The Guardian:

By Julian Borger in Ramat Gan and Emma Graham-Harrison in Jerusalem

Israel’s defence minister has said he ordered increased attacks on government targets in Iran to “undermine the regime”, while an Iranian missile evaded Israeli air defences to hit a hospital in the country’s south.

Other missiles landed around Tel Aviv, injuring at least 40 people, as Israeli planes bombed a heavy-water reactor and returned to strike the Natanz nuclear complex.

The comments from Israel Katz were the first time that regime change had officially been claimed as a goal of the seven-day-old war.

When Israel launched its first strikes, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered a strategic operation targeting Iran’s nuclear programme, although the prime minister has made no secret of his hopes the government in Tehran would fall.

After the initial focus on military and nuclear sites, Israel recently attacked targets, including the state broadcaster, with no links to the nuclear project, but which Katz described as “symbols of the regime”.

Many Iranian opposition figures, including activists jailed for opposing the autocratic government, have rejected the idea that an Israeli war, which has already killed hundreds of civilians, represents a path to liberation for their country.

The early morning strike on Soroka hospital in Beersheba did not cause any serious injuries because all staff and patients were in protected areas, the director, Shlomi Kodesh, said.

However it caused major damage to the building and images of shattered wards and stunned medics examining the damage caused outrage in Israel, including from the defence minister.

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