Iranian propaganda claims IDF kept tanks below bombed Israeli hospital

Iranian state media denied that Iran had struck Soroka Medical Center on Thursday, asserting that it was “Israeli manipulation.”

The IRNA state news agency in Iran justified the Iranian missile attack on Soroka, claiming that “the Israeli army’s intelligence and command center” is located in Gev-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park near the hospital. Furthermore, IRNA used fake simulations that to claim there were “tanks under the hospital.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) addressed the attack on the Israeli hospital.

“This morning, a joint attack was carried out using drones and strategic missiles. The Israeli military command center near the hospital was accurately targeted,” the IRGC claimed without providing any credible evidence.

“The intelligence and targeting capabilities of Iranian forces are now on display to the world. We’ve already warned that the skies over the occupied territories are no longer secure. There is no safe place, and now we warn that the Zionist regime will not withstand the economic blows to come.”

“We will take revenge on the criminals,” the IRGC threatened.

The regime’s propaganda appears aimed at creating a false equivalence between Israeli hospitals – used solely for healthcare – and hospitals in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which have been used as military bases and for concealing Israeli hostages. Moreover, the IRGC has so far failed to significantly damage any strategic targets within the Jewish state.

Soroka Medical Center, located in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva, sustained significant structural damage after being directly hit by an Iranian ballistic missile. Miraculously, there were no fatalities, as a senior health official had ordered the evacuation of the affected medical ward just 24 hours earlier.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who visited the hospital following the attack, condemned the Iranian ayatollah regime’s flagrant violation of international law.

“This is a war crime!” Herzog stated. "We see the face of evil and terror spread by the Ayatollahs in Tehran, and at the same time we see the resilience and strength of Israeli society, united in our desire to see all the peoples of this region live in peace.” 

Israeli hospitals have become symbols of peaceful coexistence between Jews, Arabs, Christians and Muslims. On any given day, Jewish and Arab medical personnel treat Jewish and Arab patients across Israel.

The Iranian regime has so far fired some 500 ballistic missiles, mainly directed at Israeli civilian population centers. At least 24 Israeli civilians have so far been killed in the Iranian aerial attacks, which have been mainly focusing on the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the northern city Haifa and the southern city Beersheva.

By contrast, Israel has carried out pinpointed strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities. Israel Defense Forces has also issued advance warnings to Iranian civilians, urging them to stay away from military sites.

On Friday, World Medical Association President Dr. Ashok Philip, condemned Iran’s “deliberate” ballistic missile attack on the Israeli hospital.

“Soroka is one of the country’s largest medical centers, a Level-1 trauma hospital serving over one million people in southern Israel, including many vulnerable communities,” Philip stated.

“Under international humanitarian law, healthcare facilities are protected spaces that must never be targeted; such attacks constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Convention,” he continued. “Any strike on a hospital violates international law.”