Countries helped during Iran's attack because Israel is their firewall - opinion

• Published date: 17 April 2024
• Author: COOKIE SCHWAEBER-ISSAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

As the news began to come in, advising that, within 48 hours, we would be attacked by Iran, then quickly adjusted to reflect a much earlier offensive, predicting an early morning attack, just after midnight Saturday. It was almost impossible to keep up with the flurry of updates sent to our phones once the news broke that Iran had launched scores of drones in our direction. Of course, friends from around the world, hearing the shocking news, began to call and send messages, concerned by what they were hearing

The news even got bleaker as we were informed that the Houthis also had launched their own drones. But that wasn't all. We finally got word that Iranian rockets were also in mid-air, making their way toward our military bases and other sensitive targets.

Before long, it felt as if, this time, they were going for the jugular – attempting to overwhelm our Iron Dome System by the estimated 400-500 drones that were scheduled to enter Israeli airspace by 2 a.m. The feeling was one of doomsday proportions, as we awaited what seemed like a dress rehearsal for the Armageddon we have all heard about since childhood.

Was it finally here? Would this be the moment that Israel would be attacked on multiple fronts in the fight for her survival? And would God come through as He has always promised?

Then something happened that changed everything. At the same time that we were relying on our own air force, our soldiers, and our readiness, in complete contrast to October 7, when we were woefully unprepared, an unpredictable and surprising development occurred that made it clear that we were not alone at all.

Unexpectedly, we got help from Amman, whose jets intercepted a significant number of drones as they flew in the direction of Israel. It wasn't just Jordan who decided to show up for the night show, the United Kingdom also stepped up to the plate by using their Royal Air Force jets to do the job. France also got into the mix, assisting with their advanced technological systems as we took out oncoming hostile aircraft.

Joining these nations, in a show of solidarity, strong condemnation against Iran was voiced by: President Joe Biden, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, European Union foreign policy chief Josep...