Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided not to pursue potential normalization with Saudi Arabia before the US presidential election in November, Channel 12 reports.
It says Netanyahu made the decision at the same time as the fast-moving US political developments, with the consideration that it might be worth waiting to see whether Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump is elected.
The report says the decision has major implications, including for a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, since potential normalization would have constituted a “safety net” for Netanyahu: if his right-wing coalition were to collapse during disagreements over a Gaza deal, normalization with Saudi Arabia would have given him an election-boosting trump card and the opportunity to secure a historic legacy.
Jordan’s FM urges end to escalation after meeting Iranian counterpart in Tehran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening with security chiefs this evening, as Israel prepares for anticipated attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, but it does not yet have a “definitive picture” of the attacks it will be facing, Channel 12 reports.
It also says Israel’s security establishment is considering the possibility of “preventive actions or attacks” Israel could initiate, “including in Lebanon or perhaps in other places as necessitated.”
Earlier this evening, when asked why Israel was not taking pre-emptive actions, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “We are watching our enemies on all fronts and certainly Hezbollah in Lebanon. We have very wide-ranging plans, we have a high readiness to act. Any instruction we get from the political echelon, we will carry out immediately.”
The TV report says that the US is also not certain what to expect from Iran and Hezbollah, but that a US-led international coalition to thwart any attacks has taken shape, and will be directed from CENTCOM in Qatar.
Asked by numerous countries how it will respond to such attacks, and whether it is heading for war, Israel has been saying “very ambiguously” that it is “keeping all its options open,” the report says.
That ambiguous response is one of the reasons why many countries are urging their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, the report says.
It adds that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering visiting the region in the very near future, in light of US concern over a potential regional conflagration.
Channel 12 says the US has been reiterating that it has Israel’s back, and has asked Western nations to convey the message to Iran not to escalate and to warn Tehran that any significant attack will prompt a response.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Iran has told Arab diplomats “it didn’t care if the response triggered a war.”
The Israeli TV report says there are indications that Iran is preparing for more than one round of attack and counterattack, as it seeks to recover from the humiliation of Wednesday morning’s strike in Tehran that killed Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh. Iran blames Israel for the killing; Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Channel 12 says the indications from Iran are that it will strike more harshly than it did in April, when it launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in an attack that was almost completely thwarted.
In addition to the dozens of arrests Iran has been making as it tries to establish how Haniyeh was so precisely targeted, Channel 12 says that Hezbollah has been making dozens of arrests, as it investigates Tuesday night’s Israeli strike that killed its military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
IDF targets Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanese village
A Hezbollah operative was struck by fighter jets at a building used by the terror group in the southern Lebanon village of Houla, the IDF says.
The military says the operative was identified by troops of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit entering the weapons depot, and a short while later, an airstrike was carried out.
Separately, a Hezbollah operative spotted in the Beit Lif area was killed in a drone strike, the IDF says.
The IDF adds that other Hezbollah infrastructure was struck in Ayta ash-Shab.
Hezbollah carried out several rocket attacks on northern Israel today, with impacts reported in Kiryat Shmona, Malkia and the Mount Dov area. There were no injuries.
Britain evacuates families of Beirut embassy staff, urges citizens to leave Lebanon
Britain says it withdrew the families of embassy staff in Beirut due to the volatile security situation in Lebanon and reiterated a call for citizens in the country to leave given the risk of escalation in the Middle East.
“We are deeply concerned with the highly volatile security situation in Lebanon,” a foreign office spokesperson says, stating additional consular officials, border force and military personnel had been deployed to the region.
“We have also temporarily withdrawn the families of officials working at the British embassy, Beirut… All British nationals should leave Lebanon now, while commercial routes are still available.”
NBC reports Israel gearing up for multi-day attack by Iran, Hezbollah
Macron, Abdullah II say Middle East escalation must be prevented ‘at all costs’
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