Defence minister: Israel to intensify strikes on strategic Iran sites

Israel's defence minister said on Thursday that he had instructed the military to step up attacks on Iran, including on government targets in order to "undermine" the leadership in Tehran.

Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given the order to "increase the intensity of attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran in order to remove threats to the State of Israel and undermine the ayatollahs' regime."

He also wrote: "The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of the fortified bunker and fires aimed shots at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel. These are war crimes of the most serious kind - and [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes."

Earlier on Thursday, Israel struck Iran's Arak heavy water reactor and sites in Tehran, as an Iranian missile hit Soroka Hospital in southern Israel. Additional strikes were reported in other parts of Israel, including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

Israel began its offensive on Iran last Friday, targeting nuclear facilities, military installations and urban areas. The strikes have killed senior nuclear scientists and high-ranking military commanders.

In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guard has launched missile and drone attacks on Israel.

Israel maintains its objective is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which it considers an existential threat. However, comments from top Israelis have raised questions over whether the campaign's goals extend to the collapse of the Iranian government.