For over a month, Michal Weits has kept suitcases ready by the entrance of her Tel Aviv home.

“We’ve had our bags packed for several weeks,” she shared. “A few weeks ago, there were whispers that the United States might launch an attack on Iran that night. At midnight, we rushed to wake the kids from their sleep and headed north, where it’s rumored to be safer.”

Weits, who serves as the artistic director of the Docaviv international documentary film festival, speaks from intense personal experience. During a recent 12-day conflict, an Iranian missile hit her Tel Aviv residence. Fortunately, she, her husband, and their two young children were sheltered in a safe room that ultimately collapsed around them.

Eyal, Michal Weits’ husband, stands holding their daughter amidst the debris of their Tel Aviv home, which was hit by an Iranian missile during the 12-day war. (Photo by Michal Weits)

“After our home was devastated by an Iranian missile, we lost everything tangible and also the belief that ‘it won’t happen to me,'” she remarked. “We’re as prepared as anyone can realistically be.”

Weits reflects on the stark contrasts of that time. Just four days after being injured in the missile attack and while still hospitalized, she received the news that she had won an Emmy Award for her documentary on the Nova massacre that occurred on October 7.

“Four days earlier an 800-kilogram explosive missile fell on our home and I was injured, and four days later I woke up on my birthday to news that I had won an Emmy,” she said. “It can’t be more surreal than this. That is the experience of being Israeli, from zero to one hundred.”

Michal Weits after being injured in an Iranian missile strike that hit her Tel Aviv home during the 12-day war. (Michal Weits)

She says Israelis have learned to live inside that swing. “Inside all of this, life continues,” she said. “Kids go to school, you go to the supermarket, Purim arrives and you prepare, and you don’t know if any of it will actually happen. We didn’t make plans for this weekend because we don’t know what will happen.”

That gap — between visible routine and private fear — defines this moment. The fear she describes is now part of the national atmosphere.

The Weits family home in Tel Aviv after it was destroyed by a direct Iranian missile strike during the 12-day war. (Michal Weits)

On the surface, Israel looks normal. The beaches are crowded in the warm weather. Cafés are full. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has risen in recent days. Children go to school as Israelis prepare for the Jewish holiday of Purim and costumes are being prepared.

But inside homes and across local news broadcasts, one question dominates: when will it happen? When will President Donald Trump decide whether to strike Iran — and what will that mean for Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Home Front Command and emergency services to prepare for possible escalation, with Israeli media reporting a state of “maximum alert” across security bodies.

Speaking at an officer graduation ceremony this week, Netanyahu warned Tehran: “If the ayatollahs make a mistake and attack us, they will face a response they cannot even imagine.” He added that Israel is “prepared for any scenario.”

The military message was echoed by the IDF. “We are monitoring regional developments and are aware of the public discourse regarding Iran,” IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. “The IDF remains vigilant in defense, our eyes are open in every direction and our readiness in response to any change in the operational reality is greater than ever.”

Four days after being injured in an Iranian missile strike, Michal Weits received an Emmy Award for the documentary “We Will Dance Again” about the Nova festival massacre on Oct. 7. (Michal Weits)

Yet the psychological shift inside Israel goes deeper than official statements.

For years, Israelis lived with rockets from Hamas. The Iranian strikes felt different.

“The level of destruction from Iran was something Israelis had not experienced before,” said Israeli Iran expert Benny Sabti. “People are used to rockets from Gaza. This was a different scale of damage. It created real anxiety.”

Iron Dome, long seen as nearly impenetrable, was less effective against heavier Iranian missiles. Buildings collapsed. Entire neighborhoods were damaged.

“People are still traumatized,” Sabti said. “They are living on the edge for a long time now.”

At the same time, he stressed that the country is better prepared today.

“There are feelings, and there are facts,” Sabti said. “The facts are that Israel is better prepared now. The military level is doing serious preparation. They learned from the last round.”

The earlier wave of protests inside Iran had sparked hope in Israel that internal pressure might weaken or topple the regime. Weits told Fox News Digital, “I am angry at the Iranian government, not the Iranian people. I will be the first to travel there when it’s possible. I hope they will be able to be free — that all of us will be able to be free.”

Destroyed residential buildings that were hit by a missile fired from Iran is seen in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, June 14, 2025.  (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Despite losing her home and suffering hearing damage from the blast, she says the greater loss was psychological. “There is no more complacency,” she said. “The ‘it won’t happen to me’ feeling is gone.”

Across Israel, that sentiment resonates.