What’s hiding inside Dimona? Understanding the hidden heart of Israel’s nuclear facility

Israel has maintained a decades-long policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons programme. Officially, it neither confirms nor denies possession. Despite this, global experts accept that Israel has had nuclear weapons since shortly before the Six Day War in 1967. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates Israel holds around 90 nuclear warheads.

In 2023, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu sparked outrage after he suggested that Israel could drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza. However, as a response, Prime Minister Netanyahu suspended him from cabinet, clarifying that the remark was 'not based in reality'. Eliyahu later claimed the comment was metaphorical, but his statement had already drawn criticism from Israeli and international voices alike.

The heart of Israel’s suspected nuclear capability is the Negev Nuclear Research Centre, near the town of Dimona in southern Israel. Officially described as a research facility, it was built in secret starting in 1958. Its existence was first revealed in 1960 by a University of Michigan professor and later confirmed by US intelligence.

Declassified US intelligence from 1960 indicated that Dimona housed a reprocessing plant to produce plutonium, which is essential for nuclear weapons. By the early 1970s, US intelligence agencies believed Israel had the capacity to manufacture nuclear arms. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has never inspected Dimona.

Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In March 2024, Qatar’s envoy to the IAEA called for Israel to place its nuclear facilities under international safeguards. UN Resolution 487, passed in 1981 after Israel’s strike on Iraq’s Osirak reactor, also urged inspections. Israel has not complied.

Recent satellite images indicate heavy construction at Dimona over the last five years. Experts suggest the facility may be undergoing upgrades or even construction of a new reactor. This could increase Israel’s ability to produce plutonium, potentially for both military and civilian uses. In 2018, Netanyahu issued a subtle warning from Dimona itself: “Those who threaten to wipe us out put themselves in similar danger.”