CITIZENS NEWS

Report: Iran hit secret U.S.-Israeli military bunker beneath Tel Aviv tower

By kevinhughes // 2025-10-18

• Iran's June 13 missile strike targeted "Site 81," a classified underground command center beneath Tel Aviv's Da Vinci Towers, jointly operated by Israel and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The facility serves as a shielded intelligence hub for Israeli military operations, effectively embedding a high-value military target in a densely populated civilian zone.
• Authorities sealed off strike sites, blocked journalists (including Fox News), and suppressed media coverage for weeks. Satellite imagery of the area is deliberately blurred on platforms like Google Maps to hide military infrastructure.
• Leaked emails confirm Site 8's function as a critical IDF/U.S. command node, with contracts awarded to defense firms like ThinkLogical. Former NATO Commander James Stavridis' correspondence with ex-Israeli military Chief Gabi Ashkenazi corroborates the site's strategic importance.
• Israel has long accused Palestinians of using human shields, yet Site 81 is located less than 100 meters from a children's playground. Luxury towers housing the bunker were financed by Israeli-American investors tied to military intelligence (e.g., Check Point Technologies, AI21 Labs).
• The attack revealed fatal gaps in Israel's air defenses and demonstrated Iran's ability to penetrate multilayered systems. The global media blackout on such strikes raises concerns about narrative control and Israel's reliance on U.S.-backed secret infrastructure.

A recent investigation by The Grayzone has uncovered that Iran’s missile strike on Tel Aviv in June directly targeted a highly classified underground military command center jointly operated by Israel and the United States. The bunker, codenamed "Site 81," is buried beneath the upscale Da Vinci Towers, a luxury apartment and office complex in the heart of the city. Geolocation analysis, leaked emails and public records confirm that Site 81 is an electromagnetically shielded intelligence hub, constructed with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) oversight over a decade ago. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, the USACE is a federal agency under the Department of the Army, responsible for overseeing civil and military engineering projects. Established in 1802, it is one of the oldest federal agencies in the United States. The facility reportedly serves as a command-and-control node for Israeli military operations, raising concerns that Israel embedded a critical military installation within a densely populated civilian area – effectively using residents as human shields, a practice Israel has long accused Palestinians of employing. When Iranian missiles struck multiple locations in north Tel Aviv earlier this year, Israeli authorities immediately sealed off the impact zone, preventing journalists from documenting the damage. Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst was aggressively pushed away by police near the HaKirya compound – the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Defense – and the Azrieli Center. Hours later, Iranian state media announced that military and intelligence targets had been precisely hit in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iranian soil. Despite Israel's strict censorship, The Grayzone successfully pinpointed Site 81 using a 2013 USACE photo showing construction equipment outside the facility. The image was matched to landmarks near the Da Vinci Towers, including the nearby Kannarit (Canarit) Air Force towers, which were built with blast mitigation systems for maximum security. Satellite imagery of the area remains deliberately blurred on Google and Yandex Maps, with no street-view access – a clear indication of Israeli efforts to conceal sensitive military sites.

Leaked emails confirm command hub role

Previously unreleased emails obtained by The Grayzone reveal that Site 81 functions as a critical military command center. In a 2015 exchange, former North Atlantic Treaty Organization Commander James Stavridis wrote to ex-Israeli military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, mentioning that a U.S. firm, ThinkLogical, had secured a major contract at Site 81 to build command and control networks for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Stavridis' email, leaked by an Iranian-linked hacktivist group, underscores the facility's strategic importance. Israeli media deliberately suppressed coverage of the strike. According to France 24, Haaretz waited two weeks before reporting on the Da Vinci attack, despite images circulating online immediately after the strike. One resident, speaking anonymously, lamented: "Brother, don't you get that they approved the construction of all those towers to protect the Kirya? Today, I realize I've been paying 12,000 shekels [$3,650 USD] a month to protect the Kirya." The Da Vinci complex and surrounding towers were financed by Israeli-American investors with deep ties to Israel's security establishment. Among them:

• Check Point Technologies, whose CEO previously commanded Unit 8200, Israel's elite signals intelligence corps.
• AI21 Labs, an AI firm founded by Unit 8200 veterans, which leases space in the Da Vinci office building and develops military-grade AI tools targeting Palestinians.

The bunker's location—less than 100 meters from a children's playground—highlights Israel's double standard on human shielding, a tactic it routinely condemns Palestinians for using. The revelation of Site 81 confirms that Tel Aviv's civilian infrastructure doubles as military fortifications, making them legitimate targets under international law. The strike exposes Israel's reliance on U.S.-backed underground command centers while reinforcing Iran's precision strike capabilities. As tensions escalate, the global media blackout on such strikes raises urgent questions about who controls the narrative – and who benefits from the silence. Watch this video about Iranian ballistic missiles impacting Tel Aviv. This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheGrayzone.com PressTV.ir BrightU.ai PalestineChronicle.com Brighteon.com

United States national security Israel censorship chaos Army Corps of Engineers WWIII suppressed Tel Aviv IDF James Stavridis Site 81 Da Vinci Towers Yandex Maps intelligence hub Gabi Ashkenazi Kannarit Canarit Check Point Technologies secret bunker