Inside Israel During an All-Out War with Iran: 3 am Siren, ‘Extreme Threat’ Alert, and Bombers Soaring above

THURSDAY night at 3am was a strange moment.

We had an air raid siren – nothing unusual given this has been almost nightly for months due to missiles from the Houthis.

But having spent days hearing rumours that something was about to go down with Iran, my senses instantly told me this was different.

Shortly after the country-wide alarm, every person throughout Israel received a message from the Home Office Command.

It was both vague and nerve-racking.

It told us to wait for further alerts in case of an “extreme threat” – with nothing more added.

At the same time, we began to hear non-stop warplanes – which have been relentless ever since.

After that, it was clear the whole country was awake, all of social media and every single WhatsApp group was abuzz with “what is going on?” type of anxious chatter.

At some point in the night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a seven-minute speech on YouTube, explaining that Israel is attacking Iran, and with good reason.

A report recently showed that the regime there now has enough uranium for nine nuclear weapons, and can build them within a matter of months. 

As this would be enough to obliterate our country – and Iran has made no secret of its intent to do so – Bibi was right when he said we had no choice but to strike.

His speech was articulate, somehow reassuring, and widely applauded. It feels that the country is very much behind him. If pockets of the country aren’t – its fringe groups are.

And like last year, after Israel’s incredible pager operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, everyone is once again in complete awe at Mossad and the IDF for the magnificent long-planned military feat they’ve pulled off.

The next morning, everyone was bleary-eyed from a poor night’s sleep, and in repetition of the days after October 7, the supermarkets were once again wiped of supplies, having been cleared out by panic-buyers as soon as the doors opened.

The hospitals were also cleared, ready for a potential influx of casualties, and everyone told to stay home, attending emergency services only in the most extreme cases.

Then it was shabbat. For those who observe it like me, it was a tough evening – our usual happy gathering and meal was constantly interrupted by air raid sirens, trips to the safe room and countless ear-shattering booms.

The missiles from Iran are far higher in volume and when intercepted, it feels like the whole earth is shaking.

It’s nothing like the missiles from Gaza and Yemen we’ve become accustomed to, which now feel insignificant in comparison.

Since the weekend, we have had the odd siren in the day, but mostly they’ve been going through the night.

We heard the Iranian regime generally sends missiles at night due to the weather – it is too hot in the day to load the missiles up with fuel as the intense sun often causes them to burn out.

So we have some respite during the day, but our nighttimes are fraught with the planes, sirens, shakes and constant sonic booms.

This war has been hanging over our heads for a long time.

Throughout the battle with Hamas, we’ve been fearful of this escalating to what it now has.

But as contradictory as this sounds, now that it has, in some ways it is a relief – especially as we couldn’t have started in a stronger way. 

Those who know the bible and the story of Esther, the woman who became Queen of Persia and managed to save the Jewish people from total destruction – there is a line from that story generally being quoted.

Haman – the Perisan courtier who tried to destroy the Jewish people – was told by his wife after his first humiliation that his life will be in danger if he continues to go after the Jews – he didn’t listen and was later hanged along with his whole family.

Even the least religious among us feel it is a precursor to modern day.

It is clear that the nation of Israel is divinely protected, and Iran is going to suffer the same fate as their ancient predecessor Haman if they don’t heed.

Even the few missiles and shrapnel that have managed to get through during the war have generally hit Arabs not Jews.

There is a general feeling of deep resilience and unity within Israel. A very different feeling to the anxious unity of October 7.

This is a stronger feeling – more of a “we got this” rather than the pain of gathering ashes and burying the dead together.

There is hope for the future, not just for Israel, but for the people of Iran too.

We know that deep down, they are our friends, who are suffering the oppression of those in power that terrorise their daily lives.

Unlike the people of Gaza, who have only ever been taught to hate Israel, Iranians remember a time when we treated each other with respect.

The people of Israel and the people of Iran want those times back.

The camaraderie of the nation is now so strong that we are hearing far more complaints of Israelis trying to get back into the country than we are hearing of anyone trying to leave.

So we know we have G-d on our side. We are not going anywhere and Iran will never triumph over us.

Crystal Jones is Head of UK news at TPS-IL, The Press Service of Israel