Netanyahu denies report of clash with army chief over Iran before Tuesday vote

A tight race in the first vote since October 2023

Israel's parliamentary election takes place on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, the first national ballot since the Hamas massacre of 7 October 2023 and the Gaza war that followed. Polls point to a close contest. Eisenkot's party was reportedly ahead of Likud in the most recent surveys, but the decisive question is which camp can assemble a majority. A stalemate is not ruled out, and smaller parties could prove decisive, since the electoral threshold is 3.25% and an absolute majority requires 61 seats. Handelsblatt also considers a minority government of the opposition, backed by Arab parties, conceivable.

A reported clash over a possible Iran operation

Israel's Channel 12 reported on Sunday evening, 25 October, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressed for an unspecified military action linked to Iran shortly before polling stations open on Tuesday. According to the report, Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir resisted and asked for thorough consultation and written legal safeguards before any step was taken. Army leaders reportedly feared the government could push Israel into a dangerous miscalculation with Iran for party-political gain. The report describes a meeting at the Palmachim air base on Monday, 26 October, as very frosty between the two men. Senior security circles reportedly said the episode would not be forgotten, and Zamir reportedly told colleagues there was no sign that a strike on Iran was needed before the vote.

Denials and campaign rhetoric

Defence Minister Israel Katz rejected the report on Monday, 26 October, in a post on X, calling claims of differences between the political leadership and the military over Iran "completely unfounded and false". He said Israel had never intended to launch an attack on Iran before the election, while adding that it would respond with great force if Iran attacked first. Katz accused opposition politicians of a shameful and irresponsible attempt to discredit him and the prime minister ahead of the vote. Netanyahu dismissed the report as nonsense in a television appearance. On social media he also posted an AI-generated image showing a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv, and he hinted that Israel would face a second Holocaust if voters removed him from power.

Washington and Netanyahu's warnings

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday, 26 October, that the United States would not attack Iran that day. The White House reportedly fears an unnecessary renewed escalation of the Iran war. On Sunday, during a visit to an Arrow missile defence battery, Netanyahu said the army was prepared for both defence and attack. He warned Israel's enemies that they would suffer blows of disproportionate severity, stronger than they could imagine.

Hezbollah rearming in Lebanon

Reuters, citing several insiders, reported that the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has spent the past three months preparing for a possible resumption of fighting with Israel. According to those insiders, the group received several tens of millions of dollars from Iran to rebuild its military capabilities. The money is meant for rearmament, with a focus on explosives and drones that could be used against Israeli positions. Hezbollah is also reportedly restoring command and control structures that collapsed in earlier fighting.