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Inside Israel: The calm before and after the storm

While the powers that be in Iran are under attack, Israelis make do.

Iran Strike, Israelis
Praying at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, after the entrance was closed following an Israeli attack on Iran, June 13, 2025. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Even as the Israeli Air Force struck multiple targets in Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, Israelis went about their pre-Shabbat routine. That included buying groceries, playing with their kids and taking their daily constitutional.

They’ve been through this before. And they have already been through 20 months of fighting a multifront war that began with the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, a war to the north with Hezbollah in Lebanon and ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis in Yemen, all emanating from the powers that be in Iran.

While those powers are under attack, Israelis make do, bracing themselves for more to come.

Iran Strike, Israelis
Inside Ben-Gurion International Airport after flights were cancelled following an Israeli attack on Iran, June 13, 2025. Photo by Roy Alima/Flash90.

Iran Strike, Israelis
The empty streets of Tel Aviv, amid anticipation of an attack from Iran on Israel, June 13, 2025. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Iran Strike, Israelis
Israelis shop for food in Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Iran Strike, Israelis
Israelis shop for food in Israel, at the Rami Levy supermarket in Jerusalem on June 13, 2025. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Iran Strike, Israelis
A view of empty shops in Jerusalem’s Old City, following an Israeli attack on Iran, June 13, 2024. Photo by Jamal Awad/Flash90.

Israel’s top diplomat said that it is “outrageous” to draw a moral equivalence between Hamas leaders and Israeli citizens.
The U.S. administration expects “conversation to continue” on Chinese revenue and dual-use exports benefiting Tehran, a senior U.S. official said before meetings in China.
“It’s a glaring double standard,” the New Jersey Democratic congressman, who is Jewish, wrote in the “New York Times.”
“The targeting of U.S. service members and partners will not go unanswered,” the U.S. State Department said.
One of six detectives to be awarded by the ADL told JNS of New York City’s recent changes to hate crime reports that “you can’t have, ‘Ok, this is a robbery and this is a ‘reported’ robbery.”
The Rafael chair says the system intercepted about 99% of 40,000 rockets, as he defends Israel’s war stance and says the Iran conflict set back Tehran’s nuclear program.