Israeli hospital had taken patients underground hours before missile hit

By Emily Rose

BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) -Shattered glass and piles of rubble littered the floors of Soroka Medical Center on Thursday, after an Iranian missile ripped through the hospital in Israel's south, injuring dozens.

The major public hospital, which serves around 1 million people living in southern Israel, sustained extensive damage in the strike. Several wards were completely destroyed, with debris scattered across the parking lot and surrounding walkways.

"We knew from the noise that it wasn't like anything we were used to, that it wasn't like anything we had seen before," said Nissim Huri, who was working in the kitchen and took refuge in a concrete shelter during the strike.

"It was terrifying," Huri said, describing the scenes as she emerged from the shelter as "complete destruction.

Israel launched an aerial war against Iran on Friday, calling it a preemptive strike designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.

Hospital staff said the blast was so powerful it threw them backward. On Thursday afternoon, they sat in the hospital courtyard rewatching videos of towering plumes of smoke.

Israel’s Health Ministry said 71 people were wounded in the attack, most of them suffering light injuries or panic attacks as they rushed for shelter. Hospital staff evacuated patients and cordoned off damaged areas.

The hospital began moving patients out of some buildings in recent days as part of emergency precautions in response to the Iranian strikes. It has since limited admissions to life-threatening cases only.

Patients in the damaged building were taken to an underground facility just hours before the strike, a statement from the Israeli Health ministry said.

Medical transporter Yogev Vizman, called to the scene just after the blast, said he witnessed "total destruction" when he arrived.

"That whole building was on fire...everything collapsed, Vizman said. "I'm sad, this is like my home, they simply destroyed our home... I never thought there would be a direct hit on a hospital."

Soldiers from the Israeli military's search and rescue unit searched the battered buildings to ensure nobody was trapped inside.

An Israeli soldier told Reuters all he saw at first was "thick black smoke" and that they inspected every floor to look for casualties.

"It's God's will that this place was evacuated from civilians last night," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Nia Williams)