First Thing: Israel attacks Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor as Iran hits Israeli hospital

Israeli defence minister acknowledges goal of war is to attack ‘symbols of the regime’. Plus, only two years left to meet 1.5C warming target

Good morning.

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.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump said he had not decided whether to take his country into Israel’s new war, as Iran’s supreme leader said the US would face “irreparable damage” if it deployed its military to attack.

How is Israel’s military strategy shifting? When Israel launched its first strikes, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered a strategic operation targeting Iran’s nuclear programme, although the Israeli prime minister has made no secret of his hopes that the government in Tehran would fall. After the initial focus on military and nuclear sites, Israel recently attacked targets with no links to the nuclear project, but which Katz described as “symbols of the regime”, including the state broadcaster.

What is the latest on the conflict? Israel attacked Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor early on Thursday, Iranian state television reported. In Israel, Soroka hospital in Beersheba was hit by a ballistic missile, Israeli officials said, after Iran launched its latest wave of retaliatory airstrikes. Read our live blog here.

Supreme court upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care

A Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand, the supreme court has ruled, a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for dozens of other lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children.

The case, United States v Skrmetti, was filed last year by three families of trans children and a provider of gender-affirming care. In oral arguments, the plaintiffs, as well as the US government, then helmed by Joe Biden, argued that Tennessee’s law constituted sex-based discrimination and thus violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.

Under Tennessee’s law, someone assigned female at birth could not be prescribed testosterone, but someone assigned male at birth could receive those drugs.

The ruling is part of wider pushback on trans rights. In recent years, the question of transgender children and their rights has consumed an outsized amount of rightwing political discourse. Since 2021,26 states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for minors, affecting nearly 40% of trans youth in the US. Twenty-six states have also outlawed trans kids from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

In other news …

The sole survivor of the Air India crash has helped carry his brother’s flower-heaped coffin to a crematorium in the western Indian coastal town of Diu, days after the plane plummeted into the ground shortly after takeoff.

Mental health problems and economic hardship are widespread among survivors of the Maui wildfire as access to food, stable housing, work and healthcare remains a struggle for many, according to a study tracking 2,000 survivors.

Seven men in southern California have been charged in connection with what federal authorities are calling the “largest jewelry heist in US history,” after allegedly stealing approximately $100m worth of goods.

Stat of the day: Only two years left of world’s carbon budget to meet 1.5C target, scientists warn

The planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions, scientists have warned, showing how deep into the climate crisis the world has fallen. The latest assessment found that emissions from 2025 onwards must be limited to 80bn tonnes of CO2. That is 80% lower than it was in 2020.

Don’t miss this: Poison in the water – the town with the world’s worst case of forever chemicals contamination

When residents in a small Swedish town discovered their drinking water contained extremely high levels of Pfas, they began blood testing. They had no idea what it would mean for their health and their children’s future. For the long read, Marta Zaraska followed the story.

… or this: What Israel’s new war means for Gaza – podcast

As the world’s attention moves to Iran, what are Israeli forces doing in Gaza? The Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, tells Nosheen Iqbal that the killings in Gaza have by no means stopped.

Climate check: Youth-led Sunrise Movement to launch campaign to ‘villainize big oil’ and force climate action

The youth activists who put the Green New Deal on the political map are launching a campaign to “villainize big oil” which will push for the industry to pay for climate action so the costs do not fall on ordinary people. “[Donald Trump] takes his orders from big oil billionaires like the ones who funded his campaign,” said Stevie O’Hanlon, the co-founder and communications director of the Sunrise Movement.

Last Thing: Bear necessity – lid stuck around US animal’s neck removed after two years

After two years, Michigan wildlife experts finally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his necks. “It’s pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself,” Cody Norton, a state bear specialist, said. “The neck was scarred and missing hair, but the bear was in much better condition than we expected it to be.”

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