Haifa refinery says more missile attack damage found near site, but most production online
Facility will take ‘few days’ to restore after Thursday Iran strike; Haifa’s deputy mayor urges government to close refineries as soon as possible: ‘Playing Russian roulette with residents’ lives’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The Bazan oil refinery in Haifa said Friday it discovered additional damage to its site overnight following an Iranian missile attack a day earlier, which will take “a few days” to restore.
The refinery said in a regulatory filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that damage was caused to “exterior infrastructure belonging to a third party, which is essential to the [refinery’s] activities, located outside the refinery site.”
It said most production is active and the rest is on its way to being restarted.
Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Thursday that “no significant damage to infrastructure sites” had been caused in the attack after fragments from a missile interception hit the facility.
According to the filing, the company initially believed the impact had been limited to power lines and an open area next to a management building. There were no injuries in the attack.
Responding to the filing, Avihu Han, Haifa’s Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Haifa Bay Cities Association for Environmental Protection, urged the government to shutter the refineries as soon as possible, in line with its own decision to transition to importing and safely storing petroleum distillates in different locations.
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“We can’t continue playing Russian roulette with the lives and security of the residents of the Haifa metropolis and the energy security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” he said.
“Yesterday’s incident and today’s announcement about the shutdown of the facilities are further proof that refineries in the heart of a civilian metropolis represent a failure of energy (policy) and security,” he said.
During the June 2025 war with Iran, three Bazan workers were killed in a fire after an Iranian missile strike.
Twelve fire and rescue teams were sent to the facility after it was hit by fragments from an Iranian missile interception on Thursday.
Firefighters carried out extensive scans of the area and extinguished a blaze at the site. They also disconnected the sources of power supply to the facility, the fire service said, adding that they carried out operations to cool the facility and check for any hazardous materials.
Iran has been targeting energy infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf since the start of the current conflict.
On Wednesday, Israel attacked Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field, located in the Bushehr Province, in strikes coordinated with the US.
The Bazan facility, home to a distinctive cooling tower that looms over the densely populated Haifa Bay, has for years been threatened with attack by Israel’s adversaries, including from Lebanon by Iranian terror proxy Hezbollah.
Residents, environmental activists and others have long lobbied for the Bazan facility to be shuttered and moved elsewhere, due to both the heavy pollution it causes to the area and fears of disastrous consequences should it be struck.
In 2022, the government voted to relocate the facility by 2030. Work on the removal of an array of large oil tanks adjacent to the site was set to begin this year.
Joshua Davidovich and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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