordinary harmony, united by the mission to heal.
"I send strength and support to the medical teams, to the patients, and to the residents of Be’er Sheva and all cities attacked across Israel this morning. In moments like these, we are reminded of what’s truly at stake, and the values we are defending," Herzog concluded.
The barrage of dozens of missiles was fired Thursday morning, after a quiet night. At least seven impact sites are currently known, including in the center and south. More than 20 people were slightly injured, three people were seriously injured.
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Following the attack, Magen David Adom reported that a 60-year-old man was seriously injured and 22 people were lightly injured.
Two people were found at the scene of the strike in Holon with serious injuries and were evacuated to the hospital. Two additional people with moderate and light injuries were also evacuated to the hospital. Heavy damage was also caused at the direct hit site in Ramat Gan, where 12 people were lightly injured.
Missile attack in Ramat Gan
Apartment hit in Holon
Air raid sirens were activated across the country following a wave of missile launches from Iran. Dozens of projectiles were fired in what Tehran described as a combined missile and drone attack.
First published: 08:12, 06.19.25