As the Hebrew Bible frequently mentions, the worship of Baal and other pagan deities was the norm in the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest, and continued to appeal to Israelites themselves for centuries thereafter. Archaeologists discovered a temple dedicated to the worship of these gods in Lachish, about 24 miles southwest of Jerusalem—built in the times before Kings Saul and David. After a five-year excavation, they have published a comprehensive report on their findings. Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:

During the middle and late Bronze Ages, the people of Lachish controlled large parts of the Judean lowlands, and the city was among the foremost Canaanite cities in the Land of Israel. Mentioned in the Bible, Lachish was built around 1800 BCE and later destroyed by the Egyptians around 1550 BCE. The city rose and fell twice more [before its final destruction] in 1150 BCE. The 12th-century-BCE Canaanite temple, while not a massive compound, is a once-in-a-lifetime find for archaeologists.

In a departure from the typical Canaanite temple structure, the compound also includes side rooms. [It] was divided into a front area that was marked by two columns and two towers, which led into a large hall. From there, an inner sanctum was delineated by four supporting columns “and several unhewn ‘standing stones’ that may have served as representations of temple gods,” stated the [archaeologists’] press release.

In addition to the standing stones . . . [many] other ritual items were discovered, such as “bronze cauldrons, jewelry inspired by the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor, daggers and axe-heads adorned with bird images, scarabs, and a gold-plated bottle inscribed with the name Ramses II, one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs.”

Perhaps the most fascinating finds are a pair of “smiting gods,” which were discovered inside the temple’s inner sanctum, comparable to the Jerusalem Temple’s “Holy of Holies.” . . . Smiting gods are found in the Levant in temples from the [period]. The [archaeologists] write that the figurines are commonly identified with two Canaanite gods, Baal and Resheph, who are both known as war gods.

Early Friday morning, Israel attacked military installations near the Iranian cities of Isfahan and nearby Natanz, the latter being one of the hubs of the country’s nuclear program. Jerusalem is not taking credit for the attack, and none of the details are too certain, but it seems that the attack involved multiple drones, likely launched from within Iran, as well as one or more missiles fired from Syrian or Iraqi airspace. Strikes on Syrian radar systems shortly beforehand probably helped make the attack possible, and there were reportedly strikes on Iraq as well.

Iran itself is downplaying the attack, but the S-300 air-defense batteries in Isfahan appear to have been destroyed or damaged. This is a sophisticated Russian-made system positioned to protect the Natanz nuclear installation. In other words, Israel has demonstrated that Iran’s best technology can’t protect the country’s skies from the IDF. As Yossi Kuperwasser puts it, the attack, combined with the response to the assault on April 13,

clarified to the Iranians that whereas we [Israelis] are not as vulnerable as they thought, they are more vulnerable than they thought. They have difficulty hitting us, but we have no difficulty hitting them.

Nobody knows exactly how the operation was carried out. . . . It is good that a question mark hovers over . . . what exactly Israel did. Let’s keep them wondering. It is good for deniability and good for keeping the enemy uncertain.

The fact that we chose targets that were in the vicinity of a major nuclear facility but were linked to the Iranian missile and air forces was a good message. It communicated that we can reach other targets as well but, as we don’t want escalation, we chose targets nearby that were involved in the attack against Israel. I think it sends the message that if we want to, we can send a stronger message. Israel is not seeking escalation at the moment.