Israel's defense minister issued the government's most direct threat to date against Iran's Supreme Leader on Thursday, calling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a "modern Hitler" who "should no longer continue to exist," following an Iranian missile attack that struck an Israeli hospital and wounded dozens.
"A dictator like Khamenei, who heads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of the State of Israel his declared goal, this horrific goal of destroying Israel, cannot be allowed to continue or materialize," Defense Minister Israel Katz said, according to The Associated Press.
"The IDF has been instructed and knows that to achieve all the objectives, without question this man should no longer continue to exist," Katz added.
Katz's remarks followed a barrage of Iranian missiles that struck multiple sites in Israel, including the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, which serves more than one million residents. The Israeli Health Ministry reported 240 people were wounded in the latest wave of strikes, four seriously, and more than 70 injuries occurred at the hospital.
The IDF's chief spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Thursday: "Early this morning, an Iranian ballistic missile directly hit the Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva. This hospital serves over one million Israelis, including Bedouins, Jews, Christians and Arabs alike."
"Iran targeting civilians with ballistic missiles is no surprise to us. This is exactly why we cannot, and we will not, allow this regime to obtain nuclear weapons," Defrin said. "Iran targets civilians. We target an existential threat that endangers global security. We will prevail."
Israel's military also confirmed strikes on Iran's Khondab heavy water nuclear reactor near Arak earlier Thursday, part of a broader campaign-dubbed Operation Rising Lion-that began June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure.
Khamenei responded to the mounting rhetoric on social media. "I would like to tell our dear nation that if the enemy senses that you fear them, they won't let go of you," he posted on X. "Continue the very behavior that you have had up to this day; continue this behavior with strength."
U.S. officials confirmed this week that President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. "There were no plans to kill him-at least not for now," Trump later said.
While Israel maintains that Iran's nuclear program is a cover for developing weapons, Tehran has repeatedly insisted it is intended for civilian energy use. Iran's retaliatory strikes, which followed Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities and senior commanders, have escalated into direct hits on residential and civilian targets.
Katz defended the comparison between Khamenei and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, saying: "if the State of Israel had existed and a strong Israel Defense Forces had existed... we would have sent the IDF, extracted him, and eliminated him."
"Just like that, correspondingly, I see the current situation-Khamenei is the modern Hitler," he said.
