Israeli scientists scramble to save work after Iranian missile hits labs, World News
REHOVOT, Israel - Researchers at Israel's prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science have been scrambling to save their experiments after an Iranian missile destroyed a building containing dozens of cutting-edge laboratories.
The missile struck the institute's campus at Rehovot, on the southern periphery of Tel Aviv, in the early hours of Sunday, damaging multiple buildings and prompting researchers to clamber into the ruins to save samples even as fire raged.
No one was hurt as the campus was empty overnight, but one part of a building collapsed, while in the remaining part the walls were blown out, exposing a tangle of twisted metal, blasted debris and blackened cement.
"We did our best to save as much of the samples as we could from the labs, from the buildings, while we were fighting the fire," physicist Roee Ozeri, Weizmann's vice president for development and communications, told Reuters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the devastated site on Friday (June 20) and praised the researchers as well as the rescuers of the country's emergency services, describing both groups as the "best of Israel."
"This building behind me, next to me, says everything," Netanyahu said, pointing to the massive pile of rubble.
"Iran is the pre-eminent terrorist regime in the world. It must not, cannot have nuclear weapons. That is the purpose of Israel's actions - to save itself from the Iranian threat of annihilation, but by doing so, we are saving many, many others."
Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel.
Israel's strikes have killed several prominent Iranian nuclear scientists, wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of civilians.
Iran has not said if or why it targeted the Weizmann Institute.
Last Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. Iran has long maintained its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
[[nid:719276]]
Iran's attacks have killed 24 civilians in Israel and damaged hundreds of structures, including a hospital in the southern city of Beersheba.
While most of the institute's research is in areas with potential benefits for medicine and scientific knowledge, it also has connections with defence. It announced in October 2024 a collaboration with Israel's largest defence firm Elbit on "bio-inspired materials for defence applications".
A multidisciplinary institution which carries out research in fields including genetics, immunology and astrophysics, Weizmann was founded in 1934 and is considered world-class within the international scientific community.
It is Israel's most important science research institute, with 286 research groups, 191 staff scientists and hundreds of PhD students, master's students and postdoctoral fellows. 'Everything is lost'
The Iranian missile hit the work of researchers such as Eldad Tzahor, who focuses on regenerative medicine with particular relevance to adult heart diseases. He said many samples and tissues that had been part of long-running experiments had been destroyed.
"Everything is lost," he told Reuters TV. "I would estimate that it will take us about a year to get into a full year of research and with everything working again."
In financial terms, the damage is estimated at $300-$500 million (S$386 million), according to the institute, which operates costly, complex machines, often shared between several labs or research groups.
Jacob Hanna, who runs a molecular genetics team focused on embryonic stem cell biology, told the scientific journal Nature that his lab's ceiling had collapsed and the staircase had detached.
His students managed to save hundreds of frozen mouse and human cell lines by transferring them to back-up liquid-nitrogen tanks that Hanna had stored in the basement, Nature reported.
"I was always worried that if a war actually happens, I don't want to lose these," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan
FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a cultivated land on the dry riverbed of the Indus River in Hyderabad, Pakistan April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yasir Rajput/File Photo India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan NEW DELHI - India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use, Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with Times of India on Saturday. India put into "abeyance" its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, after 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir were killed in what Delhi described as an act of terror. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80% of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord remains dormant despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month following their worst fighting in decades. "No, it will never be restored," Shah told the daily. "We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably," Shah said, referring to the northwestern Indian state. The latest comments from Shah, the most powerful cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, have dimmed Islamabad's hopes for negotiations on the treaty in the near term. Last month, Reuters reported that India plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of retaliatory action. Pakistan's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. But it has said in the past that the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered "an act of war". Islamabad is also exploring a legal challenge to India's decision to hold the treaty in abeyance under international law. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Putin says Russia has told Israel there's no evidence Iran wants nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia reports
FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo Putin says Russia has told Israel there's no evidence Iran wants nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia reports MOSCOW - Russia has repeatedly told Israel that there is no evidence Iran is aiming to get nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia on Saturday quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying in an interview. "Russia, as well as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), has never had any evidence that Iran is preparing to obtain nuclear weapons, as we have repeatedly put the Israeli leadership on notice," Sky News Arabia quoted Putin as saying. Russia is ready to support Iran in developing a peaceful nuclear programme, Putin was quoted as saying, adding that Iran has the right to do so. Speaking at an economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday, Putin said Russia was sharing its ideas on how to stop the bloodshed in the Iran-Israel conflict with both sides. He did not give details of those ideas. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
22 arrested over links to Israeli spy services since start of conflict: Iranian media
22 arrested over links to Israeli spy services since start of conflict: Iranian media TEHRAN - Police in Iran's Qom province said on June 21 that 22 people 'linked to Israeli spy services' had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported. '22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime,' the agency said, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran's Qom province. It came after Iranian police announced the arrest on June 19 of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country's image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency. A European national was also arrested for spying, Tasnim reported on June 20 , without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest. Iran regularly announces arrests of suspected spies. Several have been executed in recent weeks. Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
