Six days before Israel's October 27 election, security and political developments dominate the headlines. A Financial Times report reveals that Donald Trump blocked an Israeli plan for a multi-day strike on Iranian infrastructure ahead of the US midterms, while the IDF steps up operations in Gaza amid election security concerns. On the political front, soldiers have begun casting ballots at military polling stations, and smaller parties are manoeuvring for position.

Security

The Financial Times reported that Israel had prepared a multi-day operation, planned for the weekend of October 10, targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure including power stations, nuclear facilities and regime targets. According to the report, Donald Trump personally opposed the renewed strikes, with the White House stating no action would be taken before the US midterm elections on November 3. Separately, Israeli officials have warned that Iran is working to rebuild its military capabilities following previous strikes, and that Israel may be forced to act again despite the proximity of its own elections. IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Eyal Zamir visited Gaza on Tuesday as the military stepped up operations and prepared for potential Hamas attacks around the October 27 election. Meanwhile, the state inquiry into the submarine affair has summoned Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Zamir to testify, alongside former Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, former Navy commander Eli Sharvit (Rotberg), and National Security Council official Avner Shimchoni. Former President Reuven Rivlin will also appear before the committee, with witness testimony beginning in November.

Politics

Voting began on Wednesday at roughly 850 military polling stations across all IDF sectors, including mobile stations near combat zones, allowing soldiers to vote throughout the election period subject to operational needs. In political manoeuvring, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman and Yashar! leader Gadi Eisenkot met and agreed to cooperate on boosting voter turnout, days after Liberman's pointed comparison of Eisenkot to Benny Gantz caused tension. Both leaders stressed the importance of voting for one of the 'service bloc' parties to avoid wasted votes. Separately, coalition and opposition lawmakers are working to advance tax credit legislation for charitable organisations after the Tax Authority refused to approve a list limited to combat-wounded soldiers' charities. Following opposition objections to including Haredi organisations, Likud reportedly plans to pass the measure without the Haredi sector, in cooperation with the opposition, after receiving direct instruction from the Prime Minister's Office.

International

Houthi rebels killed two teenage girls in an attack on the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, a day after a strike killed 73 military recruits in the deadliest attack since fighting resumed; the UN has warned the city faces 'grave risk', and the UK is to begin defensive air patrols over Saudi Arabia. In the United States, Donald Trump faced fresh criticism from the ADL after again using the term 'Shylock' at a rally, this time to describe a Kansas senator in a campaign advert, with the watchdog warning against normalising language historically used against Jews. In Britain, a new independent review led by former schools inspector Sir David Bell is set to warn that English schools are failing to identify antisemitism as a form of hate, with a survey finding three in five Jewish students have experienced antisemitism. Elsewhere, a report alleged that Elon Musk personally ordered restrictions on Starlink services that disabled Ukrainian drones and defence systems, raising concerns the move may have been coordinated with the Trump administration.

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