Thursday brought a flurry of developments on the Iran file, with reports of resumed ballistic missile production and new construction observed at a key nuclear site prompting fresh vows from the prime minister. Meanwhile, the IDF continued operations in Lebanon and the West Bank, a wanted Hamas terrorist was eliminated in Gaza, and tensions flared within Israel's security establishment.
Security
Reports citing the Wall Street Journal indicate that Iran has resumed production of ballistic missiles at underground facilities, using components stockpiled before the summer's strikes on its military industry, despite the economic blockade and naval siege. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the assessment, saying Iran is 'again trying to arm itself with nuclear weapons' and vowing this 'will not happen' while he remains in office. Separately, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said construction has been observed at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain site near Natanz, believed to store nuclear material, with President Trump warning Tehran 'not to get cute' there. Iran's national security council chief Mohsen Rezaei accused the IAEA of pushing states towards withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. On the northern front, IDF Northern Command announced a series of strikes would take place shortly against Lebanon, with explosions expected to be heard across the Galilee panhandle and Golan. The operation to neutralise tunnels and remaining infrastructure on the Ali Taher ridge is continuing, with Netanyahu confirming Israel is 'dealing with Ali Taher now.' Hezbollah has reportedly been pressing Tehran to intervene, while a senior IDF official warned any Iranian response would draw a swift Israeli reaction. In Gaza, security agencies confirmed that a joint ISA, IDF and police operation killed Hamas operative Farah Hamed, a former senior figure in the group's West Bank headquarters who took part in a string of attacks including the 2003 killing of Shuli Har-Melech, husband of MK Limor Son Har-Melech. Hamed had been released in the Shalit prisoner exchange and later helped advance terror plots in the West Bank. In a separate operation, Duvdevan unit fighters, acting on Shin Bet intelligence, arrested Ismail Ankayo in Bitunia after a week-long manhunt; he had allegedly been planning an imminent shooting attack.
Politics
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has escalated his standoff with Police Commissioner Danny Levy, writing to him that 'the police do not belong to you' and announcing he intends to personally procure police vehicles urgently rather than transfer funds through the organisation. A senior police official accused the minister of trying to act as an unofficial commissioner himself.
International
Two people, a 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, were arrested in north London on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service, following searches at addresses in the area. In Ankara, Joel Lion has taken up his post as Israel's acting chargé d'affaires to Turkey, presenting his credentials even as the Israeli embassy remains shuttered amid ongoing tensions over Gaza and Syria. In Britain, reaction continues to recent sanctions related to settlements, with Progressive Judaism co-leaders Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky describing the move as 'a clumsy tool' but distinct from an attack on Jews, while the left-wing group Yachad welcomed it as 'important and necessary,' underlining divisions within British Jewish communal opinion.
Other Developments
A man in his fifties was critically injured in a violent incident in Taibe, suffering penetrating wounds; Magen David Adom medics treated him at the scene before transferring him to Meir Hospital in serious condition. Separately, Switzerland has released a 200-page intelligence dossier on Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, the 'Angel of Death,' including material suggesting he may have passed through the country while on the run—information historians have long sought to confirm.
Media Consensus
Israeli outlets across the spectrum, including Ynet, Israel Hayom, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, converged heavily on the Iran nuclear and missile story, citing the same Wall Street Journal report and Netanyahu's confirmatory remarks. Coverage of the Ali Taher operation and the elimination of Farah Hamed was similarly consistent across Ynet, Israel Hayom and The Jerusalem Post, with security agencies' accounts closely aligned.
What to Watch
- Whether Iran or Hezbollah respond to the ongoing IDF operation on the Ali Taher ridge and northern strikes
- Further IAEA findings or Western intelligence disclosures regarding Iran's Pickaxe Mountain site and missile production
- Developments in the Ben Gvir–police commissioner dispute over equipment procurement and authority
Sources: Ynet, Walla, www.israelhayom.co.il, Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post
