Overview
- The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency conducted a special operation on June 22 to recover the bodies of Yonatan Samerano, Ofra Keidar and Shay Levinson from the Gaza Strip.
- Kobi Samerano said his son’s remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan’s 23rd birthday, adding emotional weight to the operation.
- All three victims were killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, and Israeli officials state that about 50 hostages still remain in Gaza, with fewer than 25 believed alive.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to sustain efforts to bring home both living and deceased captives as Israel widens its campaign to counter Iranian influence.
- The United States launched airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, escalating regional tensions in the context of the wider Israel-Hamas conflict.