A planned test by Tomer, a government-owned Israeli defense firm, caused the alarm triggered by an unusual explosion Saturday in the Beit Shemesh area, the company said.
“A routine and planned test was carried out, conducted according to plan and achieving all its objectives,” the company said. “All emergency forces were notified in advance, as is customary, and the fact that emergency and rescue forces were not called in attests to this. The videos filmed from a distance amplified the force of the explosion and did not reflect the fact that this was a routine event.”
Unusual explosion rocks Beit Shemesh
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Despite the company’s statement, security officials from the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council and officials from the Beit Shemesh municipality told ynet they had not been informed of the test.
David Gozlan, a Beit Shemesh City Council member and opposition chairman who has lived in the city for 59 years, said residents had never experienced anything similar.
“There were quarries here, there were explosions at the Hartuv quarries, there were quite a few things here — but we have never experienced anything like this,” he said.
Tomer is based near Moshav Matzliah and specializes in rocket propulsion. It develops engines for all versions of the Arrow missile defense system and for Ofek reconnaissance satellites. The company also produces missile and rocket engines for systems including the Rampage air-launched rocket, the Bar rocket, Magic Spear, EXTRA, Predator Hawk and Barak MX missiles, which are used at sea, on land and in the air.
Until 2018, Tomer was part of Israel Military Industries (IMI). During IMI’s privatization, when it was sold to Elbit Systems, the government decided to make Tomer an independent company due to its role as a central supplier of rocket systems to Israeli defense companies, including Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael.
Tomer is defined as a national center of expertise for rocket propulsion because of its role in supplying such systems to Israel’s defense industry.
The company employs about 900 people after recently hiring additional staff, including scientists and physicists. In 2025, it reported sales of 648 million shekels and a net profit of 41 million shekels. Demand for its products rose sharply following the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war against Hamas, and its workforce grew from about 700 employees to more than 900.
Dotan Gabai, CEO of Tomer Photo: PRThe company has also expanded operations and added a new AI-based production line for serial assembly of rocket engines.
Attorney Dotan Gabai was recently appointed CEO after previously serving as deputy CEO. He has worked at Tomer since it became independent. Roni Moreno, a former IDF chief logistics officer, serves as chairman of the board.