Israel takes name of Iran operation from Bible verse

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel has called its military operation against Iran "Rising Lion", taking the name from a biblical verse that promises a victorious future for a powerful Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed on Thursday putting a handwritten note into a crack of Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, which in retrospect pointed to the looming strikes on Iran.

His office on Friday released a photo of the note, which said "the people shall rise up as a lion".

The expression comes from verse 23:24 of the Book of Numbers in the Bible: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain."

This verse is part of the first oracle of Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet and diviner, where he foretells the strength and power of Israel, comparing it to a lion that will not rest until it has satisfied its hunger.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel's strikes "satanic".

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)