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Tehran, June 17: Iranian missile strikes have reduced the renowned Weizmann Institute of Science, located in the city of Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, to smoldering ruins.

Once a pillar of the Zionist regime’s scientific and military collaboration, the institute with close links to the Israeli spy agency Mossad, now stands dysfunctional and devastated.

Long considered one of the most prominent scientific powerhouses of the Israeli regime, the Weizmann Institute maintained deep ties with both the Israeli military and the Mossad intelligence agency.

Its partnership extended to Elbit Systems, the regime’s leading weapons manufacturer with branches across the US, the UK, and beyond.

According to Israeli media, the precision strike — launched early Saturday — was “far from accidental.” It targeted a hub of cutting-edge research tied to the regime’s military-industrial complex, including fields such as physics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

The destruction was described by Israeli experts as “catastrophic.”

Laboratories and entire buildings lie in ruins. Sensitive instruments, rare biological materials, and decades of pioneering research have been obliterated. What once represented the scientific pride of the regime has now been reduced to ashes and debris, experts admitted.

Images circulating in the aftermath showed scorched structures, windows blown out, tangled wires hanging from collapsed ceilings, and firefighting floods turning the institute’s courtyards into pools of ruin.

The true magnitude of the strike began to emerge as shell-shocked scientists and researchers came forward to speak of their massive and irreversible losses.

“In under 15 minutes, I saw images of a fire consuming the lab that has been my second home for 22 years. Three entire floors collapsed. Nothing is left — no data, no images, no notes, no history,” said Professor Eldad Tzahor, describing the obliteration of his laboratory.

Tzahor emphasized the magnitude of the loss, saying it was just about the equipment, but the destruction of a scientific archive tied to the Zionist regime’s technological ambitions.

Among the hardest-hit was the computer science department, where the lab of Professor Eran Segal — a global leader in AI-driven medical research — was completely annihilated.

His 50-member team scrambled to recover thousands of vital biological samples from ultra-cold freezers, but flooding rendered most of them irretrievably damaged.

Equipment worth millions is now considered beyond repair.

“It’s not just expensive devices that are gone. It’s decades of accumulated expertise and finely calibrated scientific systems — generations of research, vanished,” said Professor Sharieal Fleishman of the Department of Biochemistry.

Veteran researcher Professor Oren Schuldiner painted a haunting picture: “It’s as if our lab evaporated. Years of work — unique DNA libraries, stem cells, genetically engineered fly strains — all disappeared in an instant. This was the product of countless sleepless nights by our students.”

In a moment of grave introspection, Schuldiner raised questions about the Zionist entity’s future amid Iranian retaliatory operations: “This isn’t just about Iran. It’s also about the deep uncertainty surrounding Israel’s future.”

The strike on the Weizmann Institute came as part of Operation True Promise II, launched by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Friday, hours after the Israeli regime assassinated several senior Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including women and children.

New Delhi: At least five MBBS students, one PG resident doctor and the wife of a superspecialist doctor of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad were killed and over 60 medical students injured when an Air India plane crashed into the college complex, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) claimed.

The search operation at the crash site is still going on and many are feared buried in the debris, FAIMA national vice president Dr Divyansh Singh said. "Bodies that have been found were totally charred," he added.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed into the medical college complex and burst into a ball of fire moments after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country's worst air disasters.

There were 242 people on board, including 12 crew members. Of the 230 passengers on board, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national, Air India said earlier in the day in a statement.

"As of now, at least five medical students, one PG resident doctor and the wife of a superspecialist doctor from the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad have been killed and over 60 medical students have been injured," Singh said.

"As per the information I have received so far, the plane after losing its balance crashed over the boys hostel building of the BJ Medical College. And as it was a lunch time most of the students and resident doctors were there for lunch," he said.

There was no official count of those killed even hours after the the crash.

As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died.

According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 people on board were two pilots and 10 crew members.

The search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport.

The Indian Medical Association expressed deep sorrow over the tragic loss of lives in the plane crash at Ahmedabad.

"We extend our heartfelt prayers for the speedy recovery of all those injured," the IMA said in a statement.

A team of doctors from the IMA, Gujarat branch assisted by the IMA-Medical Student Network has been promptly deployed to the incident site and City Hospital, Ahmedabad to assist in emergency medical care.

"IMA stands in solidarity with the families of the victims during this difficult time. We are committed to providing all possible medical support and coordinating with local authorities for relief efforts.

"This tragedy reminds us of the importance of rapid response and unified support in moments of national crisis," it said.

Mangaluru, June 12: In a major move to counter growing communal unrest in Karnataka’s coastal and Malnad regions, the state government has constituted a dedicated Communal Violence Control Force comprising 248 personnel. 

Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy has been appointed as the head of this newly formed unit.

The special task force will operate across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Shivamogga districts—areas that have recently witnessed a troubling rise in communal tensions and retaliatory killings. Notable incidents in Dakshina Kannada include the murders of Ashraf, rowdy-sheeter Suhas Shetty, and Abdul Rahman, which have raised serious concerns about law and order.

According to the order issued by Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP) Dr. M.A. Saleem, the force includes three experienced inspectors from the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), and will report to Western Range IGP Amit Singh.

Officials say this is just the first phase. The Home Department intends to strengthen the force further by adding more personnel in due course. Members of the unit will receive training at the Police Training Centre in Karkala, Udupi district, and will be equipped with exclusive uniforms, vehicles, and special powers to respond swiftly to communal flare-ups.

With this initiative, the state aims to reinforce public safety, restore communal harmony, and ensure rapid response during times of tension.