Commentators within Israel describe a sense of business as usual following the country’s economic crisis. joint attack Join the United States in confronting Iran.

“It’s Saturday, so naturally the streets are quiet,” political analyst Ori Goldberg said as he returned from shelter for the second time outside Tel Aviv.

“I think politically there is a sense of triumph, a sense of attacking an enemy regime. It’s not because we are deeply invested in the future of the Iranian people, but because, through genocide in Gaza, we devalue human life,” he said, referring to Israeli attacks on the besieged territory since October 2023.

Returning to shelters across the country is now a daily routine for most Israelis, he said.

Israel has been on high alert since it launched a wave of attacks against Iran. For decades, Israeli leaders have viewed Iran as their enemy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the attack via a video on

Iran has also retaliated with its own missiles and drones against Israeli and U.S. assets in the region. At least one person was reportedly injured in northern Israel.

But recent attacks on Iran have been warmly welcomed by Israel’s political elite.

“I want to remind us all: the Israeli people are strong. The IDF (Israeli army) and the air force are strong. The most powerful force in the world stands with us,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media, referring to the United States.

“In moments like this, we stand together – we win together. There is no alliance, no opposition, just one person and one IDF, and we all support them.”

In a subsequent post written in Farsi, he echoed the prime minister’s call for Iran to implement regime change from within, a long-standing Israeli policy.

“This is crazy”

Israel’s description of relative calm contrasts with previous escalations, when sources said there was panic and heavy buying ahead of Iran’s anticipated response to a wave of Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.

“People are well-trained here,” Aida Touma-Sulaiman, a Palestinian lawmaker representing the left-wing Hadash Taal faction, almost the only one opposed to the airstrikes, said in her apartment near Haifa, having just returned from a shelter.

“This is what they keep saying in the media: We are well trained and well prepared. It’s crazy. I don’t think there is any country in the world that has been through more wars than we are, so that’s what they call ‘well trained,'” she said, referring to the wars Israel has waged against Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks in October 2023.

As Touma-Sulaiman spoke, she was interrupted by her cellphone alarm. “That wasn’t an alarm. That was a warning on my phone telling me that there was going to be an alarm and that I had to go back to the shelter,” she explained with a dry laugh. “Do you know what I mean by well-trained?”

Aaron Bregman, a senior fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, texted from Israel and described the feeling of relative calm, almost relief, felt by many in the country now that the uncertainty of the war with Iran was over.

“Both Israel and the United States are pursuing Iranian leadership. They want to significantly weaken Iran’s leadership, although I doubt they can overthrow it from the air,” he said, raising the possibility of a protracted conflict.

Touma-Sleiman, however, said it was far from certain how prepared Israel was for a protracted war and the extent to which it might choose to go.

“It will be the United States that decides how long the war will last. They will continue until they achieve what they want,” she said.

“I don’t think Israel is ready for this. The people are exhausted, the military is exhausted. I don’t know if they have enough reserves for a long war, and Netanyahu is willing to gamble on that so that he can say to the public before the election: ‘This is at least a victory.'”