At 8:13 a.m. this Saturday, a shrill siren echoes through loudspeakers throughout Israel. Ten million Israelis are awakened by this metallic scream that they know all too well. On the small Zangwill Street in the city of Netanya, stunned neighbors find themselves in their pajamas in the bomb shelter in the basement of their old building. Thus begins for them, officially, the war with Iran. The operation, dubbed by Israel “Lion’s Roar”, was planned for months in great secrecy, the date having been set several weeks earlier and transmitted to a very restricted core of officials.
“For forty-seven years, the ayatollah regime has been chanting: “Death to Israel,” “Death to America.” He shed our blood, murdered many Americans and massacred the children of his own peopleinsists Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a few hours later in an official address to his people. Our joint operation will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take back their destiny. »
State of emergency
Thus, the objective of Operation “Lion’s Roar” is not only aimed at bringing down the nuclear or ballistic program: it is much more ambitious. “The objective is to create all the conditions necessary for the overthrow of the Iranian regimeexplains a senior Israeli official during a press briefing. We attack all Iranian political and military leaders, past, present and future. The evolution of the situation will also depend on the capacity of the Iranian people to rise up. » From the first strikes, the region went into a state of war. In Israel, a state of emergency is declared, the airspace is closed and security instructions are reinforced with very strict directives: “If an alert sounds in your area (app or sirens), enter a shelter or the best protected space available and stay there”insists by message at regular intervals the command of the Home Front (civil defense). The Magen David Adom goes into “maximum alert” mode. For weeks, hospitals have been preparing and transferring sensitive services to secure areas to protect the most vulnerable. Maternity and neonatology services are notably transferred to car parks.
70,000 reservists
are called
as reinforcement for
secure the country
While military operations are taking place in Iran, Israel is preparing for retaliation: the Iron Dome and Arrow anti-missile systems are efficient, but not infallible. Extensive damage caused by Iranian missiles and a significant number of victims cannot be ruled out. During the 12-day war against Iran eight months ago, the death toll was 29 and nearly 3,500 wounded. But this time, the military operation is “on a completely different scale”according to the Israeli chief of staff. To secure the country, 70,000 reservists are called in as reinforcements, including a small handful mobilized in large cities to provide care, in the event that there are a large number of injured.
Lior was called just after the first alert, in the morning: “Our unit commander asked us to immediately go to our base in southern Israel, close to the border with Egyptexplains the thirty-year-old, who works in a rescue unit. I left my children with my mother and hitchhiked because there is no public transportation on Shabbat. On site, we collected our equipment: helmets, bulletproof vests, weapons… And now I am waiting for my duty station. » Its unit, specialized in emergency care, treats, searches for victims in the rubble and ensures that the dead are buried with dignity. A work that is as human as it is difficult, which leaves its mark. After working for several years in Gaza with combat units, Lior, like so many others, is preparing to put on the uniform for another war. What to expect? Impossible to know, but he is preparing to “difficult nights”.
