Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israel reveals Iranian missile hit Haifa government tower in June

First responders evacuated 23 people from the building, including three who sustained serious wounds.

The Sail Tower in central Haifa, Oct. 8, 2017. Photo by Michael Jacobs/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images.
The Sail Tower in central Haifa, Oct. 8, 2017. Photo by Michael Jacobs/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images.

After more than two months under censorship, Israel confirmed on Sunday that an Iranian ballistic missile struck government offices in central Haifa during the June 13–24 aerial war with the Islamic Republic.

The 29-story Sail Tower, which is part of the District Government Center in the northern city, sustained heavy damage, along with nearby structures.

First response teams evacuated 23 people from the building, including three who sustained serious wounds. Twenty more were lightly injured.

Footage released on Sunday showed the moment of impact, with interceptor trails visible in the sky, followed by a fireball on the ground.

The June 20 attack was part of a wider barrage of 25 missiles that also targeted the Jewish state’s center and the southern city of Beersheva.

The Sail Tower remains empty due to the severity of the damage.

The 405-foot-tall building, also known as the “Missile Tower,” houses numerous Israeli government offices, including the city’s Interior Ministry’s branch.

Iranian missiles killed 30 civilians and one off-duty Israel Defense Forces soldier during the 12-day war, while wounding more than 3,000 others and displacing 13,000.

See more from JNS Staff
“The munitions expenditure in ‘Operation Epic Fury’ has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the report states.
In a briefing with JNS, IDF Southern Command details strengthened local security squads, new reserve forces, advanced technology and training aimed at preventing another massacre.
Charlotte Knobloch, who leads the city’s Jewish community, canceled her attendance at a book launch following the incident.
Widawski, a younger brother and an uncle were the only members of the family to survive the Nazi extermination of Jews.