ISRAEL has stepped up construction on a major new structure at a facility linked to its suspected atomic weapons programme, according to satellite images analysed by experts.

The work at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Centre near Dimona comes just weeks after Israel and the United States bombed nuclear sites in Iran, including the heavy water reactor at Arak.

Israel has long been widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

Seven experts who reviewed the images said that the project is almost certainly tied to Israel’s weapons programme, given its proximity to Dimona’s reactor, which is not connected to any civilian power plant.

But they were divided on the structure’s purpose.

Three experts suggested it could be a new heavy water reactor capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, pointing to the site’s size, location and apparent multi-storey design.

The others said it might be a facility to assemble nuclear arms, though they all stressed that the early stage of construction makes conclusions difficult.

Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US said the project could be a “box-shaped reactor” without a visible containment dome, but added that secrecy around Israel’s programme “forces the public to speculate.”

Israel has never confirmed or denied possessing atomic weapons and bars international inspections of its facilities.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Israel Katz today announced the launch of a new spy satellite, which he said would enhance Israel’s ability to collect images across the Middle East.

During a 12-day war earlier this year, Israel gathered more than 12,000 satellite images over Iran.

“This is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be — we are keeping an eye on you at all times and in all situations,” he wrote on X.

Israel’s military did not say from where the satellite was launched.