After the alert sounded in Jerusalem on Saturday, April 13, following the thunderclaps of the air defense chasing the Iranian projectiles finished echoing in the sky, the city seemed to go back to sleep. It was as if this massive attack – more than 300 drones and missiles, the first direct assault by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel – had been just another nightmare inside the nightmare that began on October 7 after the massacre committed by Hamas.

The sirens had gone off in the middle of a troubled night. The Israeli army's defense systems had been reinforced on all fronts, across the north, east and south. The reserves had been called up to support the air defense. The air force remained on high alert. Israeli authorities had recommended that citizens stock up on food and that schools hold classes virtually on Sunday, a work day in Israel – much to the dismay of parents who, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the October 7 massacre, have been carrying an unprecedented burden on their shoulders for the past four years.

But Israelis didn't rush to the supermarkets. After the Iranian attack, there was no demonstration of joy in the streets, nor of anger. On Sunday morning, stores and restaurants reopened and everyone returned to their daily lives. On the eight-kilometer bike path that runs through the west of Jerusalem, joggers caught up on lost time. On social media, a joke circulated about how the world champions in existential angst had turn into brunch organizers.

"Point one, Israelis are used to it. They are bombarded time and again, by Hamas or Hezbollah," explained Shmuel Rosner, a researcher at the Jewish People Policy Institute. "When it’s over, we do not dwell on it, otherwise we would never get back to normal. Point two, there were no casualties. So no reason to stop to mourn, no tragic human story to follow. After the attack, I went back to sleep. Then, I came back to work the day after. That’s it." A young Palestinian woman of Israeli citizenship, living in the Bedouin communities of the Negev in the south of the country, was seriously wounded by shrapnel. Her condition is stable.

'A nightmare within a nightmare'

The unprecedented nature of the attack and the danger of a regional war have not overwhelmed Israelis, who are still living in the present of October 7, 2023. "Our self-confidence and sense of security collapsed six months ago, not this weekend," said Rosner. "Iran, this massive attack, it’s just another event, a nightmare inside a nightmare. And we are ready. The shelter at my place is already equipped. No need to go to the supermarket." On the evening of Monday, April 15, Israel's chief of the general staff, General Herzi Halevi, declared that "launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response."

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