As a cease-fire held for a second day, people in both countries were still haunted by the terrifying moments of a brief but intense war.
Israeli students headed to schools that had been shuttered by the fighting with Iran, some of them used as bomb shelters. Iran’s internet services, which the authorities had sharply curbed during nearly two weeks of war, were coming back on Wednesday.
In both countries, people took the first tentative steps to return to normalcy as a cease-fire held for a second day. Some were still haunted by the terrifying moments of the brief but intense war.
Israelis were heading back to their offices after days of absences when the military had ordered nonessential workers to stay home, while residents of Tehran, who had fled intense Israeli bombardments on the Iranian capital, began returning home.
In Iran, fears swirled over whether the war would be followed by a harsh government crackdown on critics in an effort to reassert control over the country.
“My family and I fear both the war and the cease-fire equally,” said Maryam, 35. The reason, she said: “We know that after a cease-fire, we’ll be left with humiliated, vengeful mullahs seeking retribution.”
Maryam, speaking from her Caspian Sea hometown, Bandar Anzali, said it was still crowded there with those who had fled the bombings in Tehran. She and other Iranians who spoke to The New York Times on Wednesday asked to be identified by their first names to avoid drawing the attention of the authorities.
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