Operation Rising Lion: A modern-day miracle
'We are doing this for the peace of tomorrow. For our home. That is our mission.'
It is hard to comprehend the miracles that are unfolding before our eyes.
If you were told a couple of years ago that in 2025 Israel would have severely degraded Hezbollah, isolated Hamas, caused the fall of the Assad regime, brought the IRGC to its knees and destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities, you would simply say it can’t be true. But that is where we are today.
What we witnessed over the weekend was the reimagining and rebirth of a new US/Israel collaboration, built on a new paradigm that no doubt applies to all US allies. As Haviv Rettig Gur states, “The ally does the heavy lifting” and the “United States comes in and delivers the coup de grace.”
The US has sent a clear message to the world and to its allies: if you are willing to fight for yourself, we will fight for you, but don’t expect us to do the heavy lifting for you.
Over the past 20 months, Israel has demonstrated to the US that it is willing and able to fight for herself. Israel has shown the world its tenacity, ingenuity, determination and discipline again and again, month after month.
For years Israel has done the “heavy lifting”, culminating in the current operation Rising Lion, a meticulously orchestrated operation in which 200 Israeli Air Force jets carried out coordinated strikes across Iran’s military infrastructure. The targets included key nuclear installations such as Natanz and Arak, missile bases and key leadership figures within Iran’s scientific and military hierarchy.
The strikes aimed to disrupt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, degrade its missile capabilities and eliminate top military leaders and nuclear scientists. It also, we now know, prepared the ground for impending US strikes aimed at dealing Iran’s nuclear ambitions the knock-out punch.
It is hard to comprehend the ingenuity of the IDF’s military accomplishments. Like a scene from a movie, the IDF revealed last week that Mossad had established a drone base near Tehran. These drones were then activated on June 13, destroying surface-to-surface missile launchers and long-range missiles, which severely degraded Iran’s missile capability. Furthermore, the IDF revealed that it had smuggled precision weapon systems and commandos into the country right under the nose of the Ayatollah.
Despite the Iranians launching over 400 ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, deliberately targeting civilians, only 20 managed to get through. Yes they caused shocking damage and tragically cost 26 lives, but according to the IDF this is significantly less than their prewar predictions.
And what happened to the 1000 killer drones that were launched at Israel by Iran? Not one of them managed to get through Israel’s defences and cause any damage within Israel. Most were intercepted outside of Israel’s borders and the few that did manage to get through IDF defences, fell short and landed outside Israeli territory. These are the few achievements we, the public, know about. No doubt there are numerous secret operations we know nothing about, equally remarkable in their ingenuity and complexity.
Meanwhile, on the ground, while Iranian women have been battling for basic human rights, including the right to choose how they dress and whether they must cover their hair or not, Israeli female pilots have been flying thousands of feet above, participating as equal members of Israel’s elite Air Force. What a proud moment it was to hear a young female pilot announce on returning to Israel after her mission: “We are doing this for the peace of tomorrow. For our home. That is our mission.”
Each one of these military achievements requires immense intelligence and technological prowess and in its success, Israel has demonstrated its military might to the entire world. Not only establishing Israel’s security for generations to come but also establishing Israel as the new superpower of the region.
Israel has sent the world a clear message: We are not the weak, vulnerable Jews of yesteryear. We are the new Jews: strong, armed and lethal. You do not get to slaughter us with impunity and get away with it. For thousands of years we were bullied, tortured and tormented by a litany of antisemitic regimes, but today things are different. For the first time in millennia, we are strong, we are determined and we will defend ourselves. Am Israel Chai!
Anna Pasternak is the director of The AJN. Tuvia Book is an IDF reservist currently serving on the Gaza front.