Israelis Rally Behind War Effort as Iran Strikes Tel Aviv

Published: 06 March 2026
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

The sun rose over a grey and jittery Tel Aviv on Friday morning, just hours after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had fired “Kheibar missiles” into the “heart of the city” as part of the 21st wave of its “Operation True Promise 4.” While the Iron Dome and other sophisticated air defence systems once again proved their mettle—intercepting the vast majority of projectiles—the sound of explosions and the subsequent all-clear sirens have left the civilian population in a state of defiant, albeit weary, resolve.

As the seven-day mark of the conflict—now being referred to locally as the “Lion’s Roar” offensive—passes, a visit to the streets of Tel Aviv reveals a nation at war. Yet, it is not the panic-stricken populace one might expect. Instead, there is a grim acceptance and, according to multiple opinion polls, an overwhelming bi-partisan consensus that this time, the conflict with Tehran must be brought to a definitive end.

According to a poll released this week by the Israel Democracy Institute, a staggering 93% of the Jewish public is in favour of the military action against Iran. This number is echoed by a survey from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), which placed overall public support at 81%, with a clear majority—63%—believing the campaign should not stop until the current Iranian regime is overthrown.

“This is actually a consensus,” said Prof Tamar Hermann, a senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. “Even during the last campaign against Iran, we didn’t have such high numbers.”

Walking along the Tel Aviv promenade, where just 24 hours earlier life had attempted to return to some semblance of normality, the sentiment is clear. Shira Dorany, a resident taking in the Mediterranean air shortly before the latest alerts, spoke for many when she told reporters, “It’s about time. I don’t want to wait anymore for what’s coming. Now, it’s coming. Let’s finish it.”

That sentiment was echoed by 19-year-old student Rut Spigler, who was helping clean up a site hit by an Iranian missile. “The times the Israeli people most came together were the wars with Iran because that’s a goal that we believe in,” she said. “Maybe this one will be the last war and we’ll have some peace and quiet.”

On the backdrop of this support is a unified perception of the threat. For decades, Israeli leaders, most prominently Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have framed the Islamic Republic as an “existential threat.” In a television interview this week, Netanyahu doubled down on his casus belli, arguing that the strikes were essential because Tehran was “months away” from making its nuclear programme “immune” to attack.

“The reason that we had to act now is because after we hit their nuclear sites and their ballistic missile program… they started building new sites… underground bunkers,” Netanyahu stated. He has repeatedly cast the operation not merely as a defensive measure for Israel, but as an act of solidarity with the Iranian people, claiming the campaign aims to create conditions for them to “overthrow their oppressive government.”

This narrative appears to have resonated deeply. Prof Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli-Iranian analyst at Reichman University, noted, “[Israelis] see that the people of Iran share this goal…so they believe this is the opportunity [to do it] with the Israelis and Americans from the air, and the people of Iran on the ground.”

However, beneath the steely resolve, there is a profound exhaustion. For many Israelis, this current conflict blurs into a relentless cascade of national trauma. Tom Dan, speaking after emerging from a bomb shelter, captured the mood of a generation. “It’s been five years of constant upheaval. It was the judicial reform [protests], then 7 October, then Iran a year ago. Now we have this, and we’ve had Lebanon in the middle,” he told the BBC.

“Obviously, a lot of other people are living tougher lives…but there’s this feeling that this is a good cause. This [Iranian] regime was hell bent on destroying Israel.”

Chaya Dekel, in her 70s, admitted she had lost count of the wars she had witnessed. While expressing fatigue, she defended the necessity of the action, stating simply that Iran “didn’t want peace.”

Despite the overwhelming support for the military, the conflict has not been entirely devoid of dissent, though it remains a minority view. According to the Israel Democracy Institute poll, only 26% of Israeli Arabs support the war, highlighting a deep societal divide.

Even within Tel Aviv, traditionally a bastion of liberal politics, some question the wisdom of the offensive. Ron, a coffee shop owner in the centre of the city, expressed a sentiment rarely heard in public discourse. “I feel sadness, fear and frustration, and it’s a bad time for Israel. Israel should not attack Iran—it’s not the police of the world,” he said. “[There’s] no right under international law…you don’t have the right to attack a nation far away from here.”

As the diplomatic rhetoric intensifies—with U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting the United States must have a role in choosing Iran’s next leader—life in Israel continues under the shadow of the incoming.

The Home Front Command has relaxed some of the initial sweeping restrictions, but schools remain shuttered in many areas, and hospitals like Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv are operating with critical wards moved underground. The economic impact is palpable; global stocks are rattled by the spike in oil prices, and the shekel has seen volatile trading.

Yet, standing amidst the wreckage of a civilian area in Beit Shemesh recently, Prime Minister Netanyahu sought to project confidence and continuity. “We will rebuild—and build even more,” he vowed.

For now, the Israeli public appears willing to follow him into the unknown. The question lingering in the smoky air over Tel Aviv is not whether the public has the stamina for this war, but what the cost of “finishing it” will truly be.

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