The Financial Times reports that the Israeli military prepared a strike campaign on Iran for October 10 that would have targeted energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and "regime targets", but cancelled it due to Trump's opposition to resuming strikes before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.

This strike campaign had reportedly been intended to surpass the intensity of the initial joint US-Israeli strikes in February and March. It remains unclear if the U.S. would have taken part in the operation directly.

FT reports that the goal of such an operation would have been to force Iran to agree to American terms surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear programme, in order to fully end the war.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth travelled to Israel to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. FT reports that Israeli officials presented an "updated target bank" to Hegseth compiled based on new intelligence, including civilian infrastructure targets that had not previously been hit.

Israeli soldiers have begun voting in the 2026 national elections, less than a week before the rest of the country is expected to cast their ballot.

Around 850 polling stations have been deployed across Israel to facilitate this early voting, ensuring soldiers are able to remain in remote locations both in Israel and occupied parts of the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria.

The election will officially be held in October 27 to elect the 26th Knesset. It will be the first election since the Gaza war and genocide began in 2023, and the first since the recent wars against Iran and Lebanon. Netanyahu is seeking re-election in his Likud party-led right-wing coalition, but current polls indicate a tight race between them and the opposition bloc, with no clear projected winner at this time.

⚡️🇱🇧🇮🇱 Israeli drones are currently flying over Beirut and Dahieh violating the framework agreement for the third day in a row.

@wfwitness

The southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia City are under attack from Russian KAB glide-bombs.

At least 5 strikes so far, targeting the Balabyne area.

The entire city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, is currently without power due to Russian attacks.

Ukraine's energy minister reports that overnight Russian attacks targeted energy infrastructure in 4 regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv City, Kyiv Oblast, Volyn Oblast, and Odesa Oblast, resulting in power outages for some areas.

NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) are currently conducting searches at the residence of Andriy Pyshnyi - the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Ansarallah announced targeting the PLC operations room at the Bader military camp near Aden International Airport with a ballistic missile.

Explosions in Kharkiv City.

Russian S8000 Banderol cruise missile attack.

Explosions in Chernihiv.

The city was struck by another S8000 Banderol cruise missile, possibly targeting the same location that was hit 3 hours ago.

The 2nd Khartiia Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard announced carrying out a special operation underground, appearing to use an underground pipeline network.

The operation was dubbed "Veles" and was carried out in complete informational silence. The results will be released to the public tomorrow, October 22.

The trailer video they released doesn't reveal many clues. Presumably it was an underground pipeline network. There are several of these near the frontline, including one that connects Kupyansk with the city of Urazove in Belgorod Oblast.

A couple of months ago I was told by a source that a significant portion of the fighting for Kupyansk city was taking place underground, but this operation seems to be much bigger than simple frontline clashes. There are other tunnel complexes near Pokrovsk and Kursk Oblast which could also have been used.

The IRGC attacked an oil tanker with a drone/anti-ship cruise missile in the Strait of Hormuz, 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman.

A fire broke out onboard, which has since been extinguished. The tanker has now been anchored, and all crew are reported as safe.