Israelis brace for Iranian attack

"Sheket Matu'ach," Hebrew for "tense silence."

From the outside, life in Israel seems normal, at least when it comes to the civilians. This is despite the country bracing for retaliation from Iran and its proxies after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, in Tehran.

Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said the military has not changed its instructions for civilians in a bid to ease public concerns.

"We take the declarations and statements of our enemies seriously. Therefore, we are prepared at peak readiness in offense and defense," Hagari said.

Israelis near Lebanon fear expanded conflict

Iran's impending response has most people on edge throughout Israel, but people in the northern parts of the country are also on alert for an expanded conflict.

The residents there have felt Israel's conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in their own way. Hezbollah, a Lebanese Islamist political organization that, like Hamas, is backed by Iran, has targeted the region using rockets and drones since the war in Gaza began.

Bat-Chen Rozner lives with her family in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, just a few kilometers away from Lebanon and Syria. She says the current tensions with Iran just add to the stress.

"We've been preparing ourselves for quite a while," she tells DW. "Every single noise that resembles an explosion, every single door being slammed, you think, 'Here we go...'"

On the other hand, she says, people are trying to go about their daily lives as much as possible.

"It doesn't seem logical to me that we'll just sit in a safe room and wait for something to happen."

More than 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in Israel's north since the war in Gaza began 10 months ago.

Questions of Netanyahu government

Israelis further south are also following the situation with Iran closely. Oshra Lerer-Shaib of Ashdod, a city on the Israeli coast 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Gaza, says her family has been prepared since the Hamas attacks last year.

"Since October 7, our safe room has been equipped with food and water for the case we'll need to stay there for three or four days."

Lerer-Shaib says what worries people more is not the prospect of Iran's attack but the feeling that they're on their own.

"I once felt that should I get kidnapped, my country will do everything to get me back," she says.

However, after Israel's inability to defend its own citizens from the Hamas incursion on October 7, that's no longer the case.

"Our fear is not from Iran, but from the Israeli government and the country's infrastructure not functioning properly," Lerer-Shaib says.

Hezbollah has threatened to target Israeli infrastructure in the past, including the port in Haifa's port in northern Israel and the city's chemical factories.

Speaking to DW about the atmosphere on the streets of Ashdod, Lerer-Shaib says it's noticeable that something is different.

"People are barely leaving their houses. The roads are empty. It's pretty sad."

Constantly preparing

In addition to having a generator and some food and water in case an attack takes place, Rozner says her family is also getting ready for the case they'll have to leave their home in the Golan Heights on short notice.

However, such arrangements are not limited to the current situation.

"If I had to make special arrangements every time there's a concrete threat, I'd have gone bankrupt," Rozner says sarcastically.

Edited by: Davis VanOpdorp