The Israeli ambassador's intervention in Italy after the missile that hit the largest medical center in the South of the country

Early in the morning, once again, the screeching of air raid sirens ordered Israeli citizens to flee immediately to the nearest available shelter. The moments that followed reminded the world of the harshness of Israeli daily life: resisting the terror of a despotic regime, far away yet ceaselessly busy with the destruction of the sworn enemy Israel.

Minutes later, an Iranian ballistic missile struck the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva. This was no mere attack on infrastructure, it was a deliberate attack on the living fabric of Israeli society. 

As the main medical center in southern Israel, Soroka provides life-saving care to a diverse population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, including the country's largest Bedouin community.

By targeting the hospital, Iran wanted to strike an institution that embodies pluralistic values in hatred of its regime. At the same time, missiles rained down on densely populated areas in central Israel, destroying homes of civilians guilty of the crime of living in a democracy with values opposed to Tehran's authoritarianism.

This attack exposes the increasingly brutal nature of the Iranian regime. Unable to match Israel's military capabilities, the ayatollahs' regime has resorted to the brutal tactics of targeting its civilian infrastructure and terrorizing its civilian population.

The attack on the Soroka follows another four days earlier that destroyed the renowned Weizmann Institute cancer research center, where leading scientists develop cutting-edge medical innovations to save lives around the world.

In addition to the targeted attack on one of the emblems of Israeli scientific excellence, the Iranians recently also struck another symbol of coexistence and freedom of worship: a mosque located in Haifa, one of Israel’s most culturally and religiously diverse cities.

Consider the context of this conflict: Tehran is about 2,000 kilometers from Israel ; the two nations do not share borders and have no territorial disputes. Yet, the radical Iranian regime has unilaterally defined Israel as its mortal enemy. The Islamic Republic's openly declared goal is none other than the annihilation of Israel, the main democratic obstacle to its ambition to export the Islamic Revolution throughout the world.

Quite the opposite, Israel has consistently expressed its desire for peaceful relations with the Iranian people, evoking a history of friendly ties.

The disparity in military conduct is unmistakable. On the one hand, Israel has acted decisively against the imminent existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and expanding ballistic arsenal through operations directed precisely and exclusively at military and terrorist targets.

Israel does everything to minimize civilian casualties. On the other hand, the Iranian regime responded by directly attacking civilian targets, including hospitals and homes. Let there be no ambiguity: there is no Israeli military infrastructure in Soroka Hospital. Quite simply, this was a deliberate attack on a civilian medical facility. A war crime under international law.

This attack highlights the urgent need to dismantle Iran's missile and nuclear enrichment capabilities. The regime's willingness to strike civilian targets demonstrates how much it poses an existential threat to all democracies : to Israel, certainly; but, as the missile range expands, also to European cities.

Even in such dark times, the Israeli people demonstrate resilience. Once again. And united in their determination to act against the threat of the radical Iranian regime, Israelis continue to look forward to a future of peaceful relations with the Iranian people, who are also suffering under a regime of oppressors. The attack only strengthens Israel’s resolve to ensure that Iranian barbarism never again threatens innocent lives. Ultimately, the radical Iranian regime poses an imminent threat both to Israel’s existence and to the fundamental principles at the heart of liberal democratic civil societies. It is absolutely essential that we protect innocent lives and act against the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression and terror campaigns. Only decisive action will break the cycle of violence and establish the security that millions of civilians across the region urgently deserve.