On October 7, 2023, the Israelis were caught napping. Perhaps overconfident after multiple decisive wins in defensive wars since the modern Jewish state’s inception — and maybe internalizing a false sense of security, thanks to the Iron Dome shield — they were shocked as Hamas terrorists invaded their territory, slaughtering nearly 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages. That vicious attack was designed to derail Israeli-Saudi peace negotiations. It was funded, supported, planned and green-lit by the Iranian regime. Ever since that historic failure by Israel’s security apparatus, the tide has turned. Dramatically. The Israelis have decimated Hamas in Gaza, ignoring bleating from much of the useless, cowardly (and worse) ‘international community,’ with determination to finish off the terror group on their border. They’ve also decapitated and crippled Hezbollah to their north, in Lebanon. This feat included the ingenious pager operation, a dramatic neutralization of enemy weapons systems, and the liquidation of Hezbollah’s leader. It became quite clear how thoroughly Israeli intelligence had penetrated the terror group, bringing Iran’s top terror proxy army to its knees. Lebanon is transformed.
And now, the main event. The stunning successes against Hezbollah turned out to be a mere appetizer, compared to the main course of crushing the Iranian regime. Israel exploited Iran’s unsuccessful direct attacks over the last few years to take out much of the regime’s air defense capability. This was an essential component to making last week’s dramatic move, dealing a string of crushing blows to Iran’s military and intelligence leadership, as well as the regime’s world-threatening nuclear program. Iran’s chain of command is obliterated. Those top officials who haven’t yet been killed are reportedly seeking to flee the country. Multiple nuclear sites have been bombed. Major nuclear scientists on Israel’s target list has reportedly been eliminated. With the Israeli Air Force establishing airspace dominance over Iran (a secret emergency meeting of Iran’s Air Force command was identified, located, and taken out by Israel), the regime is effectively defenseless. Israel’s operation will continue until they choose to stop. Much like the world witnessed in the Hezbollah decapitation, it’s now obvious how deeply Israeli intelligence had burrowed into Iran’s regime and territory. Some of Israel’s initial strikes against Iran came from inside Iran. Extraordinary.
Just before the attacks commenced, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slipped a prayer into a crack in the Western Wall. He scribbled this note with full knowledge that Operation Rising Lion was about to begin. The name of the plan is also likely a nod to Iran’s pre-regime flag, which was emblazoned with a lion. This almost seems like a scene out of a spy novel or an action film. But it’s real. And what ensued is said to have exceeded the Israelis’ wildest expectations: