How Israelis Feel About Another Potential War With Iran

Across Israel, hospitals have been conducting emergency drills while neighbors share locations of bomb shelters in WhatsApp groups.

The national mood is wavering somewhere between anxiety, resignation and anticipation as President Trump deliberates over whether to attack Iran. If he orders a strike, it will most likely pull Israel into its second war with Iran in less than a year, following a 12-day conflict in June.

Ruth Bahaj of Jerusalem, 38, said she was trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy, including by heading on a vacation this week. But she and her wife also made preparations, such as cleaning and organizing the fortified shelter in their apartment building.

“Plenty of people are anxious, aren’t sleeping at night because they’re checking the news,” Ms. Bahaj said. “But it’s impossible to be tense and at the ready constantly for so long.”

Mr. Trump first began threatening to attack Iran last month after Iran’s leaders began a bloody crackdown on mass protests calling for an end to the country’s authoritarian clerical rule. He has ordered a buildup of American military power in the region unparalleled since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

But he has also zigzagged between declaring his readiness to attack Iran and expressing a desire to use a moment of weakness in the country to reach a new diplomatic agreement to rein in Iran’s nuclear program.