Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science are confronting devastating losses after an Iranian ballistic missile struck the campus in Rehovot on 15 June, destroying laboratories, research data, and decades of scientific progress.
Though no lives were lost, the physical and emotional toll has been overwhelming. More than 45 laboratories were either damaged or obliterated in the attack, which levelled two buildings — one housing life sciences labs and another under construction. Dozens more buildings sustained damage across the campus.
Among the worst hit was the laboratory of Professor Eldad Tzahor, who specialises in heart biology. “It was a war zone,” he said. “Everything in our beautiful institute was covered in glass and pieces of metal.”
Tzahor lost 22 years of research, including thousands of tissue samples, DNA and RNA collections. In a desperate attempt to salvage what he could, his son-in-law opened a damaged refrigerator to retrieve samples, but most had warmed to room temperature and may be unusable.
“At least we felt we did something,” he said.
Founded in 1934 by Chaim Weizmann — Israel’s first president and a scientist — the institute is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost research centres in natural and exact sciences. It has nurtured Nobel laureates, advanced computing innovation, and produced leading biomedical breakthroughs.
Iran is believed to have targeted the institute in retaliation for Israel's recent assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, aiming to send a symbolic and strategic message.
Prof. Oren Schuldiner, whose lab on developmental neurobiology was also destroyed, said: “We are talking about 17 years of my career, all that we had built as a group, completely vaporised.”
He added: “Our most dramatic loss is the hundreds of transgenic flies that we had created over the years.”
Schuldiner, stranded in Germany at the time of the attack, spends his days supporting his students remotely. “Their careers have been dramatically impacted,” he said.
Also read: Israel strikes Iran’s Arak Nuclear facility
Other researchers echoed the sense of deep personal and professional loss.
Dr Tslil Ast, a biomolecular sciences researcher, said: “Many scientists and labs rely on shared equipment. Those services, or at least part of them, have been very severely affected.”
Ast noted that the broader Weizmann community, including many who live in institute housing, had also been shaken. “The basic sense of safety of many has been affected.”
The missile strike damaged not just research tools but infrastructure vital to international collaboration and excellence. Just two days after the attack, the European Research Council awarded six of Israel’s twelve Advanced Grants to Weizmann scientists. At least 15 of the destroyed labs had ERC support.
Rebuilding will take years and tens of millions of euros. Schuldiner estimated his own lab would require €1.5 to €2 million. A senior academic told Calcalist that rebuilding a single lab might cost $100 million, including advanced equipment.
Still, hope remains. Scientists across Israel and abroad have reached out in solidarity, offering storage, plasmid replication, and even fruit fly strains to help rebuild research lines.
“This has been the most heartwarming part of what happened,” said Tzahor.
Schuldiner added: “The fly community is very generous and very collaborative.”
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