BEERSHEBA, ISRAEL - JUNE 19, 2025 - GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE (GPO) OF ISRAEL - RESTRICTED: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Soroka Hospital in Beersheba on Thursday, June 19, following damage sustained during Iran’s early morning retaliatory missile attacks, according to Government Press Office (GPO) of Israel. Speaking outside the hospital, Netanyahu addressed the media regarding the ongoing large-scale military operations Israel has launched in response to the Iranian strikes. However, Iran denied on Thursday Israeli accusations of intentionally striking Soroka Hospital in southern Israel. “Our powerful Armed Forces accurately eliminated an Israeli Military Command, Control and Intelligence HQ and another vital target,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on his X account. He said the blast wave caused superficial damage to a small section of the nearby, and largely evacuated Soroka Military Hospital. “The facility is mainly used to treat Israeli soldiers engaged in the Genocide in Gaza 25 miles away, where Israel has destroyed or damaged 94% of Palestinian hospitals,” he added. Some 20-30 Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s central cities Thursday morning, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon, as well as Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba. More than 270 Israelis were injured in the attack, according to Israeli authorities. Iran’s state news agency IRNA claimed the missiles targeted the headquarters of the Israeli army and intelligence service near Soroka Hospital. The top Iranian diplomat accused Israel of initiating the current conflict. “It is the Israeli regime and not Iran that initiated all this bloodshed, and it is Israeli war criminals and not Iranians who are targeting hospitals and civilians,” he said. “Hundreds of innocent Iranians have been murdered in cold blood since Israel launched its illegal war against the Iranian people last week.” The Iranian minister called on Israelis to “heed our evacuation orders before strikes and to avoid proximity to military and intelligence sites.” He vowed that Iran’s forces would “continue to pummel the criminals who target our people until they cease and pay for their criminal aggression against our nation.” Hostilities began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes. Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks. Meanwhile, in Iran, 585 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports. Writing by Mustafa Tuncer