*Prepared by and sent from Jewish Federation of North America’s Israel Office 

Operation Launches

  • Just after 8 am Israel Time today (1 am ET), Israelis were shaken by nationwide sirens warning that a war with Iran had begun.
  • The war was launched as hundreds of thousands of Israelis were in synagogues listening to “Parshat Zachor,” which commands the Jewish People to forever remember the fate of those who try to kill us. The operation also coincided with “Tel Hai Day” in Israel, which falls on 11 Adar; it commemorates the fall of Jewish fighter Josef Trumpeldor while defending Tel Hai in 1920. The Roaring Lion monument in Tel Hai, created by Avraham Melnikov between 1932 and 1934, honors eight Jewish defenders, including Trumpeldor, who were killed during the 1920 battle for the settlement. Situated in the Kfar Giladi Cemetery, the monument has become a national emblem of Jewish heroism.
  • .    Israel and the United States announced that they had launched a preemptive strike against Iran, aimed at removing what Israel described as “an imminent and existential threat.”
  • This is the first time that Israel has joined other nations in a war since it fought alongside France and the United Kingdom in the Sinai War (Suez Crisis) with Egypt in 1956.
  • Israeli media are reporting that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini was killed in one of the initial attacks. According to numerous sources, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, and Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh were also killed in Israeli strikes.
  • The IDF has described the operation as “widespread,” “multi‑wave,” and “ongoing.” The IDF has confirmed hits on Iranian military, missile, and command-and-control targets, including sites in and around Tehran. It also said that more than 200 fighter jets are taking part in the attacks, more than in any IDF attack in the past. Watch an Israeli strike here.
  • International media is reporting dozens of targets hit across multiple Iranian locations, including in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, and Karaj.
  • US officials similarly state that the US conducted “major combat operations”involving air‑ and sea‑launched weapons, including cruise missiles. Watch US strikeshere.
  • Iran says that at least 200 people have been killed in Israeli and US strikes so far.
  • Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the US and Israel are “close to achieving air superiority over Iran,” which would enable complete freedom of movement and operational capabilities in the skies above the Islamic Republic.
  • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that British forces and planes were also “participating in coordinated defensive efforts to protect the country’s interests and allies.”

Iran

  • In a message in Persian, the IDF said Israel’s war is not with the Iranian people, but only with the regime.  “The Islamic Republic dragged the region into this campaign, but this is not our war with the Iranian people. The regime is responsible for squandering the people’s resources on terror organizations, missiles, and a murderous nuclear program against Israel and the region,” said spokesman Lt. Col. Kamal Penhasi in a video. “The regime will continue to threaten and tell you lies through its various channels, but we urge you to listen only to our official Persian-language channels. Israel is acting in coordination with the United States solely against the regime as part of our right to defend ourselves. We are not enemies of the Iranian people, but enemies of the dictatorship that oppresses them.”
  • Israel and the United States have urged the people of Iran to seize control of the country and end the Islamic regime.
  • Israel television is broadcasting scenes of Iranians cheering and celebrating the death of Khameini.

Israel’s Home Front

  • At least 180 missiles and a large number of UAVs have been fired by Iran at Israel, causing some damage and limited injuries. Many missiles and UAVs were shot down by Israel’s multi-layered aerial defense systems. Watch footage of the IDF intercepting an Iranian UAV here.
  • Dozens of sirens throughout the day have sent millions of Israelis running to shelters multiple times since early moring, and the majority of the population spent the majority of the day sheltering in place. Two Israelis have been seriously injured, and close to 100 people have been treated for moderate and minor injuries, some caused from falling while running to the shelters.
  • Israel declared a nationwide state of emergency, with the Home Front Command instructing civilians to remain close to protected spaces in anticipation of retaliation.
  • All public gatherings have been banned, at least until 8 pm on Monday. All schools, businesses and places of work are closed, other than essential services.
  • Medical centers around Israel have switched to emergency mode according to Health Ministry directives and have moved critical patients and operations to underground complexes or are operating in protected spaces.
  • Israel’s airspace has been closed and no flights are entering or leaving the country. Most planes have been redirected to Cyprus. One flight of 180 Israelis heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to land in Saudi Arabia, with whom Israel has no diplomatic relations.
  • El Al said it is preparing for a rescue operation to help bring Israelis stranded abroad back home. “When air traffic resumes and approval is received to operate rescue flights to Israel, customers holding an El Al ticket will be the first to be assigned to the rescue flights.” Flight ticket sales have been halted until March 21 or until all El Al customers holding a flight ticket have been assigned, the airline said.
  • Iran’s proxies and allies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have so far refrained from joining the fighting in support of the Islamic regime.

Leaders

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video message saying the operation aims “to remove the existential threat” posed by the Islamic Republic, and “create the conditions” for Iranians to change their destiny.
  • US President Donald Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” calling the campaign “a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally… obliterated.”
  • Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that Israelis are united behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s troops in the war against Iran. In a video statement, Lapid said that he told multiple foreign media outlets that “there were no political implications” of Israel’s war against Iran and that “we are all united on the operation. We are united behind the pilots, fighters, and security forces in the most justified operation there is.”
  • Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said to Netanyahu, “The entire nation of Israel stands behind you until the destruction of the Iranian threat.” He said that the Iranian people have a “historic opportunity to free themselves from a violent, disconnected, corrupt, and failed terrorist regime.” Bennett also thanked US President Donald Trump, “who time and again demonstrates rare courage and determination.”
  • Netanyahu also released a photo of himself speaking to President Trump earlier today. The book Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World, a World War II political history by Tim Bouverie, can be seen on the prime minister’s desk, along with a large regional map.
  • Israel’s National Security Council has called on Israelis abroad to exercise heightened awareness and to take precautionary measures. “The escalation with Iran increases the likelihood that the Iranian regime will intensify efforts to carry out terrorist attacks abroad against Israeli/Jewish targets, starting immediately. In addition, and based on past experience, the motivation to harm Israelis abroad may also increase among other terrorist elements, alongside local initiatives (including lone attackers).”

Fighting Spreads

  • Iran has fired at multiple US allies in the region.
  • In this footage, an Iranian strike on a multi-story building in Bahrain can be seen.
  • The United Arab Emirates has also been targeted, with authorities confirming strikes in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai (including one hit on a building in the famed Palm Jumeirah area). At least one person was killed in the attack on Abu Dhabi.
  • Saudi Arabia also confirmed it was targeted in an Iranian missile strike. The Saudi foreign ministry said the kingdom was able to repel attacks on its capital, Riyadh, and on the country’s east: “In light of this unjustified aggression, the Kingdom affirms that it will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory, citizens and residents, including with the option of responding to the aggression.”
  • Iranian strikes have also been reported in Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait.
  • The airspace and airports in many countries in the region have also closed.

Jewish Federations and Partners

  • Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel office has activated our emergency protocols and is in close contact with the government of Israel and our partners.
  • While this is still the early hours of the war, we can report as follows:
    • The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee(JDC)’s National Mental Health Initiative, which has placed mental health professionals in 200 municipalities and delivered accredited mental‑wellness interventions nationwide, reports that, as in previous escalations, these services are seeing especially heavy use right now.
    • JDC Tevet has noted that the Ministry of Economy has opened its critical‑worker command center.
    • The Jewish Agency for Israel is monitoring any potential need for using the Fund for Victims of Terror, should circumstances require it.
    • The Or Movement, using the infrastructure of its emergency command centers, is in touch with local authorities,
    • Yedidim, who assist private citizens, has been actively using the safe‑room door kits funded by Jewish Federations during Operation Rising Lions.
    • Dror Israel is preparing to deploy educators and trained teen leaders to work with children in shelters as needs become clearer.
    • See Jewish Federations’ Joint Security Guidance for Jewish Institutions Following Strikes on Iran.

Jewish Federations of North America is working closely to support all groups on the ground, including Federation missions and other organized educational trips through the Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA). Yehuda Gershonovitz is in close communication with Federation groups and continues to coordinate updates and support. If your Federation has not yet been in touch with him, we encourage you to connect with Yehuda as soon as possible at (646) 630-0774.

While we believe we are aware of all trips currently on the ground, you can submit inquiries for any trip through the IETA hub:

  1. Group information form
  2. Participant information form – email this to ieta@jewishfederations.org.

Note these are new forms.  If you completed a prior form, you still must complete these forms to receive JFNA/IETA assistance.

Jewish Federations continues to monitor the situation on the ground very closely and will update as needed.

Further Reading

Times of Israel: As US and Israel again battle Islamic Republic, the goal is regime change and the stakes could not be higher