From the eye of the storm

I knew something was up on Saturday morning. It wasn’t the warnings from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee for non-essential staff to fly out of Israel while they still could, or the US military parked on Iran’s doorstep. It was that familiar low roar. The sound made only by fighter jets. Racing to my balcony, I saw the magnificent flying beasts, the air alive, crackling with the roar of engines, and I knew. Within a short while that other sound we are now too familiar with. The blare of air-raid sirens, coupled with the squawking messages telling us to get to shelter. Israel had launched a pre-emptive strike on the Iranian regime. Operation Roaring Lion had begun in tandem with our US allies. The US has called its operation Epic Fury. Furious it has been. 

Israelis were ready for it. For weeks we have been anticipating this – now it is here, with all the stresses and travails that come with living in a war situation. 

On Saturday, I lost count of how many sirens we had. Israelis decamped to shelters, stoic and resilient, but always with that slight fear that we are not 100% protected. At the time of writing this, 10 have died as a result of direct strikes and one from a medical incident in a shelter. Hundreds have been wounded. 

We knew we would bear the brunt of Iranian aggression and while Gulf states are also enduring attack after attack, we know that we are in the eye of the storm. 

We know that for our brothers and sisters in Iran, who have shown the world what it means to stand up bravely to tyranny, this is our part in the fight for their freedom. 

Israel is now on an emergency war footing and this means that gatherings, educational activities, and workplace operations are prohibited, with the exception of essential sectors. 

The routine is the same. From the minute we get that ominous early warning drone that missiles are headed in our direction with the intent to kill as many of us as possible, to the booms, we know exactly what to do. Make sure all family members, including pets, are in the shelter, wherever it may be. Not all Israelis have shelters as part of their homes – many have to go to communal shelters. Keep everyone calm – the booms can be really frightening for many, especially children. Try and keep busy – and make sure whenever you can to do a loo dash or fuel up on coffee. 

Israelis are living our lives in increments, in between warnings of incoming missiles. We know it must be done so are drawing on our secret sauce – our indomitable spirit. It is at times like this that we suspend all that divides us, to stand behind our government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The time for kibitzing will come later. 

Something has fundamentally changed in the Israeli DNA in the past two and a half years. The atrocities of 7 October were a devastating blow. We have internalised the lesson and live with the pain, but we have also rediscovered how much we revere life, freedom, and our values. We have developed a strength and resolve of steel to win. We are fighting for our survival and that entails removing the regime that has sworn itself to our extermination. If you thought we were a tough people before, we are now even tougher. That is not to say we don’t feel grief and trauma. We do, which is why we will fight like hell to prevent that happening again to us, and to the noble Iranian people who have stood with us in our darkest hours. It is our time to fight for them. 

While writing this, we have had three sirens in Modi’in. This is something that you never get used to, no matter how many times it happens. 

For now we will follow the safety guidelines, we will do whatever it takes to weather the storm. We are indebted to the service men and women of the IDF, Israeli Air Force, US, Home Front Command, Israel Police, and first responders. The storm will pass. The region will look different. The only question that will remain is will this be the end of storms? 

• Rolene Marks is a Middle East commentator often heard on radio and TV and is the co-founder of Lay of the Land and the SA-Israel Policy Forum.