As the Operation ‘Rising Lion’ entered its seventh day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck a major blow to Tehran’s nuclear weapons program by hitting a reactor and weapons-grade plutonium production facility in central Iran’s Arak region.
“As part of the strikes, and as part of the broad effort to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran was targeted, including the structure of the reactor’s core seal, which is a key component in plutonium production,” the IDF said in a statement Thursday morning.
Israeli fighter jets also renewed their strikes on Iran’s main nuclear weapons facility in Natanz, which is located in central Iran. “Additionally, the IAF struck a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz. The site contained components and specialized equipment used to advance nuclear weapons development, and projects designed to accelerate the regime’s nuclear program were hosted there,” the Israel military disclosed.
The Iranian state media admitted the strikes on Arak reactor. No radiation was registered following the strikes, Iranian sources confirmed. Citing Iranian state television, The Times of Israel reported that “Israel had attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor. … There was ‘no radiation danger whatsoever’ and the facility had already been evacuated before the attack.”
The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for the area surrounding the Arak nuclear reactor in order to minimize Iranian casualties. The move exposed Iran’s inability to protect the nuclear site despite a prior warning and highlights Israel’s growing air dominance after a week-long conflict.
The IDF announced that “air defense batteries, surface-to-surface missile storage sites, detection radar systems, and detection equipment belonging to the Iranian regime, were neutralized from the air” in the recent waves of strikes.
At least 200 people were injured when an Iranian missile directly hit a large hospital in the southern Israeli city of Be’er-Sheva, local media reported Thursday morning.
Iran repeotedly used internationally banned cluster munition in strike on the Be’er-Sheva hospital.
“Iran used banned cluster munitions in missiles fired at Israel in the Thursday morning attack,” the Israeli news website Ynetnews repeoted. “Following the determination, the IDF warned the public not to touch or move suspected explosives that may still be on the ground.”
Despite Israeli air defense systems intercepting most of the incoming Iranian missiles, at least seven “direct hits” were reported Wednesday night on Israeli population centers. Iran launched a wave of coordinated nighttime aerial attacks that the Ynetnews described as “a combined missile and drone attack” targeting towns and cities indiscriminately.
“An Iranian ballistic missile struck Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva on Thursday morning as sirens sounded across Israel following a barrage launched from Iran,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
According to the report, a hospital spokesperson said, “There has been damage to the hospital after it was hit in several areas, and there was a significant impact on the hospital’s old surgical building.”
Overnight missile strikes were reported in several Israeli cities. “Direct hits were reported in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan [and] Holon,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported. “Many residents across the country [have] reported hearing explosions amid warnings of missile fire from Iran.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY