Iran Israel attack – Aftonbladet in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV. Fears of the start of a third world war meet hopes for peace on the streets of Tel Aviv.

Last night’s Iranian attack leaves no one untouched.

– The Iranians did not manage to hurt us as they wanted. The only thing it succeeded in doing was hurting a child. A young Bedouin girl, a Muslim, says Rotem Avital, 40.

– So now it’s even, says salesperson Rotem Avital as she walks on a boulevard in Tel Aviv. The night before today, it was ghostly empty in anticipation of the attack.

She refers to Iran’s attack as a response to what was without much doubt an Israeli attack on several senior military leaders from Iran visiting Damascus in Syria the other week.

Last night, Iran sent 330 drones and robots against Israel.

Airplanes circled in the sky at the same time as anti-aircraft robots were launched. The challenge was enormous for Israel, but Tel Aviv’s advanced air defense system, popularly known as the Iron Dome, held firm.

In addition, Israel received “some help” from countries such as the United States and Great Britain in shooting down 99 percent of the unmanned craft before they even entered Israeli airspace.

“The beginning of a third world war”

This does not prevent the war from reaching a new level when Israel and Iran shoot directly at each other, without intermediaries such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

That worries engineer Amnon Medad, 63, in Tel Aviv:

– This is the beginning of a third world war, he says. He believes that Israel is already on the front line of a war against Islamist terrorism that will spread to Europe as well.

– Europe will be forced to realize that they have to stand behind us in this war, he says.

Pediatric nurse Aimee Lindner, 23, doesn’t think it will go that far. The conflict with Iran is something that Israel can handle on its own, she believes:

– We stand united together and will manage it, she says. In this, the nurse is supported by receptionist Vanessa Barlev, 48:

– I don’t think, and I hope, that it won’t be a major war. I am no longer afraid, she says.

Expresses doubt

Several people, mostly women, that Aftonbladet has spoken to in Israel express doubts about the entire strategy of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” that characterizes the escalation between Iran and Israel.

Survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Aylet Cohen, 56, called it “Middle Eastern mentality” in a previous report.

– We bomb a Hezbollah leader in Damascus and now we are all on our toes to await the retaliation. Our leaders say we had to go to war, that we had no choice. But you always have a choice, said Aylet Cohen. Today she is trying to recover a life on the border with the Gaza Strip.