When Netanyahu hid a note in Jerusalem's Western Wall revealing Israel's operation before the strike on Iran!
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu places a note in between the bricks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, June 12, 2025.
Synopsis In a calculated move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Western Wall, leaving a cryptic note hinting at the impending Operation Rising Lion. Hours later, the Israeli Air Force launched a surprise assault on Iran, targeting nuclear sites and military installations. The operation, inspired by a biblical verse, was preceded by a deception campaign to mislead Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a symbolic visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall, placing a handwritten note between the stones on June 12, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. Unbeknownst to the public at the time, the note was a cryptic hint at Israel's imminent military campaign: Operation Rising Lion.
ADVERTISEMENT The note quoted a verse from the Book of Numbers 23:24 that read, 'Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.'
This verse would later be revealed as the inspiration behind the operation's name.
Just hours after the note was placed, in the early morning of June 13, the Israeli Air Force launched a surprise assault on Iran. Dozens of Israeli aircraft targeted multiple nuclear sites and military installations across the country. The opening wave of strikes reportedly resulted in the death of Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as confirmed by Iranian state media.The note placed at Judaism's holiest site was publicly revealed the following day, after the strikes began. By then, the full scope of Operation Rising Lion was unfolding.Israel launched a sweeping series of airstrikes across Iran on Friday, targeting key nuclear facilities and military installations in what is being called the most significant assault on Iranian soil since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. The strikes reportedly killed at least two senior Iranian military officers, dramatically escalating fears of a full-scale conflict between the long-standing Middle East rivals.
ADVERTISEMENT In swift retaliation, Iran unleashed a swarm of drones toward Israel. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed 'severe punishment,' signaling the possibility of further escalation.The attack came amid growing alarm over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. On Thursday, for the first time in two decades, the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors formally censured Iran for failing to cooperate with inspections. In response, Iran announced plans to establish a third uranium enrichment site and upgrade its centrifuges to more advanced models.
ADVERTISEMENT Israeli officials defended the strikes as a preemptive measure to disrupt what they described as an imminent threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons — though how close Tehran is to building a bomb remains uncertain.
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