Why Netanyahu used 'People shall rise as a great lion' verse of Torah before launching Operation Rising Lion against Iran

Israel-Iran war: Just a day before launching aerial strikes on Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed on Thursday (June 12) putting a handwritten note into a crack of Jerusalem's Western Wall. The note said - "the people shall rise as a lion".

This was before Israel's Operation Rising Lion against Iran in which Iranian nuclear and military sites were targeted.

The phrase "Rising Lion" is from the line "the people shall rise as a lion" from the verse23:24 of the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible: Behold, the people shall rise as a great lion, and lift himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain."

The Book of Numbers is the fourth book in the Bible. In this part, the diviner named Balaam, who was a kind of prophet or seer known for his ability to bless as well as a curse, is being asked by Balak, a king of Moab, to curse the people of Israel because Balak sees them as a threat.

But instead of cursing, Balaam blessed the people of Israel. What Balaam means is this: Israelites are like powerful lions.

The verse is believed by Jews to mean that Israelis won't stop fighting until they have won.

Israel's Aerial Attack on Iran

Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes on Iran under its Operation Rising Lion on Friday (June 13). Dozens of Israeli Israeli jets targeted Iran's nuclear and military sites. Major General Hossein Salami, chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in the Israeli strikes along with multiple other key officials. The Iranian media called the strikes a "direct assassination by Zionist forces."

Israel targets Iran's crucial nuke site.

During Operation Rising Lion, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted multiple crucial sites in Iran, among them was the sprawling Natanz complex - Iran's main uranium enrichment facility. The complex spanned approximately 100,000 square metres in Isfahan Province. It was partially buried beneath the desert plains of central Iran. The site was at the centre of Western and Israeli concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Khamenei warns 'armed forces are ready'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Saturday (June 14) that his country's armed forces were ready against Israel after the Netanyahu government launched a barrage of airstrikes on the Islamic nation under Operation Rising Lion.

Taking to the social media platform X, Khamenei wrote, "The Zionist regime has made a big mistake, a grave error, and committed a reckless act. By God's grace, the consequences of this will bring that regime to ruin."

"The Iranian nation won't permit the blood of its valued martyrs to go unavenged, nor will it ignore the violation of its airspace," he added.