Israel’s overnight strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran represent the initial salvo of what Jerusalem is calling Operation Rising Lion. In Genesis 49, Jacob tells his sons: ‘Judah is a lion’s cub/ from the prey, my son, you rise up/ He lies down and crouches like a lion/ like a lioness — who dares disturb him?’
Jerusalem is bracing itself for painful reprisals and has put its citizens on alert
Israel rose up after years of warning the world of Iran’s plot to acquire nuclear weapons. In a series of daring precision strikes, it has targeted key regime figures, ballistic missile supplies and the Natanz nuclear facility. Israeli intelligence reportedly learned that Tehran had produced enough enriched uranium to build 15 nuclear bombs and was approaching ‘the point of no return’. Israel is describing its actions as a ‘preemptive strike’, hinting that the possibility of an Iranian attack on Israel was growing.

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