Soroka to receive over $300 million to rebuild after Iran missile strike in June

After it was hit by an Iranian missile in June, Beersheba’s Soroka University Medical Center will receive public and private funds totaling over NIS 1 billion ($307,375,000) to help it rebuild, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday.

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the cost would be borne roughly equally by the government; the Clalit group, one of Israel’s four state-mandated medical insurers, which owns Soroka; and Canadian-Israeli businessman Sylvan Adams, in Soroka’s largest private donation since the hospital, southern Israel’s main medical center, was established in 1959.

The funds will go toward the construction of a new, armored hospitalization building in Soroka, Netanyahu said at the cabinet meeting, which was also attended by Adams. During the meeting, the government approved its share of the funds, which the health and finance ministries announced would amount to NIS 360 million ($111 million) over the next five years.

Addressing Adams to applause, Netanyahu said, “We have a great donor to the State of Israel.”

“He does it with great generosity, wholeheartedly and sometimes with non-trivial effort — non-trivial aerobic effort, with the bikes,” Netanyahu quipped, referring to the Giro d’Italia bike race that Adams brought to Israel in 2018, and his multi-year sponsorship of an Israeli professional team.

Speaking at the meeting, Adams said, “It’s a great honor for me to give a $100 million gift to reconstruct and build the Soroka Hospital into the best and most advanced hospital in the Middle East.”

“I’m a big believer in the State of Israel,” Adams added. “I’m very proud to be Jewish and Israeli. My blood is colored blue and white.”

In a separate statement issued on Sunday, Adams said, “Our answer to Iran is to build back bigger and better.”

“On the very place where missiles fell, we will build in Beersheba, the capital of the Negev, a state-of-the-art hospital that will be one of the most advanced in the Middle East,” he said.

Soroka director Prof. Shlomi Codish said that the hospital welcomes “the government’s decision made today to allocate the necessary budget for the rehabilitation and protection of Soroka.”

“I also thank Mr. Adams for his generous donation, which is expected to change the face of the medical center for many years to come,” he said.

Soroka suffered a direct hit during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, sparked when Israel launched a surprise strike on the Islamic Republic’s military leadership and missile and nuclear programs.

Israel responded to Israel’s strikes with drone launches and deadly ballistic missile attacks that caused heavy damage in Israeli cities.

On June 19, an Iranian missile slammed into Soroka’s surgical ward — just 100 yards from Codish’s office — injuring more than 80 people and wrecking eight operating rooms along with six research laboratories.

About 60% of the building that was hit had been evacuated just a day earlier. Several hospital departments, including rehabilitation and intensive care, remained closed months after the missile attack.

In response to the attack, the Koum Family Foundation began a philanthropic campaign to help restore and rebuild Soroka. The foundation donated $50 million (NIS 162 million). The Helmsley Foundation, a longtime partner of Soroka in a variety of projects, also contributed $15 million (NIS 49 million).

However, Codish told The Times of Israel in an interview last month that securing funds from the government was proving to be a challenge.

AP contributed to this report.