At least 40 people were injured, many of them at a hospital, when an Iranian missile slammed into the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday.
The attack also caused "extensive damage," according to the medical facility. Israeli media aired footage of blown-out windows and heavy black smoke.
Separate Iranian strikes hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel.
At least 40 people were wounded, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, though most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defenses, which detect incoming fire and shoot down missiles heading toward population centers and critical infrastructure. Israeli officials acknowledge it is imperfect.
The missile hit the Soroka Medical Center, which has over 1,000 beds and provides services to the approximately 1 million residents of Israel’s south.
A hospital statement said several parts of the medical center were damaged and that the emergency room was treating several minor injuries.
The hospital was closed to all new patients except for life-threatening cases. It was not immediately clear how many were wounded in the strike.
Many hospitals in Israel activated emergency plans in the past week, converting underground parking to hospital floors and move patients underground, especially those who are on ventilators or are difficult to move quickly.
The strikes came a day after Iran’s supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them.” Israel had lifted some restrictions on daily life Wednesday, suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing.
A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.
In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundrends.
