In a stark escalation of hostilities, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist,” responding to a recent Iranian missile barrage that struck civilian targets in Israel, including Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
The Iranian missile strike injured over 240 people and severely damaged the hospital and surrounding buildings. In retaliation, Israel launched airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—among them the Arak heavy water reactor—intending to degrade Tehran’s strategic capabilities .
Speaking publicly, Katz characterized the missile attack on the medical facility as a war crime and asserted that eliminating Iran’s top leadership, including Khamenei, aligns with Israel’s military objectives .
Israeli air operations have so far targeted key nuclear and military sites in Iran—such as Natanz, Isfahan, and Arak—though a claim targeting the Bushehr reactor was later retracted . U.N. nuclear monitors later confirmed no immediate radiation threat from the Arak strike .
Meanwhile, Iranian missile and drone attacks continued to strike southern and central Israel, prompting mass evacuations and triggering international alarm over the possibility of a wider regional war .
The conflict has drawn swift global condemnation, with China, Russia, and Iran urging de-escalation. Critics have warned that targeting a figure as central as Khamenei could provoke catastrophic retaliation and destabilize the entire Middle East .
In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump refused to endorse Israel’s more extreme threats but did not rule out deeper American involvement in the crisis .
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