ISTANBUL

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Thursday to eliminate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Such a person is forbidden to exist," Katz said in a statement carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The Israeli minister called Khamenei “the modern Hitler.”

"A dictator like Khamenei, who leads Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his banner, cannot continue to exist,” he said.

“Preventing his existence is one of the operation's objectives."

His threat came hours after some 20-30 Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s central cities, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon, as well as Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba.

More than 270 Israelis were injured in the attack, according to Israeli authorities.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA claimed the missiles targeted the headquarters of the Israeli army and intelligence service near Soroka Hospital and that the blast wave caused injuries at the facility.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hinted at a possible assassination of the Iranian supreme leader.

“All options are available,” he said in response to a question about the possible killing of Khamenei.

“It is better not to talk about them in the media,” Netanyahu said during his visit to Soroka Hospital.

The Israeli premier also said that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will join the war against Iran or not.

Later, in an interview with the Israeli broadcasting authority KAN, when asked about the statements by Katz regarding the assassination of Khamenei, Netanyahu said: "I have issued orders to the army that there should be no immunity for anyone in Iran."

Regarding targeting Iran’s nuclear program, Netanyahu said: “We will achieve all our objectives and hit all of their nuclear facilities. We have the capability to do that.”

He added: "The primary goal is to eliminate the nuclear threat, and secondly to remove the ballistic missile threat."

He also mentioned that Israel did not wait for a "green light" from the US to launch an attack on Iran but praised the support of US President Donald Trump's administration, saying: "They are helping us wonderfully in defense; there are American pilots intercepting the drones."

Hostilities began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.​​​​​​​

Meanwhile, in Iran, 639 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports.