Over the past two weeks, accounts from within the population’s environment suggest that a situation has emerged in Israel that is described as neither normal nor a complete collapse. At first there was broad support for the war, partly because many expected regime change; after that expectation was quickly seen as unrealistic, support reportedly declined noticeably. Particularly significant is the de facto shutdown of Ben Gurion International Airport: officially it remains open, but in practice operations are said to be severely limited, regular departures are hardly possible, major airlines no longer fly in, and many people who want to leave the country cannot.
At the same time, the attacks have heavily strained everyday life: schools have reportedly been canceled, warning sirens wake people several times a night in some cases, and increasing psychological and social tensions are said to be fueled by lack of sleep. In addition, there are said to be problems with air defense that have not been publicly highlighted, including Iranian attacks on radar and defense systems that shorten warning times. In this context, at least one person has reportedly been arrested for allegedly passing information from the Iron Dome environment to Iran, and several other suspects are said to be involved. In the north, towns and villages are reportedly under fire from Hezbollah, in some cases with no warning time at all; Kiryat Shmona is said to have fallen from about 25,000 residents previously to around 10,000, and the mayor has stated that if the bombardment continues, only about 100 people who are physically unable to leave might remain.
In public messaging in both the US and Israel, claims are reportedly being circulated that Iran has been largely militarily neutralized; in Israeli discourse this is said to be mocked as implausible because rocket and drone attacks continue and similar victory claims had previously been heard regarding Hezbollah. Instead, Iran is described as maintaining an operational military that remains large despite strikes, has prepared for a long time, and can operate regionally and independently through decentralization; it is also said to use underground storage, improvised launch systems, and rapid relocation, while the opposing side operates from greater distance. Israel is also said to have acknowledged that weapons shipments from Russia via the Caspian Sea are arriving regularly, while in Israel there is talk of several thousand injured and nearly 20 deaths.