Iran crosses red line with hospital strike, Israel says
Israel accused Iran of crossing a red line after a strike hit Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva on Thursday, causing extensive damage.
“The dictatorship regime from Tehran has crossed the line and is acting as a barbaric terrorist organization,” Health Minister Uriel Busso said.
He condemned the attack as a “despicable war crime.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted an Israeli intelligence site near a hospital. Israeli officials denied any military use of the hospital, calling the strike a deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure that demands international condemnation and potential legal scrutiny.
The Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) held a high-level internal session on the possible escape of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and al-Qaeda members into Afghanistan, alongside a potential wave of Iranian refugees, Afghanistan International has learned.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Islamic Republic, the session outlined several key concerns and scenarios.
IRGC members seeking asylum
Facing potential instability, senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could flee Iran and seek refuge in Afghanistan. GDI discussed the possibility during the session that such individuals might request protection from the Taliban, according to Afghanistan International’s sources.
Risk of al-Qaeda member relocation
Senior al-Qaeda figures such as Saif al-Adel and Abu Abdulrahman, who are believed to currently reside in Iran, may attempt to escape the country amid instability. GDI has asked the Taliban leadership for guidance on how to respond if they attempt to enter Afghanistan—whether to accept them, place them under surveillance, or reject their entry altogether. This discussion was part of the internal analysis obtained by Afghanistan International.
In 2021, then–US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda leaders. US and UN intelligence agencies later confirmed that Saif al-Adel was residing in Iran and is now considered al-Qaeda’s de facto leader. In 2024, the US State Department reaffirmed that Iran continues to provide safe haven to senior al-Qaeda operatives.
Preparedness for influx of Iranian refugees
GDI has posed a critical question: Can Afghanistan absorb a possible wave of Iranian refugees? The session called for urgent contingency planning to evaluate national capacity, political risks, and humanitarian consequences.
Turkey has increased security along its border with Iran amid the ongoing conflict with Israel, a Turkish Defence Ministry source told Reuters on Thursday.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no irregular migration flows had been observed so far.
The official added that Turkey is enhancing its layered air and missile defense capabilities using domestically developed radar and weapons systems, with the goal of maintaining a high level of combat readiness.
After Israel launched strikes on Iran, Turkey scrambled Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft to patrol its borders, the source added, citing concerns over possible violations of Turkish airspace.
Targeting US bases is easier for Iran than confronting Israel directly, Ahmad Naderi, a member of the Iranian parliament's presidium, said on Thursday.
He warned that if Washington directly joins the war, Iran will strike American bases in the region, which he described as "fully within reach." Naderi also raised the possibility of closing the Strait of Hormuz and reconsidering Iran’s participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if pressure continues to mount.
The Israeli military rejected Iranian account Thursday that Soroka Medical Center housed military facilities, calling them “lies” and saying, “We are not so despicable as to endanger civilians.”
“The claim of an intelligence base or military equipment under the hospital is another lie. Attacking hospitals is a crime. Fabricating a reason does not justify it,” the military said in a Persian-language statement addressed to Iranians.
Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva was struck by an Iranian missile earlier Thursday, causing extensive damage and injuries.
An Israeli intelligence and command center near a hospital was struck, using drones and missiles, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Thursday.
"The vast command and intelligence base was located in the Gav-Yam Negev technology park, adjacent to Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva," state news agency IRNA cited the IRGC as saying.
Israel earlier confirmed Soroka was directly hit.
“The entire sky of the occupied territories is defenseless and there will be no safe," warned the IRGC.
