Israel's political landscape remained in flux this afternoon as efforts to form a new government continued, with Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot holding their first meeting since the election following days of mutual criticism. On the security front, the IDF carried out a strike on a senior Hamas figure using a hospital in Khan Yunis as cover, while debate continues over whether a caretaker government retains authority to launch new military action against Iran.

Politics

Benjamin Netanyahu and Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot are set to hold a security and political update call after a tense standoff, during which Eisenkot had accused the prime minister of refusing to grant him briefings reserved for the opposition leader. A planned meeting with Netanyahu's military secretary was first arranged, then cancelled, before the two leaders issued a joint statement confirming they would speak directly. Defence Minister Yisrael Katz insisted the government 'doesn't need permission' to act, while Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman warned Netanyahu against 'dragging Israel into war' amid the political uncertainty. Meanwhile, coalition talks between Eisenkot's camp and haredi parties have exposed deep divisions, particularly over military conscription, though Yashar MK Shaul Meridor said haredi factions could join an Eisenkot-led emergency government if they accept four principles, including universal service and formal recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Haredi leaders are said to be disappointed with Netanyahu but encouraged by the change bloc's willingness to compromise, with a small group of senior rabbis expected to decide the community's position. Separately, Miriam Peretz, mother of Yashar MK Eliasaf Peretz, said her son would quit the Knesset if his party ever sat in a coalition with an Arab party, adding that pressure, including attempts to encourage defection, has been applied against him since the outset.

Security

The IDF struck a senior Hamas brigade commander who had been operating from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, with the military saying the site was used to store weapons, run command centres and plan attacks against Israel. The strike has renewed scrutiny on Hamas's use of medical facilities as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates with the onset of winter. Separately, questions persist over whether Netanyahu, heading a caretaker government during the transition period, retains legal authority to launch a new military campaign against Iran, a debate that has fed directly into the friction with Eisenkot over access to security briefings. On the home front, the IDF's operation to recover unauthorised military equipment has been extended by two days to 16 November, with more than 300,000 items already handed in, including around 210 weapons and roughly 3,800 grenades, mortars and launchers; equipment can still be returned without identification or prosecution until the new deadline.

International

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said talks in Abu Dhabi showed strong alignment between the US, Europe and Ukraine on security guarantees, though it remains unclear whether Russia is prepared to cooperate; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would hold further talks with American representatives while criticising Washington's approach to engaging Moscow. In London, Westminster Council unanimously passed a motion declaring that Zionism is not racism, with Conservative and Labour councillors uniting against Green Party policy on the issue. The Charity Commission has warned a London mosque, the Lewisham Islamic Centre, over what it called inflammatory anti-Zionist sermons, with further action possible. Separately, cinema chain Vue has launched an investigation after a Jewish mother and her children were reportedly asked to leave a screening following a complaint about a Palestinian flag badge she was wearing. In Israel, the Jewish Agency's deputy chairman, Yizhar Hess, delivered unusually sharp public criticism of ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, warning that their rhetoric risks alienating Jews from Zionism itself.

Other Developments

East Jerusalem has opened its first public swimming pool as part of a new $20 million fitness centre, which municipal officials say will help narrow long-standing gaps in infrastructure between the city's eastern and western neighbourhoods. Separately, the fallout continues from two major childcare abuse scandals: in Ariel, parents whose children suffered among more than 400 recorded incidents of abuse at a nursery have launched a campaign to raise half a million shekels for legal representation, therapy and legislative reform, with former MK Oren Hazan, whose own children were affected, describing the case as 'educational terror'. In Ashkelon, the remand of three nursery workers accused of abusing infants at two private daycare centres has been extended, with a judge citing evidence of 'systematic and massive assault'; the facilities' director, suspected of failing to report the abuse, has been released under restrictions.

Sources: Ynet, Walla, www.israelhayom.co.il, Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post