Rapid Construction Activity Near the Dimona Reactor: What Is ‘Israel’ Building?

As the region remains consumed by “Israel’s” ongoing war on Gaza, open escalation with Iran and Lebanon, and simmering tensions with Egypt and Turkiye, another threat emerges quietly from the Negev Desert, concealed behind walls of concrete, the Dimona nuclear reactor.

Recent satellite imagery released by the Associated Press on September 3, 2025, reveals rapid construction activity near the decades-old facility, bringing back into focus a question that has lingered for generations: What does it mean for “Israel” to possess a nuclear arsenal at the heart of an already volatile Middle East?

This is not a theoretical or distant threat. The reactor, operational since the 1960s, lies in close geographic proximity to four Arab nations, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, all situated along a direct fault line of regional instability.

Any incident, whether a leak, a military strike, or an internal technical failure, could transform the area into the site of a cross-border radiological disaster, with consequences potentially exceeding those of Chernobyl in Ukraine or Fukushima in Japan.

In these neighboring states, marked by dense populations and shared water resources, the fallout from any nuclear explosion or leak would be exponentially more severe, devastating agriculture, poisoning groundwater, and displacing millions.

A New Reactor

New satellite imagery reveals a different scene, though one deeply intertwined with the region’s explosive conflicts, intensive construction activity inside the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, the heart of “Israel’s” secretive nuclear program for the past six decades.

The images, captured by the company Planet Labs and analyzed by nuclear nonproliferation experts for the Associated Press, show a massive pit now covered with thick concrete walls, extending several stories underground, with cranes indicating ongoing work.

Despite the absence of a nuclear containment dome, typically associated with heavy water reactors, the nature of the site and its proximity to the aging Dimona reactor have led most experts to believe that “Israel” is either constructing a new nuclear reactor or a facility for assembling warheads.

This is far from a purely technical development. “Israel,” which neither confirms nor denies possessing nuclear weapons, has long been accused of using its heavy water reactor in Dimona to produce plutonium and tritium, the two key components of its alleged nuclear arsenal.

According to estimates by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “Israel” possesses around 90 nuclear warheads. However, the construction of a new facility raises deeper questions. 

Is “Tel Aviv” merely updating its decaying infrastructure from the 1960s, or is it in the process of redefining the nuclear deterrence equation in the Middle East?

That question takes on greater weight when placed in its broader political and military context.

“Israel,” which, alongside Washington, bombed Iran’s Arak reactor months ago under the pretext of preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, is quietly moving ahead with expanding its own secretive capabilities, far from any international oversight, as one of the few countries that has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It is a paradox that renders “Israel’s” rhetoric about the “Iranian nuclear threat” increasingly marked by double standards, opening the door to a wave of international criticism that may soon grow louder.

What Is the New Facility?

Experts may disagree on the exact nature of the facility, but they are united in their assessment of its strategic implications. The production of plutonium would allow for an expansion of “Israel’s” nuclear warhead stockpile, while the production of tritium would extend the lifespan of its existing arsenal and enhance its explosive yield.

Three experts told the American news agency that the site is likely a new heavy water reactor, capable of producing plutonium, the core ingredient in the manufacture of nuclear bombs.

Four other analysts suggested that the site may instead be a warhead assembly or maintenance facility, though all agreed that the lack of transparency surrounding the project leaves multiple possibilities open.

According to Al-Estiklal, Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said, “It is hard to imagine it being anything other than a nuclear reactor.”

Edwin Lyman, a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Massachusetts, pointed to the possibility of a box-type reactor without a visible dome, noting that “Israel’s” opacity forces experts to speculate more than it allows for verification.

In all scenarios, the outcome appears the same: a consolidation of “Israel’s” nuclear superiority over its regional adversaries.

Since “Tel Aviv” adopted a policy of “nuclear ambiguity” in the 1960s, that card has served as an implicit deterrent in its repeated confrontations with neighboring Arab states. 

But what is now unfolding in Dimona could mark an evolution of that doctrine. As the war in Gaza escalates and tensions with Iran spill into open strikes on sensitive targets, “Israel” appears to be preparing to solidify a more overt, and perhaps more audacious, nuclear deterrence posture.

In the absence of international inspections or commitments to transparency standards, the question remains: is the new construction in Dimona merely an effort to extend the life of an aging reactor, or does it signal “Israel’s” entry into a new phase of regional nuclear arms competition, one that could reshape the already volatile Middle East?

An Overview of Dimona

The Dimona reactor is often described as the most critical nerve center of “Israel’s” opaque nuclear program. The project, which began in the late 1950s under the banner of “energy generation for the Negev,” was little more than a cover for a strategic scheme crafted by “Tel Aviv” with direct support from France.

Paris secretly transferred specialized materials via its air force, while West Germany financed the project through a massive loan of $500 million in 1961.

On the ground, more than 1,500 scientists and engineers participated in building the reactor. “Israel” imported heavy water from Norway, which became the foundation for producing plutonium and tritium, the two key materials used in manufacturing atomic bombs.

Although “Israel” has never officially declared possession of nuclear weapons, the policy of “nuclear ambiguity” it has maintained since the 1950s has come to represent a clear disruption of the regional deterrence balance in its favor.

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 2022, “Israel” possesses at least 90 nuclear warheads. The famed whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli nuclear technician turned peace activist, revealed in the 1980s that the Dimona reactor had already produced dozens of nuclear warheads.

Behind the walls of the reactor lie secretive institutes that point to its extraordinary capabilities. “Institute 2,” a six-story underground complex, is where plutonium production and control rooms are located. 

“Institute 3” is tasked with fabricating fuel rods, while “Institutes 8 and 9” handle uranium enrichment, including via laser technology. “Institute 4” is responsible for radioactive waste processing and tritium production.

Although the reactor’s capacity does not exceed 24 megawatts, experts estimate that this is sufficient to produce nearly ten nuclear bombs per year.

Militarily, the reactor has long been considered a strategic target in any regional conflict. Egypt and the Soviet Union reportedly planned to strike it in 1967, and today, “Israel” fears it could be targeted by Iranian or Hezbollah missiles, particularly in light of “Israel’s” strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in mid-2025.

As a result, “Tel Aviv” has significantly reinforced security at the site, including a total ban on mobile phone and internet use, along with advanced jamming systems designed to thwart any espionage attempts.

The Risks of Dimona

The other face of this nuclear giant, which “Israel” continues to upgrade, now with reports of a new nuclear facility under construction, reveals environmental and public health disasters no less alarming than its military arsenal.

Between 2010 and 2014, “Israel” reportedly carried out secret experiments involving “radiological bombs” in the Negev Desert, under a project known as “Green Fields.”

On February 25, 2014, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War documented radiation leaks that reached Jordanian provinces such as al-Karak, Tafilah, and Madaba, and even extended to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, with effects traced to groundwater in Libya.

According to B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, a report dated December 7, 2017, revealed that “Israel” had buried nuclear waste in Gaza.

Some of that waste, the report added, was also transferred to the West Bank, while medical reports have pointed to severe biological effects on populations living near the reactor, as well as on prisoners held in the Negev, Nafha, Eshel, and Ramon prisons.

Though the Dimona reactor is located deep in the Negev Desert, its direct threats do not stop at “Israel’s” borders. The distances separating it from Egyptian territory are barely symbolic, just 70 kilometers from the Nitzana corridor, 91 kilometers from the Rafah crossing, and 169 kilometers from Taba. Even Cairo itself lies only 389 kilometers away.

These numbers suggest that any nuclear accident or military strike targeting the reactor would place northern Sinai squarely on the front lines of disaster.

Grim Scenarios

In a study published by the al Habtoor Center on June 22, 2025, titled “What If Iran Attacked Dimona?”, a bleak scenario was drawn. Sinai, it warned, could face moderate to severe levels of radioactive contamination, threatening the lives of nearly 50,000 residents living within the direct danger zone.

The study did not stop at Sinai. It noted that Cairo and nearby cities would also be affected, though to a lesser extent, while the Suez Canal could suffer significant damage, potentially crippling one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries.

Concerns were not confined to Egypt. On June 20, 2025, NatzivNet, citing Israeli military officials, reported that Egypt would be “the biggest loser” in the event of an Iranian strike on the Dimona reactor.

Just days later, on June 25, the issue resurfaced in Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam declared his wish for “a Middle East without nuclear weapons.”

According to Bilal Nsouli, head of the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission, nuclear contamination from Iran would take five days to reach Lebanon, but only one day if it originated from Dimona.

Jordan, geographically closest to the Negev, is experiencing growing anxiety. With no nuclear shelters or a comprehensive national plan to respond to radiation leaks, Jordanians face a deadly scenario, radioactive clouds drifting swiftly across the border, while the state lacks adequate means to contain the catastrophe.

As the war intensifies and “Israel” and Iran exchange strikes, this once-theoretical risk is quickly becoming a present threat, weighing heavily on national security calculations in Amman.

Thus, the Dimona reactor ceases to be merely a “secretive” Israeli facility. It emerges instead as a transboundary hazard, one that holds Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, the Suez Canal, and regional water resources hostage to any technical failure or military confrontation that puts Dimona in the line of fire.