Israeli hospital struck by Iranian missiles - as Trump 'approves plans to attack Iran'

19 June 2025, 07:54 | Updated: 19 June 2025, 09:08

An Israeli hospital took a direct hit from a missile launched by Iran - as Donald Trump approved an attack plan but has yet to give a final order.

The US president gave private instructions to military chiefs in the situation room inside the White House for plans to launch an attack on Iran - but said “I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final – I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due.”

Meanwhile Soroka hospital in southern Israel was directly hit by an Iranian missile. Israel's emergency services said more than 30 people have been injured.

The hospital is said to have suffered "extensive damage" in the strike.

State media in Tehran say the "main target" was an Israeli military facility in the same area.

An Israeli military official said three other sites in civilian areas have also been struck in the barrage.

Dozens of missiles were fired in the attack, triggering sirens across much of the country, according to the Israeli military official.

Explosions have also been heard in Tel Aviv and the capital Jerusalem.

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US president Donald Trump has insisted he's 'not looking to fight' Iran, but warned that the US wants 'total, complete victory' over the country.

As the world fears Trump will join Israel's war against Iran, the leader of the world's most powerful military remained cryptic about his next move, saying he likes 'to make decisions at the last second'.

While repeating his claim that Iran 'should have made a deal' and that it is 'too late to meet,' Trump suggested the US could still hold diplomatic talks with Tehran.

He added: "They'll even come to the White House. So we'll see. I may do that. But it's a shame it wasn't. (It) could have been done the easy way."

Iran has denied reaching out to White House, as the supreme leader insists his country will never surrender in its war against Israel.

"I'm not looking to fight. But if it's a choice between fighting and them having a nuclear weapon...you have to do what you have to do," Trump said.

"They want to meet and they want to come to the White House," he told reporters at the Oval Office.

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already warned that any United States strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them" and that his country would not bow to Mr Trump's call for surrender.

Mr Trump said earlier this week the US knows where Khamenei is hiding as the the Israel-Iran conflict escalates but does not want him killed - "for now".

"He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Mr Trump said.

In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Mr Trump's support, calling him "a great friend of Israel" and praising US help defending Israel's skies.

"We speak constantly, including last night," Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday. "We had a very warm conversation."

Mr Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government come after he urged Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.

Mr Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White House as they are "getting the hell beaten out of them" by Israel.

But he added there is a "big difference between now and a week ago" in Tehran's negotiating position.

"They've suggested that they come to the White House - that's, you know, courageous," Mr Trump said.

Iran's mission to the United Nations refuted Mr Trump's claim in a statement on social media.

"No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader."

Vladimir Putin offered on Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

The Russian president noted that "it's a delicate issue" but added that "in my view, a solution could be found".

He said he had shared Moscow's proposals with Iran, Israel and the US. His comments follow a mediation offer he made in a call with Mr Trump last weekend.

Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin to keep focused on finding a solution to his own conflict with Ukraine.

"I said, 'Do me a favour, mediate your own'," Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin.

"I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later'."

The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Mr Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to US intelligence findings.