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Attack sends message to Iran but Israelis divided over response

8 hours ago
By James Landale,
BBC Diplomatic correspondent in Jerusalem

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JACK GUEZ/AFP A man rides a skateboard along the beach in Tel Aviv on April 19,
2024JACK GUEZ/AFP
While sirens sounded in northern Israel, life continued as normal in Tel Aviv on
Friday morning
This morning warning sirens sounded across northern Israel as they do most days.
The army said later that it was a false alarm. But for the people of Israel it was
a reminder - if one were needed - of just how fast and how easily Iran could
retaliate if it wanted to.

For north of the border in Lebanon lie some 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel by
the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. These are not basic rockets fired out of
tubes but advanced, accurate and powerful missiles that could reach targets in
Israel within minutes. And they could be deployed on Iran's instructions at a
moment's notice.

And yet despite the reported Israeli retaliation against Iran, the streets of
Jerusalem were calm, as people went about their business preparing for Shabbat.
Joggers were out in force as usual on the beaches of Tel Aviv. The authorities said
there was no change in advice to the public; there were no instructions for people
to head to shelters.

This reflected the fact that Israel's air strike on Iran appeared initially to be
limited in scope and scale. Yes, Israel had chosen to attack on the birthday of
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who turned 85 today.

But if the strike was against military targets that were perhaps associated with
Iran's attack on Israel last weekend - such as an airbase or drone factory or
missile storage facility - then that could be seen as the restrained response
Israel's Western allies were looking for.

Diplomats in Europe and the United States feared Israel could respond with what is
known locally as a "spectacular", a strike perhaps that exceeded the scale of
Iran's last weekend that involved more than 300 drones and missiles. Or perhaps
that targeted Iran's nuclear facilities. All of which could have triggered a
similar Iranian retaliation, risking all-out regional war.

But instead Israel appears to be sending a message to Tehran that it can attack
deep within Iranian territory without restraint. In other words, Israel can attack
Iran's nuclear facilities - not far from the reported location of the strike - but
chose not to on this occasion.

Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman, said: "Iran seeks to return to the
shadows and is downplaying the Israeli strike on the strategic city of Isfahan, but
I think they've gotten the message: Israel can penetrate Iranian defences and
strike wherever it wants."

By not publicly acknowledging responsibility for the strike - as is commonplace -

Israel's war cabinet may hope to make it more difficult for hardline members of the
governing coalition to criticise the limited nature of the attack, thus avoiding a
political row over Passover. But that did not restrain some.

Reuters Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks as he attends a

convention calling for Israel to rebuild settlements in the Gaza Strip and the
northern part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in Jerusalem, January 28,
2024.Reuters
Itamar Ben Gvir was apparently unimpressed by the Israeli response
Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said a few days ago
he wanted Israel to "go berserk" in response to Iran's attack. This morning the
minister - upon whose faction the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, depends -
seemed less than impressed. On X, the social media platform formerly known as
Twitter, he posted one word, best translated as: "Lame."

Israel's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, hit back hard at this, posting: "A security
cabinet minister has never caused such heavy damage to the country's security,
image and international standing. With an unforgivable, one word tweet Ben Gvir
managed to ridicule and embarrass Israel all the way from Tehran to Washington. Any
other prime minister would have thrown him out of the cabinet this morning."

There have been reports that some ultra-Orthodox religious leaders had been
cautioning the war cabinet about striking without US support, potentially giving Mr
Netanyahu cover for a limited attack on Iran. But if this strike is self-contained
and not the start of a series of attacks, then some Israelis will be unsatisfied.

After Iran's attack last weekend, I spoke to Daniel Greenzweig, 65, a businessman
working in the hi-tech sector, who told me: "We need to hit them and we need to hit
them hard. They need to realise that that is not the kind of behaviour that can be
tolerated. I am not recommending we destroy their nuclear facilities but, if they
did, I wouldn't have a problem with it."

Reuters Orthodox Jewish men prepare matza, a traditional unleavened bread eaten
during the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, at a bakery in Kfar Chabad, Israel,
April 18, 2024.Reuters
Israelis are preparing unleavened bread for the upcoming Passover holiday
But not all Israelis share that view. In fact, people have appeared divided over
whether - and how hard - their government should strike back.

An opinion poll published earlier this week by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
suggested 52% of people believed Israel should not respond, with 48% saying it
should. It also found that only 28% of people supported military action if it led
to a larger overall war, with 34% saying they were opposed, with a sizeable 38%
saying they did not know.

So Israel awaits a response from Iran. Many have woken up with real fear about what
could happen next. The risk of miscalculation remains. We do not know yet what
further strikes on Iran - if any - are being considered.

I have spoken to international residents in Israel who are actively considering

evacuating their families. The Australian government urged its citizens to leave
both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, citing a "high risk of
military reprisals and terrorist attacks". The US embassy in Jerusalem urged
American citizens here to be cautious, warning the security environment could
change quickly.

The people of Israel had been preparing for the start of the Passover holiday next
week. They will now also be waiting to see if and when and how Iran decides to
retaliate.

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Europe
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