Soldiers start voting today, and a lot of what they're voting on is their own army. Washington would like a say in when it fights next, and the haredi parties want one on whom it drafts. A week of campaigning isn't going to settle either.
Flash Brief: The Day in 90 Seconds or Less
Iran: Hegseth meets Netanyahu unannounced at Ovda, and Zamir has warned a new round with Iran could postpone the election. See The War Today.
Lebanon: The IDF says Hezbollah kept using a Kfarra site Lebanon's army said it had dealt with, as Israel–Lebanon military talks resume in Tampa. See Briefly Noted.
Gaza: Katz says the IDF will disarm Hamas if the American-brokered deal doesn't, and COGAT lets commercial trucks back in. See The War Today.
Gantz: Benny Gantz pulls Blue and White out of the race, polling around one percent, and endorses nobody. See Inside Israel.
The draft: Some fifty Chabad students back from a year at 770 are stopped at Ben-Gurion, and Netanyahu calls the arrests unacceptable. See Inside Israel.
E1: Britain's Miliband threatens bidders for 1,234 E1 homes with sanctions as bidding closes, and Sa'ar answers within hours. See Israel and the World.
The UN: Alice Jill Edwards, the UN's torture rapporteur until July, accuses Albanese and Alsalem of refusing to record October 7. See Israel and the World.
Al-Saadi: The FBI says Kataib Hezbollah's al-Saadi kept running his network from his cell, and Berlin summons Iran's ambassador. See Israel and the World.
Istanbul: About twenty-five activists corner a Turkish-born Israeli citizen in an Istanbul mall after her location is posted online. See Israel and the World.
Judea and Samaria: Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry figures show major terror attacks falling from 218 in 2024 to 62 in 2025. See Briefly Noted.
Vance: The vice president won't join Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu, saying he's not getting involved in Israeli elections. See Briefly Noted.
Abroad, the warnings are flying, and they don't weigh the same. Britain has built itself new powers to sanction whoever builds at E1, and hasn't used them on anybody yet. Germany answered an Iranian plot against the man who leads its Central Council of Jews by calling in Tehran's ambassador. Only one of those threatens anybody's business.
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