It's just a day at the beach
Non-plussed Israelis sunbathed and enjoyed outdoor cafés Sunday, hours after Iran’s air assault.
About 99% of Iran’s drones and missiles were intercepted in the air by Israel with the help of forces from the US, Jordan, France and the UK, leaving little structural damage — although they tragically injured an Arab child when the remnants of a shot-down ballistic missile fell on her family’s home near Arad, officials said.
The strikes — which were retaliation for Israel’s killing of seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fighters and leaders in Syria on April 1 — appeared to have left at least some Israelis relatively unfazed, judging from photos published Sunday of people sunbathing in Tel Aviv and enjoying outdoor cafes.
“My husband went for a walk at 8:30, the cafés were open, the beach was open,” Debbie Fenton told The Jewish Chronicle from Herzliya. “Everything was back to normal. Israelis are used to it. They’re used to being attacked; it’s normal life for them.”
Shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange slipped less than 1% — a “slightly negative but not hysterical” reaction to the anticipated attack, IBI investment house chief economist Rafi Gozlan told the Times of Israel.
Still, many schools in Israel were slated to be closed Monday because of the active security threat, according to the outlet.
Some ultra-Orthodox schools opened in defiance of the closures.
Life was much slower to return to normal in Israel in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that left more than 1,200 dead.
A little more than six months later, Israel has reportedly killed more than 33,000 Palestinians and left millions more in a humanitarian crisis in its response.