Photo by
IDF Spokesperson/TPS-IL on 22 June, 2025
Israeli Army Spokesperson: Iran Now in the Crosshairs, UN Complicit in Hostage’s Murder
Jerusalem, 22 June, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Israel is conducting a broad, multi-front campaign that includes strikes deep inside Iran, Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Sunday. He also revealed that a Hamas terrorist involved in murdering an Israeli hostage had been employed by a UN agency in Gaza.
“Let me be clear: the Iranian regime is responsible for the war that has raged for over 600 days,” Defrin said in his first remarks since the U.S. joined Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Referring to U.S. strikes overnight on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, Defrin said the attacks “mark a crucial step in stopping the Iranian regime’s aggression and its ability to pose a threat to the region and the world.”
“The regime’s ability to threaten the State of Israel is being dismantled piece by piece,” he added.
Defrin also discussed the recovery of the remains of three hostages from Gaza, which the military announced earlier in the day. All three: 71-year-old Ofra Keidar, 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano, and 19-year-old Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson, were murdered during the October 7 attacks and their bodies taken back to Gaza.
“All three were brutally murdered and abducted by the Hamas terrorist organization,” Defrin said. He noted that one of the terrorists involved in Samerano’s abduction was employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
“Let that sink in: UN workers took part in the October 7th massacre,” he said.
“We will not rest until every hostage is home,” Defrin vowed. “We will continue to act, with resolve and determination, to protect the citizens of Israel.”
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.
Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iranian nuclear sites on June 13, citing intelligence that Tehran had reached “a point of no return” in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. According to Israeli defense officials, Iran has developed the capacity to rapidly enrich uranium and assemble nuclear bombs, with sufficient fissile material for up to 15 weapons.
Israeli intelligence also exposed a covert program to complete all components of a nuclear device. The strikes marked a dramatic escalation in what officials describe as a broader Iranian strategy combining nuclear development, missile proliferation, and proxy warfare aimed at Israel’s destruction.
