Iran strikes Israeli hospital with cluster bomb, names new intel chief, warns of Hormuz closure

The conflict between Iran and Israel escalated sharply on Thursday, with Israel accusing Tehran of firing a missile carrying cluster submunitions at a densely populated area. The Israeli military claimed it was the first reported use of cluster munitions in the week-old war.

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Behnam Saeedi warned that Iran might consider closing the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of global oil shipments pass—raising the spectre of a broader regional conflict.

Cluster munitions
The missile, launched by Iran overnight, struck near the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, southern Israel, injuring at least 71 people. While most injuries were minor or caused by panic, hospital buildings sustained extensive damage. Several wards were destroyed, and patients had to be moved to an underground facility shortly before the strike.

“Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area in Israel,” Israel's embassy in Washington said in a statement to Reuters. “Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres and used wide-dispersal munitions to maximise harm.”

An Israeli military spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, accused Iran of committing “state-sponsored terror” and violating international law. “This is a blatant attempt to target civilians,” he said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the target was Israeli military and intelligence facilities near the hospital, a claim Israel denied. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a serious escalation and warned that Tehran’s leadership would “pay the full price.”

Israeli news reports said the missile's warhead exploded mid-air, dispersing about 20 bomblets over an area of around 8 km in central Israel. One submunition landed on a home in the town of Azor, causing damage but no casualties.

Cluster bombs are banned under a 2008 international treaty signed by 111 countries, but neither Iran nor Israel is a party to the convention. The weapons scatter explosive submunitions over wide areas, posing long-term dangers to civilians due to unexploded ordnance.

Iran appoints new intelligence chief
Iran appointed a new chief of intelligence at its Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official Irna news agency said, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), appointed Brigadier General Majid Khadami as the new head of its intelligence division, Irna said.

He replaces Mohammed Kazemi, who was killed on Sunday alongside two other Revolutionary Guards officers -- Hassan Mohaghegh and Mohsen Bagheri -- in an Israeli strike. Pakpour had himself been recently appointed after Israel killed his predecessor Hossein Salami in a strike on June 13.

Nuclear facilities hit
As the war intensifies, Israel has continued targeting Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. In the last 24 hours, Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, and Arak (Khondab), damaging facilities that could potentially be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

Satellite images published by the Open Source Centre showed major damage at the Arak heavy-water reactor site. David Albright, a former UN nuclear inspector, said the attack was likely aimed at disrupting Iran’s plans to activate the reactor next year.

The Israeli military said recent air and missile strikes have also eliminated key figures in Iran’s military command. Iran’s retaliatory attacks, meanwhile, have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.

Iranian state media reported further missile and drone attacks on military and industrial sites in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Thursday evening. Air defences were activated over northern Tehran in response to Israeli raids.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that the Israeli military had been ordered to intensify strikes aimed at destabilising the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We are not just hitting infrastructure. We are weakening the regime,” an Israeli official said.

Trump to decide in 2 weeks
|Iran's Supreme National Security Council warned it would adopt a “different strategy” if a third country joined the war. The White House said President Donald Trump would decide within two weeks whether the US would intervene. However, sources noted Trump has used similar timelines before without firm action.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has reportedly spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi multiple times over the past week in an attempt to de-escalate the crisis.
(With Reuters, AFP inputs.)