War in Israel: Update on Current Situation
The US joined the war overnight, striking major Iranian nuclear facilities with “bunker buster” ordnance. Israeli leaders warmly welcomed the attacks, praising US President Donald Trump. As a result of the attacks, Israeli airspace was once again closed (although it reopened at 2 pm), and the Home Front Command has reinstituted many restrictions and precautions.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog:
“In the pages of human history, this is a moment when the principles of liberty, responsibility, and security have triumphed. A decisive moment between the axis of terror and evil and the axis of hope. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you, United States of America.
“This brave step serves the security and safety of the entire free world. I hope it will lead to a better future for the Middle East — and help advance the urgent release of our hostages held in captivity in Gaza.”
Jewish Federations of North America:
“The Jewish Federations of North America applaud the decisive and historic action taken to dismantle Iran’s key nuclear facilities, including the critical site at Fordow. We thank President Trump and the brave women and men of the United States Armed Forces for this historic action. We could not be prouder to have the United States join together with the State of Israel in defense of the free world.
“We are actively coordinating with partners across government and civil society to ensure our communities remain vigilant, prepared, and protected at this critical time.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana:
“President Trump didn’t wait for another Pearl Harbor to confront the forces of darkness. He acted decisively, courageously, and with monumental moral clarity. Today, America saved the free world.”
The bodies of three hostages held in Gaza, Yonatan Samerano, Ofra Keidar and Shai Levinson, have been recovered and brought back to Israel by the military. Click herefor our statement.
Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel office has activated its emergency protocols and is in close contact with the government, the military, missions and partners on the ground, to report and assess the situation.
US Attacks Iran
The US attacked Iranian nuclear sites overnight, including the highly protected Fordow nuclear facility. The mission also hit Iran’s Natanz and Isfahan nuclear plants to further degrade Tehran's uranium enrichment capabilities.
For years, Fordow has remained Iran’s most protected nuclear site, buried deep inside a mountain near Qom to guard its enrichment program. Israel had already attacked the facility using drones and airstrikes, but while detectable damage occurred above ground, the underground, well-protected centrifuge chambers were left largely intact.
Overnight, U.S. B‑2 stealth heavy bombers equipped with 30,000‑pound “bunker‑busting bombs” (the GBU‑57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator), alongside 30 submarine‑launched Tomahawks, struck Fordow, and other fortified nuclear sites.
The GBU-57 is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet below the surfacebefore exploding. It can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. In total, six of these bombs were used on Fordow, even though it was previously speculated that just two bunker-busters would be needed to destroy the site.
The US attacks came after yesterday's talks between Iran and European Foreign Ministers were unsuccessful. The US, backed by Britain and France, had demanded a complete end to all enrichment activity in Iran, which Iran refused.
Last night’s attacks were conducted in full coordination between the US and Israeligovernments and their militaries. The IDF Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, was in the command situation room last night during the strikes in Iran, which occurred at the same time as the IDF activity to rescue hostages was taking place in the Gaza Strip. See these photos and this video taken in the situation room during the tense time of the attacks.
Reactions
President Trump called the operation a “spectacular military success,” declaring the targeted facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.” He warned Tehran that even harsher strikes will follow if it fails to pursue peace. The President later wrote on social media, “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are now outside of Iran air space [and are]… safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside a broad range of Israeli figures,praised the US attacks, saying they would decisively shift regional dynamics. Netanyahu later said that his long-held promise to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “fulfilled.”
Israel’s Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said, “This night is a historic night for the entire Middle East. Thank you to President Trump. Thank you to the U.S. A nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire world. Tonight, a nuclear arms race in the Middle East was averted.”
Veteran Israeli journalist Amit Segal summed up the US strike as, “Israel’s greatest diplomatic triumph since securing the UN majority that led to its founding on November 29, 1947.” He continued that, “Benjamin Netanyahu and Ron Dermer succeeded in persuading the world’s most powerful leader to authorize an attack on Iran, a move rejected by three previous American presidents. Now, the strongest military in history has acted decisively to eliminate the most tangible existential threat the Jewish state has faced.” See his full article here.
Reports indicate that Iran had evacuated personnel from these sites beforehand. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed there has been no rise in radiation levels near the bombed areas.
United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres described the strikes as a perilous escalation, urging diplomatic alternatives over military action.
Tehran's foreign ministry called the attacks “outrageous” and announced that it reserves all options to retaliate, urging the UN Security Council to convene on the matter.
Read more at: The Long Game: How Trump and Netanyahu Orchestrated Iran’s Strategic Defeat
One Israeli reporter noted this morning that Iran-proxy Hamas’ miscalculation in attacking Israel on October 7 has now resulted in: The destruction of the military capabilities of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah; the end of Syria’s Assad regime; and an apparent end to Iran’s nuclear program.
New Directives
As a result of the US attacks on Iran, the IDF’s Home Front Command has reinstituted many restrictions.
Israel’s airspace was closed to all civilian aircraft and Ben Gurion Airport shuttered. At 2 pm, the airspace reopened, and rescue flights of Israelis abroad, which commenced last week, resumed.
Schools and other educational institutions, as places of work and entertainment, are all closed.
Public gatherings are also banned.
Essential services such as supermarkets and medical facilities remain open.
These reinstated rules had initially been put in place at the outbreak of the war just over a week ago, but had been gradually eased in recent days.
Iranian Attacks on Israel
A few hours after the US attack, some 27 missiles were launched at Israel from Iran, setting off alarms in large parts of the country, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Iran had prepared 50 missiles for launch, but 23 were destroyed by the IDFmoments before being fired. See footage here.
At least ten impact sites were reported, five from direct missile hits, and five from falling shrapnel, causing very significant amounts of damage and injury but no deaths.
One missile hit a residential area of Tel Aviv, lightly wounding 13 people, and another hit homes in Ness Tziona, wounding six lightly. One man was moderately hurt by shrapnel on the Route 431 highway, near Be’er Yaakov in central Israel. Additionally, a large elder care facility was damaged in the attack.
The IDF is also investigating whether Iran used a cluster bomb warhead in the attack this morning, as it did last week.
Iran has said that in today’s attack, it fired a Khorramshahr-4 (Kheibar) missile, which has the heaviest payload of Iran’s ballistic weapons. The missile has a 1,240-mile range and carries a 3,300-pound warhead. Kheibar was a Jewish fortress conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century in what is now Saudi Arabia.
In terms of Iranian missile fire, Israeli media have noted several trends in recent days:
Missile barrages remain regular, with two or three launched each day.
The Iranian missiles are aimed at Israel’s civilian population centers, in response to Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets.
Each launch sends millions of Israelis to shelters.
The number of missiles in each firing has been dramatically reduced. In the first days of the war, 150-200 launches took place simultaneously. Now, most firings comprise around 20 missiles. This is likely due to Iran’s significantly reduced number of launchers and missile stockpiles, as a result of the IDF’s extensive strikes against the Islamic Republic’s capabilities.
The rate of interceptions seems to have decreased, with a greater percentage of targets hitting their mark, possibly due to the use of more sophisticated Iranian weaponry, including warheads containing cluster bombs.
Many impacts have resulted in widespread damage, sometimes destroying entire neighborhoods.
Nonetheless, after the first few days of the war, even massive strikes have resulted in relatively small numbers of injuries and typically no deaths. This is likely the result of Israel’s sophisticated early-warning systems using cell phones and sirens, and civilians’ adherence to protocols, especially by remaining in protected spaces. While the system is not 100% foolproof, it has been shown to save lives on a massive scale.
Over Shabbat, Iran launched over 40 UAVs (drones) at Israel. All but one wereintercepted, with a drone hitting a house in Beit Shean near the Jordanian border in Israel’s east. No injuries were reported. Even though the small size of UAVs makes them harder to detect and intercept, the success rate for interceptions is 99%. The drones’ smaller payloads mean that damage is significantly less than that inflicted by ballistic missiles. Over 500 UAVs have been fired at Israel in the eight days of fighting.
One missile attack on Friday scored a direct hit on a mosque in Haifa, a city heavily targeted by Iran, and famous for coexistence among Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
Operation Rising Lion: Israel's Attacks on Iran Continue
In addition to the US strikes on Iran, coordinated with the IDF, Israel continues to attack strategic sites in the Islamic Republic.
Early this morning, the Air Force bombed two Iranian F-5 fighter jets at Dezful Airport. Eight ballistic missile launchers, including six that were primed for an immediate attack on Israel, were also hit. The military says that strikes last nightcarried out by 20 fighter jets in central Iran hit dozens of Iranian military targets, including “a site containing components for the production of explosives, sites for the storage and production of weapons, and Iranian air defense systems, along with military infrastructure at Isfahan Airport, to prevent the Iranian Air Force from using the site’s military facilities.”
The Home Front
As of this morning, Israel’s Property Tax Authority (in charge of war compensation) has received 32,717 claims for damage due to Iranian missiles. Of these, 26,523 are for structural damage, 2,902 for vehicle damage, and 3,268 for damage to contents and equipment. A total of 10,630 people have been evacuated from their homes. The government has 113 Compensation Fund teams operating across the country.
Shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reached all-time highs after the United States attacked Iran’s nuclear sites. The TA-125 index jumped 1.6%; the TA-35 index of blue-chip companies increased 1.5%, and the TA-Insurance and Financial Services index jumped by 3.2%. Shares rose during all five sessions last week, gaining some 6%, as Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military targets.
For information for US citizens wanting to leave Israel, see here.
For information for Canadian citizens wanting to leave Israel, see here.
Other News
The bodies of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been recovered by the military and brought back to Israel. The three were Yonatan Samerano, Ofra Keidar and Shai Levinson.
Samerano, 21 years old, had attended the Nova Music Festival and fled to Be'eri when the attacks began. There, he was killed and his body was kidnapped to Gaza. The body was returned to Israel yesterday, his 23rd birthday.
Ofra Keidar was 71 and was murdered at her home in Kibbutz Be’eri with her husband on October 7, leaving behind three adult children and grandchildren.
IDF Staff Sergeant Shai Levinson, 19, was a tank commander who was killed defending the Gaza envelope communities on October 7, and his body was also kidnapped.
The bodies of all three were rescued in a special operation of the IDF and Shin Bet.
The number of hostages in Gaza is now 50, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.
The Wall Street Journal estimates that the war is costing Israel “hundreds of millions of dollars per day” while Ynet puts the daily cost at $1 billion.
On the Ground: Jewish Federations and Partners
Jewish Federations across North America have swung into action to support Israel. Even as we are deep in the planning for our multi-year Rebuild Israel campaign, we also recognize that there are new and urgent emergency needs due to this new military operation. Federation partners at the Jewish Agency for Israel and JDC are caring for those who need help. The Jewish Federation of North America‘s Israel Emergency Allocation Committee, which has worked since October 7th to ensure that we have collectively met all emergency needs in Israel resulting from the Hamas terror attacks, has released the first $5 million in emergency allocations to address new needs created by the Iranian ballistic missile attacks, and will meet today to release further funds.
Jewish Federations of North America’s Public Affairs Department has announced its Six-Point Security Agenda, to protect the Jewish community. See more here.
As reported earlier:
For all tourists trying to leave Israel: The Ministry of Tourism is gathering contact information for tourists wishing to leave the country by air and coordinating their departure from Israel as quickly as possible with the responsible authorities.
This online form was produced for tourists to fill out. The information provided will be transferred to the official authorities responsible for coordinating the rescue flights.
The service is available 24/7 through the following digital channels:
Email: virtual@goisrael.gov.il
WhatsApp (messaging app via phone number: +972-53-583-5808)
Facebook page: Israel Virtual Tourist Office
For more information, please contact: Jewish Federations of North America’s Dani Wassner dani.wassner@jewishfederations.org. Subscribe to this weekly update here.