The Daily Populous Monday June 8th, 2026 day edition
Authored by bbc.com and submitted by One-Emu-1103

'War only brings short-term relief' - Israelis share conflicting opinions

I visited Tel Aviv’s Habima Square before the latest Iranian announcement that it would be stopping military strikes on Israel.

It’s a pleasant summer’s day, people sit in cafes chatting over coffee while their children play around the ornamental pool.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Israel wasn’t really on the brink of a dangerous escalation in its war with Iran.

But the kids are the giveaway - they’re not in school today, nor will they be tomorrow as schools across the country remain closed following last night’s Iranian missile attack.

Image caption, Eyal tells the BBC he doesn't really support war but that "sometimes there is no option"

“I want peace, yesterday!” says Eyal, a father and lawyer who works around the corner between the square and the beach.

“But I think that with our neighbours in the region the only way to get them to speak is to show them how strong we are,” he continues as he prepares to head back to the office on his bike.

“I really don’t support war but sometimes you have no option.”

His reluctant, qualified support for Israeli military action against Iran isn’t shared by Flora, an IT worker who also stopped to talk while walking near the square.

Image caption, Flora says she is not optimistic about the situation

“We’ve lived in this nightmare for years and I don’t see a solution,” she says.

When I asked her about the threats Israel faces from Iran and Hezbollah and the fact many Israelis support their government’s war aims, she disagrees.

“War only brings short-term relief, but not in the long run because we’ll soon be at war again. They come and go, so no I don’t agree with Netanyahu’s war aims at all.”

It’s a snapshot of how conflicted and confused people sometimes here feel about the prospect of an extended war on several fronts.

It’s a scenario that no-one I spoke to on this balmy summer’s day in Tel Aviv wants. But how to avoid it is something they can’t agree on.

Laurie_Van_Carr on June 7th, 2026 at 21:27 UTC »

Loathsome though the Iranian regime is, they do seem to be playing the hand they've been dealt pretty well.

They seem to have understood that what stands in the way of them getting an acceptable deal out of Trump is that Israel will immediately sabotage it to pursue its own maximalist aims.

So, by making it explicit that they will retaliate against Israeli actions in Lebanon, they're trying to drive a wedge between Israel and Trump as a means of constraining Israel.

Given Trump's indiscipline and all-encompassing self-interest, that seems like a pretty plausible strategy.

ComprehensiveKiwi489 on June 7th, 2026 at 20:03 UTC »

Apparently, Trump had a comment a few minutes ago, where he stated that he was about to sign a deal with Iran on Monday or Tuesday, but then this happened. The levels of delusion is insane.

One-Emu-1103 on June 7th, 2026 at 19:48 UTC »

Iran has fired multiple waves of missiles at northern Israel

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Corps Guard (IRGC) says this is "the beginning of a full week of continuous strikes"

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it is working to intercept the threats and sirens have been sounded in "several areas across the country"

It had warned it was "preparing for potential fire" after Israel hit the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier on Sunday - a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was "in response to Hezbollah's firing at Israeli territory"