Tel Aviv, March 15 -- The Israeli military has announced that "a short while ago" its forces initiated "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in western Iran", marking a major escalation in the regional conflict.

According to Al Jazeera, this offensive coincides with a sharp rise in medical emergencies, with Israel's Health Ministry reporting that 108 people were admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours alone.

The ministry noted it does not currently "provide a breakdown of the causes of injuries". However, The Times of Israel suggested that many of these "might have been sustained by people trying to reach shelter" during sirens, rather than from direct fire.

This adds to a staggering tol...