ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
This week, the U.S. brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Before that, more than 600 people were killed in Iran and two dozen in Israel, according to those two countries. Today, Israel opened up again, returning somewhat to routine. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.
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DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: There's life in the streets again. Restaurants are back open, friends are swapping stories from their time running to bomb shelters, the miklat.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: Schools and businesses reopened. Joggers are back crowding the boardwalk. For 12 days, Israelis across the country would run to shelters several times a day and wait for the loud thuds of missiles that made apartments shake and windows shatter. Hadas Kivon (ph) sits on a bench in a trendy Tel Aviv neighborhood.
HADAS GIVON: In a way, not needing to just run to the shelter, there is a kind of relief. But still, it's very weird.
ESTRIN: Israel was bombarded by sophisticated missiles, many of them evading air defenses, hitting a hospital, a prestigious scientific research center, sensitive military sites, residential buildings. Today, Israelis are hearing contradictory claims from the U.S. and Israel about whether Iran's nuclear program was obliterated or just set back months or years. Givon says it gives her a bad feeling.
GIVON: It feels like this was all a warmup for the third World War. Some people say we haven't eliminated their nuclear abilities. So you don't know what will happen next. Now that they know what we can do and what was our abilities, they can prepare for the next thing better. So in that sense, I'm more scared.
ESTRIN: In a nod to the fears, Israel's top spymaster issued a rare video statement today. David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad, reflected on years of a shadow war with Iran that he said has scored a victory.
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DAVID BARNEA: (Non-English language spoken) Israel (non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: "Israel, thanks to the entire security apparatus, feels today like a different country," he told Mossad agents. "A more secure country, a stronger country that is ready for the future."
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BARNEA: (Non-English language spoken).
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ESTRIN: Israel reopened its airport today, but most foreign airlines have not resumed flights yet, and many here hope the ceasefire with Iran can bring new momentum to Israel and Hamas to finally strike a deal to end the war in Gaza. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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