US-Israel Operation Epic Fury Ends with Ceasefire After Strikes on Iran and Regional Conflicts

A joint US-Israeli military operation, known as Operation Epic Fury in the US and Roaring Lion in Israel, began on February 28, 2024, targeting Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, production capacity, and military infrastructure to prevent nuclear weapon acquisition.

The operation included the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on its first day. A ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, following the announcement of a US-Iran agreement.

On March 1, 2024, an Iranian missile struck Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem, killing nine people. Israel's Ministry of Health reported that 7,183 people have been evacuated to hospitals since the war's start, with 118 currently hospitalized as of Tuesday. Dr.

Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, arrived in Israel on February 26, toured missile impact sites, met wounded civilians and Holocaust survivors, and provided $50,000 in financial assistance to a bereaved family. Evans visited the scene of the Beit Shemesh strike with first responders and met Pnina Cohen at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, who was injured and lost her husband and mother-in-law in the attack.

He described his work as combating antisemitism and aiding Jewish people over half a century.

Iran's Press TV cited a source stating that Iran will punish Israel for attacks against Hezbollah in violation of the ceasefire. Sporadic attacks by Iran against Gulf nations and Israel continued after the ceasefire, involving automatic drone and missile launchers and units of the Iranian Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israel conducted a large wave of air strikes across Lebanon, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern Bekaa Valley, hours after the ceasefire announcement.

Evangelical Christian leaders in the US rallied support for the operation and Israel. The community, numbering about 52 million in the US, backed President Donald Trump's presidency on the condition of support for Israel, rooted in religious beliefs that view the Bible as a Jewish book and Israel as biblical land.

Evans noted that evangelicals have achieved 127 million social media views in the last eight weeks to combat misinformation and antisemitism, and provide practical financial help to those who lost homes.

He estimated that 22% to 23% of younger evangelicals have shifted away from traditional support due to university and online influences, but efforts are underway to reach them.

“— Dr. Mike Evans, March 2024 (Fox News)”

Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, stated that the evangelical community supports Trump's efforts to end Iran's behavior and will back funding requests to Congress. He described the operation as a defense against Iran's half-century of terror and a mandate to stand with Israel.

Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, said Iran vowed to wipe Israel off the map and could have done so with nuclear weapons within months if not stopped. He urged Americans to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and highlighted Israel as the only democratic nation in the Middle East and a close US ally.

"We’ve never had a president like President Trump in my lifetime.

“— Franklin Graham, March 2024 (Fox News)”

The US-Israel partnership during the operation was described by Evans as unprecedented. Hagee emphasized that biblically literate evangelicals are Christian Zionists and rejected antisemitism linked to Replacement Theology as false doctrine.