An Israeli Air Force husband-and-wife team revealed they took part in high-risk bombing missions over Iranian skies, targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure and military assets.

The wife, known only by the alias “Yud” in accordance with strict security protocols, is the first woman to serve as deputy commander of a fighter squadron in Israel’s history. Her husband, “Bet,” commands an air squadron and is slated to take command of a fighter squadron.

The couple, who share two young children, described to Channel 12 how they balanced family life with the pressures of a full-scale air campaign. During the conflict, they did not see their children for two weeks, relying on family and friends to care for them.

Reflecting on what it meant to leave for war as a mother, Yud told Channel 12: “It was a different hug, toward an unknown place. We didn’t know how these two weeks would end. We prepared, we got ready, we knew it would be difficult. And as we saw, unfortunately, we experienced losses on the home front of civilians being killed, civilians who were under rocket fire.”

Iran’s missile salvos killed 28 people and wounded thousands more, devastating residential areas, universities, and a hospital, according to Israeli health authorities.

Still, Yud said she believed in the mission: “On the one hand, it was not simple — knowing the home front was under fire. On the other hand, there is the thought and knowledge that what we’re doing is so that they will have a better future, without an Iranian threat.”

Both pilots acknowledged compartmentalizing their emotions to remain focused. Yud explained that while she worries for Bet when he flies, she draws confidence from firsthand knowledge of their shared mission: “I know what he’s fighting for. I was there yesterday; I know the threat picture, and I’m not worried. On the other hand, I looked at the plane monitors and made sure our jets crossed the line back safely — and then I stayed for another five minutes to watch and make sure he came back safely too.”

For the pilots in the skies, the mission was as personal as it was national. Yud concluded: “We’re doing this so that our children — and all of Israel’s children — can have a safer future.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)