THE CRADLE
The chairman of university heads in Israel noted that air force pilots, senior intelligence officers, and Israeli defense systems are the ‘fruit’ of Israeli universities
Several universities in Israel were heavily damaged by Iran’s ballistic missile strikes during the 12-day war between Tel Aviv and Tehran, Haaretz newspaper confirmed in a report on 30 June.
The strikes revealed the precision of Iranian missiles, which hit institutes directly associated with the defense and intelligence establishments.
“For the first time, we were really targeted,” Professor Daniel Chamovitz, chairman of the Association of University Heads in Israel, told the newspaper.
On 14 June, Iran struck the Weizmann Institute of Science in the city of Rehovot, southeast of Tel Aviv, causing unprecedented damage. In the days that followed, Ben Gurion University in the Negev and Tel Aviv University were also damaged by Iranian attacks.
“You can see that the Iranians put higher education and Israeli research at the center of their launch map,” Chamovitz went on to say.
Around 45 labs were destroyed at the Weizmann Institute, and an additional 20 sustained damage. Forty buildings throughout the campus were also impacted.
The Iranian attack on the Weizmann Institute of Science caused around $570 million in losses, with video footage confirming the massive amount of damage to the site.
VIDEO | Footage from RT shows the extent of the destruction caused by Iran’s missile strike at Israel’s Weizmann Institute — a site that is not only one of Israel’s scientific backbones, but deeply linked to Israel’s nuclear and military intelligence infrastructure.
More on the… pic.twitter.com/nrspcn48c6— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 19, 2025
Ben Gurion University in the Negev was also severely damaged by the missile that struck near the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
“The entire medical school was damaged; we don’t know how we’ll return to teaching there. Six labs were completely destroyed. The shock waves reached the campus across the street and damaged 30 of the 60 buildings. Forty-two faculty members and students were evacuated from one of the apartment buildings that was hit next to the university,” Chamovitz added.
The damage is still being assessed in Beersheba.
According to estimates, up to hundreds of millions of shekels ‘ worth of damage was inflicted on Ben Gurion University.
Tel Aviv University is giving 2,000 shekels to every student who was evacuated from their home due to the ballistic missile strikes, according to the report.
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