6 Ben Gurion University research labs destroyed, 9 damaged by Iranian missile last week: ‘Years of work wiped out’

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter

Smokes rises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Beersheba, Israel, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smokes rises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Beersheba, Israel, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Six Ben Gurion University research laboratories were destroyed and nine others were damaged by the impact of an Iranian missile that struck the Soroka University Medical Center campus on June 19, the educational institution says in a postwar update.

The damage to the six destroyed laboratories “wiped out years of work on diverse research projects in medicine and biology,” the university says.

Classrooms, teaching laboratories, and the dissection room of the Faculty of Health Sciences were also significantly impacted, along with 30 buildings on the main Marcus Family Campus.

The university, still assessing the costs, estimates they will run into “tens, and perhaps even hundreds of millions of shekels.”

The homes of 50 faculty or staff members and 48 students were damaged, with 25 of the former and 41 of the latter having to evacuate.

Four families from the city whose homes were damaged are being housed in student dormitory facilities, along with some of the evacuated employees.

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