A Gray Zone investigation has revealed that Iran’s June 13 missile attack on Tel Aviv hit a secret underground military command center jointly operated by Israel and the United States, buried beneath a luxury apartment building in the city center.
The bunker, known as “Site 81,” is located beneath Da Vinci Towers, a luxury residential and office complex built on former ministry property, according to geolocation analysis, leaked emails and public records.
The facility reportedly serves as a command and control node for Israeli military intelligence, and U.S. Army engineers oversaw its construction more than a decade ago.
When Iranian missiles struck multiple locations north of Tel Aviv in June, Israeli authorities immediately sealed off the impact zone and prevented journalists from filming.
Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst was among those forcibly taken away by police at the Hakiriya compound and near the Azrieli Center.
Hours later, Iranian state media announced that military and intelligence targets had been hit precisely in retaliation for previous Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.
The Gray Zone report links the da Vinci complex to a 2013 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that expanded “Site 81” into a 6,000 square meter electromagnetically shielded intelligence facility.
Photos from the U.S. Army study were geolocated at the site using surrounding landmarks, including the Kannarit Air Force Tower, located just a few meters away.
The site is less than 100 meters from a children’s playground and community center, raising concerns that Israel is embedding a secret military facility in a populated area, effectively using civilians as human shields, an act Israel has long accused the Palestinians of doing.
Satellite images of the area remain blurry on Google and Yandex Maps, and Street View is not accessible, suggesting continued censorship of strategic locations within Tel Aviv.
Leaked communications between former NATO commander James Stavridis and former Israeli military commander Gabi Ashkenazi obtained by The Gray Zone confirm that the bunker served as a command and control center for Israel’s military network.
In a 2015 exchange, Stavridis mentioned Synlogical, a U.S. company that had “won a major contract with the IDF and Site 81.”
The Da Vinci complex and its surrounding towers were funded by a network of Israeli-American investors and companies with close ties to Israel’s security services, including Check Point Technologies and AI21 Labs, founded by veterans of Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s elite signals intelligence unit.
France 24’s analysis of post-strike coverage highlights Israeli censorship, with Haaretz delaying reporting on the Da Vinci clash for two weeks despite images circulating.
MNA/Press TV