The ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding for now.

Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the leadership of the Jewish state does not consider the fight against its arch-enemy and its allies to be over. Despite the "enormous achievements" in the fight against Iran's nuclear program and missile arsenal, the Israeli government has no intention of "taking its foot off the pedal," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He wants to "finish the fight against the Iranian axis," defeat the associated Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and secure the release of all hostages.

Should the leadership of the Islamic Republic attempt to restore Iran's nuclear program, Israel will "act with the same determination and strength" to prevent this, Netanyahu warned.

"The regime is battered, but still deadly," the Wall Street Journal quoted an Iran expert from the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies as saying. Despite the military successes in the war against Iran, it is premature "to celebrate victory now."

"We have completed an important phase, but the operation against Iran is not over yet," said Israel's Chief of Staff Ejal Zamir, without providing details. "Now the focus is back on Gaza – to bring the hostages home and overthrow the Hamas regime." Relatives of those kidnapped by the Palestinian terrorist organization, however, are calling for a halt to the Gaza war to avoid endangering the lives of the hostages.

"We call on the government to urgently begin negotiations to return all hostages and end the war," said a statement from the hostages' relatives' forum. "Whoever can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza." According to official Israeli sources, 22 living hostages are still being held in the sealed-off coastal strip. The handover of the remains of 28 others is now the only issue.

Meanwhile, another bloody incident reportedly occurred near a humanitarian aid distribution center north of the city of Rafah in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip. According to Palestinian sources, 25 Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on those waiting. The Israeli army stated that it was unaware of the incident.

Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported that 19 bodies and more than 100 injured people were brought to the hospital following a similar incident in the central coastal strip. People there were also reportedly waiting for humanitarian aid. Eyewitnesses reported an Israeli airstrike on those waiting. The Israeli army stated that it was aware of reports of injuries caused by army shelling. However, the military did not initially provide details of deaths. The details are currently being investigated.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Homeland Security Service lifted all restrictions on its own population the evening after the ceasefire was announced between Israel and Iran. For example, school classes can now be held in classrooms again. Only in some areas near the Gaza Strip do restrictions remain in place.

Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian also promised a return to normal life for his own people and praised his countrymen's resistance. In a message to the nation, he spoke of the "end of a twelve-day war" imposed on the Iranian people by Israel. "Starting today, the government and the relevant institutions will begin reconstruction and restore normality," Peseschkian said.

According to the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, the production process at the country's nuclear facilities will continue without interruption. Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi also emphasized that the country will continue with its nuclear program.

The Iranian leadership consistently claims that it does not want to build nuclear weapons, but only pursues a civilian program for the use of nuclear energy. However, there are doubts about this claim – also because Iran was the only nuclear-weapon-free state to produce uranium with almost weapons-grade purity in the past.

According to an intelligence report, the US attacks in Iran only set back the nuclear program by a few months. An initial assessment concludes that the weekend bombing failed to completely destroy the underground nuclear facilities, according to the New York Times and CNN, citing officials familiar with the top-secret report from the National Intelligence Agency (DIA).

After the US attacks, US President Donald Trump said the nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow had been completely destroyed. He spoke of a death blow to the Iranian nuclear program.

The five-page intelligence report suggests that Iran had already relocated its enriched uranium stockpile to other locations prior to the attacks, as the New York Times further reported. According to CNN, the attack set back Iran's nuclear program by less than six months.

Both media reports, which Trump dismissed as "fake news," emphasized that this was an initial report and that further investigations could lead to different conclusions. Meanwhile, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, emphasized the need for his agency's work in Iran to resume. This is "key to a successful diplomatic agreement to definitively resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities," he was quoted as saying in a statement released by the IAEA on Tuesday evening.

Grossi emphasized the importance of this cooperation in a letter to Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi and suggested an early meeting, the statement said. The IAEA inspectors remained in Iran throughout the conflict. They are ready to resume their work as soon as possible, return to the nuclear facilities, and inspect the stockpiles of nuclear material. This includes more than 400 kilograms of uranium with a near-weapons-grade purity of 60 percent.

The whereabouts of this highly enriched material are not publicly known. According to diplomats, it could be used to produce several nuclear bombs if the uranium were further enriched to 90 percent, which is considered a relatively small step. Recently, representatives of the leadership in Tehran had fueled speculation that Iran might suspend cooperation with the IAEA.