War Day 627: Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Obliterated, Chevron Attack Foiled

War Summary, Day 627: Schools reopened across Israel, except in Be’er Sheva where four civilians were killed by a direct hit in their safe rooms, the IDF stopped a terror attack near Hebron, weapons were discovered on the Jordanian border, troops are advancing in Jabaliya, Gaza, Iranian proxies stayed quiet, and Netanyahu warned that Hamas still must be defeated.


By Mrs. Bruria Efune

50 held captive in Gaza.
28 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
57 hostage bodies rescued.
1,885 Israelis killed.
432 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,345 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
18,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Iran – Homefront:

The state of emergency has been lifted, along with all Home Front Comma25nd restrictions—everything now goes back to normal, though the intense feelings of the last 12 days will take time to recover from.

All schools open on Wednesday, except for in Be’er Sheva, which will wait another day. The mayor of Be’er Sheva understood that the city is still in too much shock to return to normal, or feel safe sending kids to school. Four missiles impacted in Be’er Sheva, the only city to be hit more than once. (In Israel, the school year ends on June 30th, and is followed by 3 weeks of subsidized camp in school.)

**

The ceasefire was set for 7:00 am, despite Iran’s Foreign Minister claiming it would start at 4 am. At 3:00 am, Israel launched a powerful strike against the regime in Tehran, destroyed several missile launchers aimed at Israel, and then returned all aircraft to Israel at 4:00 am.

At 5:00 am, the Iranian regime began to launch waves of missile attacks against Israel. A total of 20 missiles were launched. One of these missiles impacted a seven-story residential building in Be’er Sheva, killing 4 people, and injuring dozens more. Another impacted in Haifa, where damage was caused, and people were injured.

At 7:06 am, after Trump announced that the ceasefire began, Iran launched another missile at Israel, which the IDF ignored. At 10:25, Iran launched another two missiles.

Israel’s Minister of Defense immediately sent the Air Force to respond with force. U.S. President Trump angrily called Prime Minister Netanyahu, demanding that he stop, and not ruin Trump’s ceasefire (which Iran had already ruined). The two agreed that the Air Force would do a fly over, and hit one symbolic target—an Iranian radar, north of Tehran.

Following this, the ceasefire continued.

**

The missile that impacted in Be’er Sheva made a direct hit on a wall between two safe rooms in an apartment building. Safe rooms are designed to protect against smaller missiles, heavy shrapnel, and shockwaves from missiles—but cannot take a direct impact from a ballistic missile.

Four people were killed in the safe rooms. Much of the building was turned to rubble, and rescue forces spent the whole day digging out civilians, including small children.

The names of those killed:
Naomi Shanun
Michal Zacks, 50
Eitan Zacks, 18
Noa Bogoslavsky, 18

**

Israel intercepted 15 UAVs launched against Israel overnight. Two more arrived in Israel in the evening, long after the ceasefire began. UAVs take hours to reach Israel from Iran, so these were most likely launched right as the ceasefire began. The last UAVs were intercepted.

**

12 days of war on the Homefront in numbers:

28 people killed
3,238 hospitalized
23 seriously injured
9,000 people lost their homes (most in high rise apartment buildings)

550 ballistic missiles launched at Israel
31 missiles impacted in populated areas or essential infrastructures
27 missiles landed in empty areas (intentionally not intercepted)
8 impacts caused deaths
94% of missiles aimed at civilians were intercepted
1,000+ UAVs
1 drone impacted in Israel

Iran – Rising Lion:

In a speech today, Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined the accomplishments of the war, and declared the goals achieved.

— On the nuclear threat, Netanyahu said, “we sent Iran’s nuclear project to oblivion.” He detailed:

• The main enrichment facility in Natanz—destroyed
• The uranium conversion plant in Isfahan—destroyed
• The heavy water installation in Arak—destroyed
• The enrichment facility deep underground at Fordo—destroyed
• Dozens of installations of the Iranian nuclear program, including laboratories and factories for producing centrifuges—destroyed
• The entire archive with all the data and all of Iran’s knowledge for the nuclear program—destroyed

Netanyahu added that, “if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild this project – we will act with the same determination and the same force to cut off any such attempt.”

— On the ballistic missile threat, Netanyahu said that the IDF destroyed Iran’s entire industry for producing the missiles. The operation targeted both existing missiles and launchers, and destroyed dozens of missile production sites.

— On the threat of the regime itself, Netanyahu said, “Regarding the Iranian regime, we struck crushing blows at this wicked regime. We eliminated many senior commanders. We destroyed command centers. We attacked Revolutionary Guards bases. We attacked Basij bases.”

**

A CNN report today claimed that the American military attacks on the Iranian nuclear plants did not destroy the key components of Iran’s nuclear program, and likely only delayed it for months.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly disagreed: “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”

**

Everyone is still wondering about the uranium that Iran enriched to 60%. Netanyahu previously stated that Israel knows where it is.

An Israeli security source told the Saudi Al-Hadath channel: “We know where Iran moved the enriched uranium, most of it is buried under the rubble. Israel did not attack the enriched uranium directly because it could have caused an environmental-nuclear disaster.”

**
In an assessment, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Eyal Zamir didn’t declare the nuclear and ballistic missile threat obliterated, but set back: “We have concluded a significant chapter, but the campaign against Iran is not over. We are entering a new phase, one that builds upon the achievements of the current operation. We have set Iran’s nuclear project back by years, and the same goes for its missile program.”

Based on statements of the defense establishment, it appears that Israel will keep a similar doctrine in Iran as in Lebanon—and whenever restoration efforts are seen, will immediately strike in Iran to prevent it. The question is if Iran is as terrified as Hezbollah, and will refrain from firing back.

The U.S. will attempt to negotiate with Iran again, aiming for a committed end to their nuclear ambitions.

**

Esmail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force appeared on the streets of Tehran today and posed for photos with residents. In the first days of the war, foreign media reported that Qaani was eliminated in the opening strikes. He was not seen or heard from since.

The is the second time that Qaani disappears in a war, and suddenly emerges when all is clear. In October 2024, Qaani was in Beirut when the IDF carried out a sudden attack that eliminated top Hezbollah officials. Qaani’s whereabouts were unknown, until he reappeared in Iran. (This prompted many to joke that Qaani is a top Mossad agent.)

**

Defense Minister Israel Katz said something interesting during a review before the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee today. He said that the Iranians had a second plan—during missile barrages, they intended for their terrorist proxies to invade Israeli territory and carry out further October 7th style attacks.

The IDF had prepared for this scenario, and placed special forces on guard all along every border—especially with Jordan and Lebanon. Thank G-d, the proxies were all too scared to carry through.

Iran has proxies in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Gaza—all of Israel’s borders. Hezbollah in Lebanon was supposed to be their mightiest defense against Israel—but all refused to join in Iran’s fight, out of fear of obliteration. The Houthis in Yemen fired only two ballistic missiles.

**

The war in numbers:

Israel’s Air Force carried out over 1,000 sorties (bombing missions) over Iran.

Eliminated:
15 top Iranian nuclear scientists
35+ senior military commanders
6 section IRGC commanders
600+ IRGC soldiers

Shortly before the ceasefire began, Israel added more to the above list, including:

• Ali Reza Latifi, deputy head of the “Faraj” intelligence apparatus
• Mohammad-Taqi Yousfond, a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards’ Basij militia and responsible for the organization’s intelligence system, i

At the start of the war, Iran was estimated to have 2,500 ballistic missiles and 350 launchers.
After Israel’s strikes, they are now estimated to have a little over 1,000 ballistic missiles, and just 100 launchers.

**

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has not yet emerged from his bunker. But his regime still controls the people in Iran.

When asked, US President Trump told reporters that he did not want regime change in Tehran, because that could lead to chaos.

Iran’s Crown Prince Pahlavi, who escaped Iran with his father during the Iranian revolution and now lives in New York, is still trying to lead a revolt.

Today he called on Iranians to take advantage of the moment, explaining, “We are now moving to the final phase of our struggle. It will be hard. But the regime is weak. It is near collapse. Only we, the Iranian people, can end it.

“To the military—as you’re given orders to lash out at the people—stand down. This is your final chance. You are being watched. We will remember who stood with the people and who committed crimes against them.”

Hostages:

In his address today, Netanyahu said that to complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, Hamas must be defeated, and the hostages brought home—both living and deceased.

Addressing the families of the hostages, he said, “We have not ceased for a moment, even a single one, including during this war, from our efforts to return home all of our hostages. Again: Both the living and the deceased. And we will not relent from this sacred mission until it is complete.”

— A note to longtime readers: You’ve read stories I wrote about the Samchat, and many of you donated to purchase equipment and drones for his soldiers. Recently, he lead his soldiers to rescue the bodies of three hostages. They are constantly working on further plans—hopefully you’ll get to hear about it soon (I won’t be able to mention his name, so look out for the hint). In these missions, they use drones donated by you—and in that way, you also took part in bringing hostages home.

Gaza:

IDF troops are continuing to advance in Gaza, particularly in the Jabaliya area in Northern Gaza. The IDF released little information about their activities today, even though there is a lot going on. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a more detailed update.

Judea & Samaria:

Israeli security forces prevented a terrorist attack in the village of Yatta, near Hebron. Based on accurate intelligence, police and special units searched a building and found two homemade bombs, parts of M-16 rifles, and many bullets. A local man was arrested and taken in for questioning.

Forces on the Jordanian border found an M-16 pistol, magazines, and bullets during an operation in the Aqabat Jaber area. They arrested two local men—a father and son. Later that night, six more people were arrested at checkpoints across Judea and Samaria for posting content on social media that encouraged terror attacks against Israel.

Lebanon:

A Hezbollah terrorist was eliminated by the IDF in the Nebatiyeh region, after he violated the ceasefire agreement.

**
Netanyahu’s postwar statement

Recommended reading: a translation of the transcript of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s postwar statement.
Click to view.

“Dear citizens of Israel,
In the 12 days of Operation Rising Lion, we achieved a historic victory, which will stand for generations.
We removed two existential threats: The threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles. Had we not acted now, the State of Israel would have soon faced the danger of annihilation.

But this did not happen because at the decisive moment, we rose up and stood like lions, and our roar shook Tehran and echoed around the world.

In the scriptures, it is said: ‘By stratagems shall you make war.’

The surprise opening blow of Rising Lion will go down in the annals of Israel’s wars and will be studied by every military in the world. In one strike, in one blow, we eliminated Iran’s senior command, including three chiefs-of-staff and many other senior officers. And in those same moments, we eliminated Iran’s leading nuclear scientists – those who held the knowledge, led the nuclear program and sought to bring upon us destruction and death.

We destroyed the main enrichment facility in Natanz, the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan and the heavy water installation in Arak. Our friend, President Trump, stood alongside us in an unprecedented manner. On his order, the US military destroyed the enrichment facility deep underground at Fordo.
We attacked dozens of installations of the Iranian nuclear program, including laboratories and factories for producing centrifuges. You certainly remember seven years ago, how in a brilliant Mossad operation, we brought to Israel the heart of Iran’s secret nuclear archive. We revealed Iran’s secret nuclear program for the annihilation of the State of Israel to President Trump, to the entire world and to you, citizens of Israel.

Indeed, today, now, in this operation, we completed the work and struck the entire archive. This archive concentrated within it Iran’s overall knowledge for producing atomic bombs. We also did this.
For decades, I have promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons. And indeed, in all of the swift actions that our soldiers carried out, we sent Iran’s nuclear project to oblivion. And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild this project – we will act with the same determination and the same force to cut off any such attempt. I reiterate: Iran will not have nuclear weapons.

With the same force and determination, we destroyed Iran’s industry for producing ballistic missiles. We destroyed dozens of missile production factories. We struck hard at their stock of missiles. We destroyed most of their launchers. In many cases, we destroyed them minutes before they could launch their missiles of death at Israel. Iran’s malicious intention, to threaten – within a few years – the existence of Israel with tens of thousands of ballistic missiles – this threat has also been removed.

Regarding the Iranian regime, we struck crushing blows at this wicked regime. We eliminated many senior commanders. We destroyed command centers. We attacked Revolutionary Guards bases. We attacked Basij bases. We struck the symbols of the regime. Today, this morning, a few hours before the ceasefire, we struck the ayatollahs’ regime with the hardest blow of all since the start of the war, with the hardest blow in its history. We eliminated hundreds of regime operatives in a crushing attack, the most crushing that Tehran has seen in the past 50 years.

Citizens of Israel, on your behalf, I thank my friend, President Trump, and the US, for their part in defending Israel and in removing the Iranian nuclear threat. The US decision to join the campaign, not only on the defensive side, but also on the offensive side, was historic. It has never happened before. This was the fruit of a diplomatic effort that I led, together with Minister Dermer, with President Trump and his team. I must tell you Israel has never had as great a friend in the White House, and I thank him very much for the joint work. It has major implications for Israel’s national security, for the security of each and every one of you, and for your children and grand-children, and for the face of the Middle East.

Citizens of Israel, on October 7, we were in the abyss. We suffered the worst disaster in the history of the state. But thanks to the joint forces of the Government, the security services and you, the people, we recovered and returned fire. Approximately 20 months later, we took control of the skies over Iran and exacted an unprecedented price, which it never imagined it would have to pay.

And yet, despite our tremendous achievements, we are not riding the waves of euphoria. We are neither overconfident nor complacent – the opposite in fact. We have no intention of taking our foot off the pedal. We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas and bring about the release of all our hostages, both the living and the deceased.

To the families of the hostages, I say: We have not ceased for a moment, even a single one, including during this war, from our efforts to return home all of our hostages. Again: Both the living and the deceased. And we will not relent from this sacred mission until it is complete.

And to the bereaved families, I say: Your dear ones, our heroes, did not fall in vain – because it is their heroism and sacrifice that made it possible to dismantle the Iranian axis. Without the immense achievements in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria, and against the terrorism in Judea and Samaria, we would not have been able to reach Tehran.

With the destruction of the Iranian axis of evil, we will open a path of peace and prosperity for the nations of the region, and I say to you, even beyond the nations of the region. We are already working on that, vigorously, and the time will also come to reveal our activity. We will compensate, with a generous hand, everyone who has suffered damages, and bring the Israeli economy to new heights. This is already happening.

Citizens of Israel,
We have paid heavy prices on the home front during this operation. We embrace the families of the fallen with infinite love. We all wish a full recovery to all who were injured, in body and soul, as we do for all those injured in this campaign since October 7.
In recent days, I have visited several of the cities that suffered considerable destruction by Iranian missiles. Many homes were damaged, and as I promised the residents, we will build them anew.

Citizens of Israel,
I wish to express, on your behalf, the deepest gratitude to IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir; to the commanders and the fighters of the IDF; to Mossad Director David Barnea and the fighters of the Mossad; to Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar; to our brave combat pilots – what a wonderful job they have done; to the dedicated technical ground crews; to the Director of Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder and the intelligence personnel, who revealed the enemy’s secrets with amazing creativity; to the Director of the Operations Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Oded Basyuk, for driving the campaign; to my Military Secretary, Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman; to the Home Front Command; to the Israeli Police; to the fire, medical and rescue Services, who have saved many lives.

And naturally, I wish to express gratitude to Defense Minister Israel Katz, and all of the government ministers. They all stood jointly behind the historic decision, and acted, each in their own purview. Each and every one of them rose to the occasion.

And beyond all that, I wish to express gratitude to you, citizens of Israel. This is a moment of national pride, a moment of unity, a moment when every citizen in Israel can stand proudly and say: Together we did the unimaginable.

The nation rose as a lion. Am Israel Chai [‘the People of Israel live’]. And with G-d’s help – the eternal people will ensure the eternity of Israel.”

Dedicated in honor of Avigail Chana Leah bas Fraidel Miriam who exemplifies what it means to help another Jew. May you be given the strength to find joy again as your mother did.

WATCH: