Iran's Devastating Attack on Dimona and Arad Leaves Painful Major Questions for Israel's Public

In an analysis of the situation in Israel, political researcher and analyst Imad Abu Awad stated that the continuation of Iran’s attacks is weakening Israel’s official narrative regarding the diminishing capabilities of Tehran. “This will further worsen Israel’s inability to convince the public that they have inflicted major damage on the Iranian regime and that Iran does not have many ballistic missiles left,” he said, quoted from Aljazeera on Sunday (22/3/2026). He added to Aljazeera that the prolongation of the war and the increasing costs will make the Netanyahu government unable to promote even the tactical achievements gained at the beginning of the war. Regarding the impact of the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech referencing history and religion, Abu Awad explained that the speech might succeed in the short term, possibly lasting for a few weeks or even months, amid growing conviction among Israeli society of the need to resolve the current confrontation. He noted that this conviction has taken root not only in Netanyahu but throughout Israel, including the opposition, which is no less extreme at this stage. “The general atmosphere tends towards ending the threat completely to prevent it from recurring in the future,” he said. Nevertheless, Abu Awad highlighted fundamental questions that Israel has yet to answer, namely to what extent its capabilities can bear the costs of a long-term war. He stated that the continuation of Iranian attacks with this intensity means more destroyed infrastructure, more wounded and dead victims, economic setbacks, and disruption of life in Israel. “This scenario was never anticipated by the Israeli government, and to this day, they do not have a clear answer to deal with it,” he said.