IDF chief stressed the urgent need for legislative measures, including a conscription law, a reserve duty law, and an extension of mandatory military service.
Amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Israel is on high alert, fearing a potential surprise missile and drone attack from Iran targeting Gulf countries and Israel, according to intelligence officials.
A top Iranian intelligence official was killed in an attack, with the Revolutionary Guard blaming the United States and Israel. The incident occurs amid escalating regional tensions, including IDF strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure and ongoing operations in Lebanon.
The fragile ceasefire in West Asia between the US and Iran to halt the hostilities in the region for two weeks faces renewed uncertainty as Tehran reportedly moved to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz once again due to Israel's intensified offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), which US President Trump says was "not included" as part of the ceasefire deal.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, shared an online compilation on Saturday, displaying images of both living and deceased captives.
Israel's security cabinet on Friday approved a plan from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City, The Times of Israel reported, quoting the Prime Minister's Office.
Israel wishes to continue its bombing campaign until Iran's military and industrial infrastructure are degraded to a point where it ceases to pose a threat to Israel. Iran, for its part, has learnt from its experience in the 12-day war of last June. Any ceasefire, it believes, will only be a prelude to another attack on itself. It is determined to convey that any attack on Iran will impose heavy costs on Israel, the US, America's allies in the Gulf -- and on the world at large, points out T T Ram Mohan.
The IDF said that all of its bases, including air bases, are operating as usual with no harm to their functionality.
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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