Just after midnight on 28/29 December 2008 local time, the university was bombed in six air strikes by the Israeli Air Force during the 2008 Gaza War. An Israeli army spokeswoman told The Chronicle of Higher Education that university facilities were being used by Hamas to develop and store weapons including Qassam rockets used to target Israeli civilians. Hamas denied the Israeli allegation. According to claims by the Israeli-based International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Hamas uses the University's laboratories to research and develop the Qassam rockets, in order to extend its range and lethality.