Clandestine Nuclear Facility In Israel Undergoing Its Biggest Project In Decades: Reports

A secretive Israeli nuclear facility is said to be undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in several decades, reports Times of India citing The Associated Press.

The satellite images analysed by The Associated Press show a dig about the size of a soccer field which is likely to be several stories deep and sits just metres away from an ageing reactor at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center which is located near the city of Dimona.

It gains significance as the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center is said to be at the centre of Israel's undeclared and clandestine atomic weapons programme.

However, it should also be noted that the analysis by The Associated Press has not been able to ascertain what the construction is for.

With the plutonium from the Center, Israel is widely believed to be one of the only nine nuclear-armed nations globally. However, it remains unknown how many nuclear weapons the nation possesses.

It is estimated that the count of such weapons possessed by Israel is at least 80which can be delivered by land-based ballistic missiles, fighter jets or submarines.