Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Thursday, as war rages between Israel and Iran.

The source said a special session of the 51st OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is expected to focus on Israel's recent strikes against Iran, including Thursday's attack on the Khondab nuclear site in Arak.

Only the United States has the clout to engage Israel and Iran in negotiations as the two countries continue to trade air attacks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

"Europe alone does not have the necessary influence to bring the parties concerned to the (negotiation) table. Only the United States can do that. So I think it is up to the President of the United States to decide which path to take," Mitsotakis said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Athens.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.

Iran said Thursday the main target of a missile attack that hit a hospital in southern Israel was an Israeli military and intelligence base, not the health facility.

A hospital in southern Israel and two towns near Tel Aviv were struck after a barrage of Iranian missiles, with Israeli rescuers reporting at least 47 people injured in Iran's latest attacks.

"The main target of the attack was the Israeli Army Command and Intelligence Base (IDF C4I) and the Army Intelligence Camp in Gav-Yam Technology Park, located in the vicinity of the Soroka Hospital," state news agency IRNA said.

An Iranian missile slammed into the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, wounding people and causing "extensive damage," according to the medical facility. Israeli media aired footage of blown-out windows and heavy black smoke.

Another missile hit a high-rise building and several other residential buildings in at least two sites near Tel Aviv. At least 40 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee also condemned Iran's missile strike at a hospital. 

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran will 'pay heavy price' for the hospital strike.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran overnight and what it called a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.

For more than four decades, Iran has built an alliance of proxy forces across the Middle East, a self-styled "Axis of Resistance", to project power, repel US and Israeli influence, and insulate itself from direct confrontation. Now, as Tehran reels from unprecedented attacks by Israel on its soil, those very proxies seem conspicuously quiet. 

Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq seem to be missing in action. Many are depleted, internally divided, and grappling with their own vulnerabilities. This begs the question: Is Iran, for the first time in decades, fighting alone?

According to Israel's rescue services, at least 32 people were injured in Iran's fresh missile attack.

Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby to evacuate its nationals from Iran and Israel, Tokyo's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.

"In view of the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, we have decided to move Self-Defense Forces aircraft to Djibouti," he told reporters.

Around 1,000 Japanese nationals are believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, defence minister Gen Nakatani said, citing the foreign ministry.

The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighbouring countries, Hayashi said, as the war entered its seventh day.

According to Iranian media, new salvo of missiles were fired at Israel on Thursday. Israel said "several hits were identified as a result of the missile barrage-one of them hitting the largest hospital in southern Israel.".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday offered to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

Speaking to reporters, Putin noted that "it's a delicate issue," but added that "in my view, a solution could be found."

Asked how Russia would react if Israel kills Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin refused to answer, saying that "I don't even want to discuss such a possibility."

The US Embassy in Israel said in its latest security alert that it has "no announcement about assisting private US citizens to depart at this time." This came hours after US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X that the embassy was "working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures."

Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict between Israel and Iran, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

But rescue efforts had been hampered by missile barrages that made it "too risky" for civilian aircraft to land in either country, Wong said. 

Some 1,500 Australians had registered to be evacuated from Iran, while more than 1,200 were seeking to get out of Israel, she said. 

"There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Wong told national broadcaster ABC. 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday met Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and discussed Iran, which he said Pakistan knew better than most. "They (Pakistani leadership) know Iran very well, better than most. They're not happy about anything. It's not that they're bad with Israel. They know them both actually, but they probably, maybe, they know Iran better, but they see what's going on and he agreed with me," he told reporters. 

The remarks came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran with Mr Trump exploring Washington's possible involvement. Islamabad is known for its close ties with Tehran.

As the people of Iran face uncertainty, with its Supreme Leader holed up in a secret bunker at an undisclosed location, with the nation in utter disarray and chaos amid an Israeli military onslaught, an old and familiar voice has arisen, calling for change, and assuring Iranians a promising future.

Reza Pahlavi, a descendant of the Shah of Iran, under whose leadership and lineage, Iran was a vibrant nation - a constitutional monarchy with democratic values, addressed the nation late on Tuesday evening. "The Islamic Republic has come to its end and is collapsing," he said, adding that "The future is bright, and together we will turn the page of history."

President Donald Trump has kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday. He has told his senior aides that he has approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.

Israel has warned Iranians in two villages to leave before it "targets military infrastructure". 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned the US against its intervention in the conflict.

A group of 110 Indian students, who were stranded in Iran and evacuated yesterday, have landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. A majority of them - 90 -- are from Jammu and Kashmir. 

The students - all from Urmia Medical University and the first students' group to be evacuated -- were transited via Armenia and Doha and boarded the flight to Delhi late last evening. The flight was delayed by three hours.

Reports say there are more than 13,000 Indian students in Iran, most of whom are pursuing a medical degree. 

Israel and Iran continued to attack each other, for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday, with the Israeli military saying it has struck several parts of Iran, including Tehran. The military said at least two drones from Iran were also intercepted.