⚔️ Iran claims attacks on U.S. bases across region:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it launched attacks early Wednesday toward military bases in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq’s Erbil region and Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base, describing U.S. facilities as the intended targets. The IRGC also said seven of its members, including three Basij personnel, were killed in U.S. strikes overnight.

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⚓ IRGC claims tankers mined near Hormuz:

The IRGC also claimed that two oil tankers attempting to pass through an unauthorized route near the Strait of Hormuz were struck by mines and set on fire.

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🇮🇱 Netanyahu: “We can attack Iran at any moment”:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued some of his strongest statements yet regarding Iran, saying, “We can attack Iran at any moment,” and declaring: “The regime in Iran will fall. We will bring it down. It is already on its last legs. All our systems, under my guidance, act to overthrow this regime.”

Netanyahu also warned: “If Iran chooses to attack us, they know it will be one of the last decisions they ever make.” Trump, speaking to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, said Israel “should not be concerned about a renewed war with Iran.”

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💥 Hezbollah drones target IDF forces in southern Lebanon:

Hezbollah launched two explosive-laden drones overnight toward IDF soldiers operating at the Ali al-Taher Ridge in the Security Zone. Israeli troops opened fire and downed one of the drones. No IDF injuries were reported.

The IDF responded by striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure in the Nabatieh area that it said was used by Hezbollah terrorists to plan and direct attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon. The military said the strikes were intended to “remove an immediate threat.”

Hezbollah has a major underground facility beneath the ridge in the Nabatieh area, where several operatives are believed by the IDF to remain holed up. The IDF said it continues operating at the Ali al-Taher Ridge and “will not allow terrorists in the area to advance and carry out” attacks on troops.

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🛡️ Northern Israel drone alert determined to be false:

Sirens sounded overnight in several communities near Kiryat Shmona after the IDF identified what appeared to be a “suspicious aerial target” near the Lebanon border. Several interceptors were likely launched toward the target, triggering additional sirens.

Following a review, the military said the suspected hostile aircraft was a “false identification.” The target was not an enemy drone, and the initial infiltration warnings were false alarms.

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🔸 Israel-Syria security agreement efforts fail:

A senior Israeli official said efforts to reach a security agreement with Syria have failed, partly because of disagreements over an Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone. Despite the failure to reach an agreement, communication between Israel and Syria remains open and the sides continue to maintain contact, according to Walla.

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📍 Route 10 returns to regular weekend schedule:

Beginning tomorrow, Route 10 in the Paran Regional Brigade sector near Israel’s western border will return to its regular opening schedule. The route between Ezuz and Mount Harif will be open to hikers on Fridays and Saturdays only, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Thursday access, which was permitted during the summer vacation period, will end.

The IDF said it continues conducting training exercises in firing zones in both southern and northern Israel throughout weekends. Firing zones in southern Israel will therefore remain closed to hikers. The IDF asked the public not to enter restricted areas and to allow security forces to continue carrying out their missions. Entry to Route 10 requires identification and registration at the entrance, but no advance coordination is required.

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🛡️ Military exercise in Ephraim and Menashe:

An IDF exercise will take place tomorrow from morning until afternoon in the Ephraim and Menashe Brigade areas. Increased movement of security forces will be noticeable throughout the area. The IDF stressed that there is no concern of a security incident.

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❌ Former IDF soldier indicted over alleged ISIS plan:

Israeli authorities filed an indictment against a Bedouin man from the Galilee who previously served in the IDF, accusing him of planning to travel to Syria or Africa to join ISIS.

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⛽ Attorney General approves fuel price reduction:

The Attorney General approved Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s move to lower fuel prices despite the elections. Fuel prices are expected to fall by approximately half a shekel compared with the current price within about 48 hours.

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🎯 Hamas commander eliminated over immediate threat:

The IDF announced that it struck and eliminated Talal Mustafa Saleh Badawi on Monday, a commander in the Military Security Department of Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade. Momen Saeed Mohammed Al-Hawari, another Hamas terrorist, was also eliminated in the strike.

According to the IDF, the two had recently advanced terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and worked to restore Hamas capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.” The military said the strike was conducted to remove the immediate threat.

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🛡️ More than 26 km of Hamas tunnels disabled since ceasefire:

IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip recently dismantled an underground terrorist tunnel approximately one kilometer long while defending and clearing terrorist infrastructure from the area of the Yellow Line.

The IDF said that since implementation of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, troops have disabled more than 26 kilometers of underground terrorist tunnels east of the Yellow Line. The operations have involved the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade and combat engineers from the Yahalom unit.

Southern Command troops remain deployed around the Yellow Line in accordance with the ceasefire agreement framework and, according to the IDF, will continue operating to remove immediate threats. The military also released footage of the tunnel dismantling and Northern Brigade operations in the area.

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📍 Netanyahu in Gaza: Israel controls 60% of the Strip:

Netanyahu said during a visit to Gaza: “We control 60% of the Strip, and there’s more to come. Yesterday we captured the head of Hamas’s Shin Bet — we’ll probably learn a few things.”

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📊 Three polls, three different blocs:

Three national polls published Wednesday point to the same new variable: whether the newly unified Smotrich-Feiglin list and Ofer Winter’s Amcha Israel can both cross the electoral threshold without costing the right-wing bloc mandates.

i24NEWS / Direct Polls places Netanyahu + Winter at 60 seats, the non-Arab opposition at 48 and Arab parties at 12. Smotrich-Feiglin receives 6 and Winter 5. A hypothetical merger of the two produces the same combined 11 seats, reducing threshold risk without adding mandates.

Channel 13 places Netanyahu at 53, the non-Arab opposition at 53 and Arab parties at 14. Smotrich-Feiglin receives 6 and Winter 4, bringing both above the threshold and erasing the previous nine-seat gap between Netanyahu and the non-Arab opposition.

Walla / Lazar Research gives Netanyahu 49, the non-Arab opposition 58 and Arab parties 13. Smotrich-Feiglin receives 5 while Winter, at 2.3%, is eliminated. The shift largely substitutes Smotrich-Feiglin for Winter without changing Netanyahu’s 49-seat position from Walla’s previous poll.

Walla also places Tropper-Hendel at 3.0%, just 0.25 percentage point below the threshold, and estimates roughly 10% of votes, equivalent to about 12 mandates, are currently going to parties below it.

In a scenario where Tally Gotliv moves from Likud to Otzma Yehudit, Winter rises to 2.8% but remains eliminated, while Netanyahu falls to 48.

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🔹 The threshold question now dominates:

The same-day divergence remains striking: i24 places Netanyahu + Winter at 60, News 13 at 53 and Walla at 49, while Channel 14 remains around 63. Recent News 12 and Kan measurements have also placed Netanyahu substantially lower.

Channel 12’s Amit Segal cautioned against treating the News 13 movement as a literal weekly voter shift, arguing there was “no chance” roughly a quarter-million voters moved between blocs in one week and noting that pollsters generally show very little movement between the blocs.

The cross-pollster gap is therefore much larger than the movement within individual surveys. Wednesday’s polls do not establish a synchronized national swing. They do show that the Smotrich-Feiglin merger has materially changed the threshold landscape.

In i24 and News 13, both Smotrich-Feiglin and Winter survive. In Walla, only Smotrich-Feiglin crosses. Whether both can consistently remain above the threshold across the broader polling field is becoming one of the key variables on the path to 61.

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🇮🇱 Winter rejects pressure, sets Haredi draft condition:

Winter rejected what he described as attempts to pressure or divide his movement. He said Amcha Israel intends to integrate Haredim into the IDF “without compromises or delays” and would not join a government unless legislation ending draft evasion is passed before its formation: “Without that, we will not serve in the government. Period.”

Responding to reports that Netanyahu could offer Yoseph Haddad a reserved Likud position, Winter said: “We won’t let anyone drive a wedge between us.” Haddad likewise said the group was “one united fist” and had entered politics “not for the chair, but for the table.”

Winter said any future political merger would be considered only with new political forces.

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⚓ Hormuz strikes and maritime claims:

President Trump said U.S. forces destroyed rebuilt Iranian radar, missile and mine-laying capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz. In a separate interview, he claimed: “Last night, we took out 28 boats, 28 ships,” while asserting that the U.S. now “controls” the Strait.

CENTCOM has confirmed strikes on Iranian maritime assets and facilities, air defenses, radars, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites, but has not independently confirmed Trump’s figure of 28 vessels.

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⚠️ Trump rejects election link as reports say he is weighing an end to the war:

Trump publicly rejected the suggestion that the November 3 midterm elections are determining his Iran policy. “I’m not affected by the election,” he said, adding that Republicans “respect the fact that we’re not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

His statement materially qualifies, but does not disprove, Reuters reporting that some senior aides are weighing electoral considerations when arguing for containment.

The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that Trump has privately discussed with senior aides whether to declare the Iran war over and currently favors the idea, believing sustained economic pressure could eventually force Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program or contribute to the regime’s collapse. No direct Trump quotation from those private discussions was published.

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🛡️ U.S. force posture remains large:

Roughly 50,000 U.S. personnel and 19 warships remain in the region, preserving military options if further action is required. The Wall Street Journal also reported that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has extended the deployment of American forces in the Middle East until 2027.

Trump declined to say whether Washington would arm Iranian opposition forces following his earlier call for Iranians to “rise up and fight,” saying: “I’d love to tell you that, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to say.” His comments therefore remain political pressure rather than evidence of an announced U.S. program to arm an uprising.

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🇦🇪 UAE contact, U.S. blockade and Iranian attacks:

Trump separately spoke Thursday with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his first identified direct UAE-specific presidential contact following Iran’s renewed attacks. The official Emirati readout said the leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and Middle East developments, but announced no new military commitment, threat or retaliation policy.

The U.S. Navy continues to strictly enforce the American blockade against Iran. As of September 2, U.S. forces had redirected 86 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two to ensure compliance.

Iranian Armed Forces meanwhile said: “This morning, we targeted American bases in the UAE and Kuwait with missiles and drones.”

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⚠️ Katz warns Iranian attack would remove Israeli strike restrictions:

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that an Iranian attack on Israel would remove existing restrictions on Israeli strikes against Iran.

“If Iran attacks the State of Israel, this will release Israel from any existing restrictions in attacking Iran. We will strike all national, military, and civilian infrastructures in Iran, including energy infrastructures, and return Iran deep into the Stone Age and darkness,” Katz said.

Speaking at a Jewish New Year toast with Defense Ministry employees, Katz also warned: “There are signs we are seeing that indicate that the heavy economic pressure Iran is under and the fear of an uprising and the fall of the regime could push them to desperate measures.”

Katz added that “Israel is well prepared, defensively and offensively, for every possibility -- and the IDF is ready to carry out the mission.”

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