MARCH 9, 2026: Hezbollah Fires Heavy Barrage at Tel Aviv Area; Iran Picks Extreme Hardline Successor; President Trump Says War Is “Nearly Over,” Claiming Most Goals Achieved
Tel Aviv Diary
The war with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon continues. I was woken up by an incoming missile alert shortly after falling asleep at around 1 a.m. Thankfully, there were no further alerts, and I was able to get about five uninterrupted hours of sleep.
This morning remained quiet for several hours until the first missile attack at around 11 a.m. At that time, Iran fired a missile carrying cluster munitions toward the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The blast killed two workers at a construction site who were not inside a protected space, and injured someone else nearby. Numerous locations where the submunitions fell sustained damage, though no additional casualties were reported.
Later in the afternoon, at around 4 p.m., another missile barrage arrived from Iran, sending us once again to the bomb shelter. When we came out, we had barely resumed what we were doing before the air raid sirens sounded again, this time warning of rockets fired from Lebanon with no prior warning. We rushed back down to the shelter and could hear the anti-missile defense systems launching interceptors above us, a sound that is both reassuring and unsettling. It is comforting to know the defenses are working, yet hearing rockets streak overhead nearby remains deeply disturbing.
Hezbollah fired more than ten missiles toward central Israel, a larger salvo at one time than Iran has launched since the first day of the war. All were intercepted. A few people suffered minor injuries from shrapnel, either from the intercepted missiles or from the interceptors themselves. Tonight, as I was about to publish, Iran fired three separate salvos at northern Israel, which coincided with a rocket attack from Lebanon.
STAFF SARGEANT OR DEMRY, z”l
The identity of the second soldier killed two nights ago in Lebanon has now been released. He was Staff Sergeant Or Demry, 20, from Moshav Milman in the Western Galilee. Hezbollah also continued its attacks in the north, including multiple launches directed toward Haifa.
NO CLEAR ENDGAME IN LEBANON
There is still no clear plan for how the war in Lebanon will end or how long it may continue. In practical terms, dismantling Hezbollah would require effective control over much of Lebanon, a task that would mean sending large portions of the Israeli army deep into the country. That is an option Israel appears neither willing nor prepared to pursue.
The central question, therefore, is whether the Lebanese can confront Hezbollah themselves. Many in Lebanon want to do so, but they lack the power. Tonight, Lebanese leaders showed a willingness to meet with Israeli officials to find a solution, while Syrian Leader Ahmad al Shara expressed support for the Lebanese goal of disarming Hezbollah.
TEHRAN SHOWS NO SIGN OF BACKING DOWN
Israel and the United States continue to strike targets across Iran. The ruling clerics r
emain defiant and show little interest in seeking de-escalation. Their decision to elevate Mojtaba Khamenei, widely considered even more hardline than his father, only reinforces that impression.
Complicating matters further, Mojtaba Khamenei will be assuming power after Israel’s assassination of his father, his mother, and, according to several reports, possibly his wife and one of his children. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that the new Supreme Leader would be inclined toward reconciliation with anyone.
Iran’s leaders are signaling to the United States, Israel, and the wider international community that they intend to remain on their current course. That path, as they describe it, is to preserve the Islamic character of the state and its governing ideology while continuing to develop their missile capabilities and, potentially, pursuing a nuclear weapon.
At the same time, this position directly challenges President Trump. It is not clear that the Iranians fully understand how Trump is likely to respond. From the outside, the approach appears largely driven by national pride, offering little practical advantage while further escalating the confrontation.
This morning’s headlines warned of soaring oil prices and the beginning of a sharp decline in global stock markets. As the day progressed, however, oil prices began to ease and are now lower than they were before the war began. The stock market also recovered, ultimately finishing the day higher.
Iran’s apparent strategy of pressuring the United States by striking American allies and triggering broader economic disruption may fall short. Tehran seems to have calculated that a sharp rise in oil prices and instability in global markets would force Washington to seek an immediate off-ramp. If that calculation proves wrong, some of the pressure on President Trump to bring the war to a quick conclusion could diminish.
Nevertheless, even if that pressure fades, it still does not provide a clear path to ending the war on terms acceptable to both Israel and the United States. Some in Israel are already suggesting that the conflict could continue for several more weeks, perhaps even extending through the Passover holiday.
Tonight, President Trump said in an interview that the war is nearly over and that the United States has achieved almost all of its objectives. What exactly that means remains unclear, but he could decide to end the war at any moment.
Today’s Radio Show
HIGH-TECH HOLDS STEADY WHILE THE BROADER ECONOMY STRUGGLES
Israel’s high-tech sector is likely to continue operating with little significant disruption during the war. The difficulties that emerged in the first days of the conflict are beginning to subside, and most technology companies have resumed normal operations. At the same time, there is a growing sense of exhaustion across the country, along with a feeling among many that the broader course of events may not have been fully planned out.
While the high-tech sector has largely been able to continue operating, the same cannot be said for much of the rest of the economy. Many owners of shops, restaurants, and cafés fear their businesses will not survive if the war continues without substantial government assistance. So far, however, the government has shown little urgency in announcing such support.
A BIT OF POTENTIAL GOOD NEWS FOR ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENT PRESS
There was some encouraging news today for those concerned about the state of the free press in Israel. I recently wrote about Patrick Dhari of i24NEWS attempting to purchase Channel 13, the network my family most often watches for news. For a time
