"Years-long research" lost in Iranian strike on key Israeli research center, employees say
From CNN’s Tamar Michaelis and Antoinette Radford
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in 2022.
Christophe Gateau/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Scientific research has been lost after an Iranian missile struck the Weizmann Institute of Science, according to employees of the institute.
The institute works on scientific and medical advancements, and its Professor Ada Yonath won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for mapping the ribosome. It has also collaborated with the military and defense companies, including
Elbit Systems, a leading Israeli defense company that specializes in
drones and naval, land and aerial weapons.
Two scientists at the center, Eran Segal and Eldad Tzahor, said on X that their
lab was destroyed by the strike, sharing images
of the destruction.
Mor Moria Shipony, a graphic designer at the center, told CNN the labs had been “completely burnt down.”
“My colleagues conducted years-long research and had equipment worth millions of dollars — and now it’s all gone,” she said.
She said they almost considered staying at shelters in the center, “but thankfully we decided not to. Fortunately, only property was damaged, which makes us feel very lucky.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the site of the strike today, where he stressed that “Iran will try havoc, death, destruction. We will continue promoting life, liberties, civil liberties, and, of course, democracy and the plight for peace as we believe in.”
Israel has also
targeted three key Iranian nuclear facilities — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — and several top scientists involved in nuclear research and development, some of whom were killed with their families in their homes.
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