War Summary, Day 617: Around 350 ballistic missiles have been launched at Israel, the Jordanian Armed Forces downed an Iranian drone near Irbid, causing a fire at a farm outside of the city, 20 top military Iranian commanders are confirmed to have been killed, and Hezbollah has so far refrained from joining in Iran’s attacks.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
53 held captive in Gaza.
31 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
54 hostage bodies rescued.
1,861 Israelis killed.
429 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
31,035 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Rescue operations are ongoing after direct hits in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Please take a moment to pray for the victims.
Iran – Israel’s Home Front:
Iran is specifically targeting Israel civilians—not military targets.
According to the Iranian regime, around 350 ballistic missiles have been launched at Israel, in five separate waves: Three on Shabbat across all of Israel. Two after Shabbat—one in the north, and one in the center of Israel.
Seven Israelis have been killed in Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
Attacks on Shabbat killed 2 in Rishon Letzion, and one in Ramat Gan. 80 were injured.
In an attack on Northern Israel at night after Shabbat, one missile impacted in the Arab-Israeli town of Tamra, east of Haifa. The missile made a direct hit on a two story home, killing four family members. Ten others were injured.
One missile on Friday night struck the 9th floor of a high-riser in Tel Aviv. Thankfully, all residents at the side of the impact had entered shelter, and so there were only light injuries. Many foreign diplomats lived in the tower, at least five of whom had their apartments destroyed, and a few who were lightly injured. Residents of the entire building were evacuated, and are now living in a hotel.
Aside from missiles, Iran is launching attack drones towards Israel, and has launched over 100 so far. Most don’t make it to Israel, but dozens have. The drones that do arrive are less of a threat than ballistic missiles, but can still be deadly. So far, all have been intercepted, primarily over towns in Israel’s northeast and southeast. Sirens are activated for these attacks, though without the extra advance warnings.
The Jordanian Armed Forces downed an Iranian drone near Irbid, causing a fire at a farm outside of the city.
Home Front Command instructions remain: No school, no non-essential workplaces (including beaches), no gatherings.
Schools were instructed to prepare for at least a week of remote learning.
A short explanation for people in Israel who are confused by the many notifications from the Home Front Command app:
With every wave of attacks, there are five types of alerts:
- Stay near shelter: This one will come up to 15 minutes before an attack. If you are not in the vicinity of a bomb shelter, this is your time to near one.
- Launch detected: This will come around 8-10 minutes before the missiles’ arrival.
- Enter shelter: This will come 90 seconds before impact. Don’t wait—go to shelter immediately.
- You may leave shelter: This is not always going to be 10 minutes after the last impact, as is with regular sirens. Wait for this alert before leaving shelter.
- You can leave the vicinity of a bomb shelter: A threat is no longer imminent, but do stay alert.
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What’s next? The New York Times reports that Iranian regime leader Khamenei told military officials he wants revenge, but warned against acting hastily.
Note: When you watch videos of missile attacks on Israel, the fire balls that you see land slowly are shrapnel of missiles which were intercepted outside the atmosphere, and catch fire while falling from the extreme height—much like meteorites. Missiles that land fall extremely quickly, and are harder to spot in videos.
Iran – Rising Lion:
Israel now has complete air superiority over Tehran, and is flying its skies freely. This comes after an overnight operation to destroy all air defenses in the capital city—an unbelievable and miraculous feat, with zero IDF casualties.
In the first 40 hours of the war, Israel hit over 140 targets in Iran.
Iran’s nuclear facilities are mostly in bunkers deep under ground, and therefore need repeated strikes with bunker-buster bombs in order to destroy them.
Underground uranium enrichment and conversion sites in Natanz and Isfahan have been severely damaged—though not yet completely destroyed.
Nine nuclear scientists with unique knowledge and experience in developing the nuclear detonation device were eliminated, all of them were involved in Iran’s nuclear program over the years.
However, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is likely Iran’s most essential uranium enrichment facility, is out of reach of Israel’s bombs. It lays around 70–80 meters underground, underneath a mountain. Only the American Air Force has the bomb capable of destroying it—GBU-57A bunker-buster bombs, which weigh nearly 13 tons—and the airplane capable of carrying those bombs. Israel is asking the U.S. to make the strike.
Reports indicate that the U.S. might do it—but might be waiting until Iran is further decapitated by Israel, and is less capable of striking U.S. assets in the Middle East. They will not hint to assisting until then, in order to keep their bases out of harm’s way.
There’s also the possibility that Israel has an alternative plan to destroying the plant.
Israel won’t stop until the facility is destroyed: A senior Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal that the war will end only when Iran’s nuclear program is damaged beyond recovery.
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Amit Segal reports: Israel is not ruling out the possibility of eliminating Ali Khamenei, but it depends on many things, an Israeli political source says.
20 top military Iranian commanders are confirmed to have been killed since Israel launched the operation against Iran.
Confirmed eliminations added to the list since Friday:
Gholam-Reza Marhabi
Head of the intelligence department of the Iranian Armed Forces
Mohammad Bagheri (another of the same name)
Commander of the IRGC’s Surface-To-Surface Missile Array
Brig. Gen. Khosrow Hosni
Deputy intelligence chief of the IRGC Air Force
The 9 nuclear scientists:
Fereydoon Abbasi, expert in nuclear engineering
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, expert in physics
Akbar Motalebi Zadeh, expert in chemical engineering
Saeed Barji, expert in materials engineering
Amir Hassan Fakhahi, expert in physics
Abd al-Hamid Minoushehr, expert in reactor physics
Mansour Asgari, expert in physics
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari Daryani, expert in nuclear engineering
Ali Bakhouei Katirimi, expert in mechanics
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After the initial strikes on Shabbat, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned “If [Iran’s leader Ali] Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn.”
Following the post-Shabbat attack on Northern Israel, Katz wrote: “Tehran is burning.”
The IDF is now targeting non-military regime infrastructure in Tehran. Amongst reported targets in the last hours:
- The Shahran oil depot near Tehran, which holds 260 million liters across 11 containers and produces 7 million liters daily for the Tehran area. There are reports of other oil facilities being hit as well.
- Nuclear headquarters and research labs.
- The Iranian Ministry of Defense.
- There are also reports of targeted assassinations of high profile regime figures in Tehran.
The NYT reports of angry texts between Iranian regime officials:
“Where is our air defense?”
And: “How can Israel come and attack anything it wants, kill our top commanders, and we are incapable of stopping it?”
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Remember when the Iranian regime shared a propaganda video of an underground base containing hundreds of ballistic missiles? It’s gone now. And so are the two generals seen in the video: Mohammad Bagheri, the Armed Forces chief of staff, and IRGC Air Force chief Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh—both killed on Friday.
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While Iran’s attacks on Israel have been painful—the regime had planned for much worse.
To reduce the threat, the IDF destroyed dozens of Iranian Air Force targets, including two airbases in western Iran, near the cities of Hamadan and Tabriz—the second of which was completely destroyed.
Israel also destroyed many of Iran’s ballistic missile warehouses and launch sites, and is still searching for more. Surveillance drones over Iran identify movement in preparation for attacks, and allow the Air Force to minimize attacks. Immediately following launches, the Air Force attacks and destroys the site of the launch, preventing further attacks, and eliminated the IRGC guards who carry out the launch.
Some launches are made from above ground, often on trucks—those are easier to spot. Others come from built-in underground launchers.
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Mossad commando teams are still at work in Iran. Videos from Tehran show launches of some kind of guided missile from within Tehran to precise nearby targets.
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The Iranian regime is very concerned about a civilian uprising—something they’ve been repressing for a very long time.
This morning, the regime turned off internet access for all civilians. Elon Musk said he is opening Starlink access for Iranians.
Videos have emerged from Iran of civilians celebrating Israel’s strikes on the regime, but most still fear the regime and do not show signs of uprising on their own.
Today, the regime reported arresting 73 Indians who they accused of spying for Israel.
Families of the regime were seen boarding airplanes and fleeing Iran. This confirms something that Netanyahu said earlier today: “We have indications that senior leaders in Iran are packing their bags.”
Gaza:
Two rockets were launched from Gaza on Friday. Both landed in empty areas near the border fence.
IDF forces are still operating in Gaza, even while under Iranian attack.
Yemen:
The Houthis launched ballistic missile towards central Israel at 2:50 am (technically Sunday morning), at the same time at an Iranian barrage.
On Saturday night while simultaneously bombing Iran, Israel carried out a targeted strike in Yemen.
The target was a meeting of Houthi military leaders—including Houthi #2: the military chief of staff Muhammad Al-Ghamari. His status, and that of the others in the meeting, is not yet known.
Lebanon:
So far, Hezbollah has refrained from joining in Iran’s attacks. This shows how badly they were hit back in September 2024.
Other:
Remember Greta Thunberg’s “humanitarian aid flotilla”? Three of the passengers who had refused to sign deportation papers didn’t complete their deportation trials in time, and are now stuck in Israel. They’re reportedly trying to leave through Jordan now.
WATCH: IDF soldiers in Syria watch the attack on Northern Israel:
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