The Israel Police commissioner has informed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that he will not engage with him, effectively boycotting the minister and stating that the police will not provide a response to his demands, according to reports. The move escalates the ongoing feud between the commissioner and the minister over police independence and appointments.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
The USGS registered a 4.1-magnitude earthquake in Lebanon Thursday evening, attributed to the IDF's destruction of Hezbollah underground infrastructure, according to The Zioneer. The seismic event follows the demolition of the Ali al-Taher ridge command complex, the largest underground bunker network dismantled by Israeli forces.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
A massive explosion at the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon destroyed the Imad-4 missile city Thursday evening, according to reports. Security camera footage showed homes shaking from the blast. The cause has not been officially confirmed.
Ali Taher Ridgesouthern LebanonLebanon
The FrontDeveloping
Footage published Thursday night by Abu Ali Express shows the elimination of Farah Hamad, a senior Hamas operative released in the 2011 Shalit deal who organized terror in Judea and Samaria from Gaza. The IDF confirmed Hamad's death earlier Thursday.
21:39–21:50
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday evening that President Trump had announced Iran is again attempting to obtain nuclear weapons, and that Israel destroyed Iran's immediate nuclear capability in Operations Rising Lion and Roaring Lion. Speaking at the Western Wall ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Netanyahu pledged that as long as he is prime minister, Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb. He also said Israel is striking the Iranian axis across Gaza and Lebanon, having already destroyed the Beaufort Ridge and now targeting the Ali Tahar Ridge.
Benjamin NetanyahuDonald Trump
The FrontDeveloping
A new assessment by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk warns that a Houthi capture of the coastline and islands near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would allow the Iran-backed group to effectively close the maritime chokepoint using basic anti-tank guided missiles, suicide boats, and naval mines — a far more severe threat than current long-range drone and anti-ship missile attacks. The analysis notes that despite reduced traffic since the war began, hundreds of ships still transit the strait, including Saudi vessels, and that a Houthi-held coastline could restore Iranian leverage lost in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
The third and final chapter of Prime Minister Netanyahu's 'Netanyahu's Version' series, released Thursday, claims that senior defense officials over the years opposed eliminating Hamas leaders, conquering Gaza, and toppling the terror group's rule. According to the chapter, which cites protocols presented to the State Comptroller, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi strongly opposed a 2021 assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Two months before the October 7 massacre, Netanyahu says he demanded to eliminate a senior Hamas official even at the cost of escalation, but defense chiefs resisted.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
Shuli Har Melech, husband of MK Limor Son Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit), was identified as one of the Jewish victims of the Silwad terror cell, The Zioneer reports.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
The Wall Street Journal reports that Arab and Israeli officials are preparing for a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict with Iran, driven by the increasing strain U.S. sanctions are placing on Iran's economy. The report suggests Tehran may be pushed toward more direct kinetic action.
IranWall Street JournalUnited States
The FrontDeveloping
The Saudi-backed Yemeni Armed Forces announced Thursday evening they have lifted restrictions on the use of weapons against Houthi movements within a designated kill box. The military said it will begin using all types of firepower to eliminate any Houthi military movements in the area and warned civilians to avoid the Taiz–Mokha road. The announcement signals a major escalation in the conflict between the internationally recognized government and the Iranian-backed Houthi terror organization.
Yemeni ArmyMenachem Begin
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
The IDF Chief of Staff has sent a classified letter to the government demanding an urgent resolution to the defense budget crisis, according to The Zioneer. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded that he is awaiting a directive from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before acting.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The FrontDeveloping
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Iran is working to establish additional underground missile production sites, building on its resumed ballistic missile production.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas and a former chief rabbi, warned Thursday evening that the rise of left-wing forces and opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot would bring disaster, and asked whether the man who, in his words, 'made the army secular' can be trusted. The remarks were circulated on Telegram. Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and chairman of the opposition Yashar party, is campaigning for the premiership on a universal-conscription platform that would upend the broad draft exemptions long defended by Haredi parties like Shas.
19:40–19:42
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman and Together chairman Naftali Bennett, alongside Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot and The Democrats chairman Yair Golan, signed surplus vote-sharing agreements Thursday evening, according to The Zioneer. The agreements allow allied parties to pool leftover votes to maximize their combined Knesset seat count.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
The International Atomic Energy Agency has identified activity at Iran's hardened underground nuclear facility at Mount Machush, according to a report by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk. No further details on the nature of the activity were disclosed.
18:47–18:50
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
The NationDeveloping
The Farms Association announced Thursday evening that its member farms span 1.1 million dunams (approx. 1,100 sq km) of Area C in Judea and Samaria — about one-third of the total 3.5 million dunam area — comprising 130 individual farms. The declaration follows an earlier report by The Zioneer on the association's comprehensive farm map.
The Zioneer Intelligence Desk
StatecraftDeveloping
Pakistan has issued a direct demand to Iran to cease Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, according to the 301 Arab World intelligence monitoring network. The demand follows Pakistan's warning to Tehran earlier Thursday that continued Houthi strikes could trigger the joint defense pact between Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.