Israelis awoke on Sunday to a new reality after the United States military joined Israel’s war against Iran with a
huge pre-dawn attack on three of its key nuclear sites. They were just confused about what that reality might be.
Some Israelis were elated, saying they believed their country was entering a new era of peace and prosperity, with the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran no longer hanging over it.
Others worried that the American intervention was likely to lead to a stronger Iranian retaliation and a broader, prolonged war.
Still, many Israelis, including Yair Lapid, the leader of the political opposition,
agreed that the events overnight were “historic,” regardless of the results, and thanked Mr. Trump. “Israel, the Middle East and the world are now safer,” he wrote on social media.
“I’m happy to the high heavens,” said Eldad Ella, 48, a pest exterminator who was eating breakfast with a friend at a sidewalk cafe in Jerusalem’s nearly deserted city center during a break in the missile fire. “Bibi and Trump are our saviors,” he added, referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname.
