As Operation Roaring Lion continues, new assessments published Monday evening indicate the war could last until Pesach.

After President Donald Trump recently estimated the conflict would continue for several weeks, a senior Israeli official quoted by Kan News offered a similar evaluation—while noting a factor that could shorten the war: an uprising by the Iranian public.

Israeli and U.S. officials are hoping Iranians will take to the streets against the regime. “It is also dependent on the Iranian people,” the Israeli official said. “The signal for mass protests hasn’t yet been given, but it will come soon—and toppling the regime will take time.”

Israel is intensifying operations aimed at destabilizing the Iranian regime and will soon actively encourage its citizens to protest. There are expectations that defections from the regime’s military and government ranks will hasten the collapse, though no significant desertions have yet been identified.

Meanwhile, i24NEWS reported that Israeli leaders are satisfied with the war’s results so far and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz have ordered the army to accelerate operational plans to deny Iran any “breathing room” or recovery time.

Channel 12 News reported that the members of Israel’s security cabinet were presented with the operation’s objectives. Defense officials told ministers: “At the end of this operation, the ballistic missile threat to the State of Israel will not be completely destroyed. Iran will retain some missiles. How many? That depends on the campaign’s duration. Some of their missile systems are now buried under rubble, but on the day after, they’ll try to dig them out.”

Security sources added that satellite imagery shows Iran currently attempting to salvage whatever it can from nuclear sites, fortify what remains, and extract essential equipment. After the campaign ends, Tehran will try to restore whatever it can. “If our plans work as intended, we will significantly degrade Iran’s ballistic capability—and more importantly, its ability to rebuild,” security officials said.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)