About this episode
HEADLINESIsrael plans Iran campaign with USIran island seizure plan backed regional allyIsrael expands Lebanon push against HezbollahThe time is now 2:02 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.In Operation Lion's Roar, Jerusalem already had comprehensive plans to launch a wide-scale military campaign against Iran, given the unfinished business of June 2025. The article notes that with the direct involvement of the United States in the campaign against Iran, there have been increasingly heated accusations from across the political spectrum in the US that Washington has gotten mixed up in a war for, and at the direction of, Israel. These claims, the piece says, stand in stark contrast to how events have unfolded and to the profound nature of what is transpiring as a result of Operation Roaring Lion in terms of Israel’s geostrategic reality. The article says this contradicts antisemitic claims that the Jews control everything and are the source of all ills. It points to the sequence of events leading up to the US’s part in the conflict—Operation Epic Fury—and that operation’s scope and execution, noting that it contradicts the spurious narrative. One need only remember how this conflict began, after tens of thousands of Iranian protesters were slaughtered by their own government, with countless more injured, tortured, and imprisoned, when US President Donald Trump tweeted that “help is on the way.”In Iranian Retaliation, the Iranian Parliament Speaker warns that there is a plan to seize one of Iran's islands with the backing of a regional country, and if that occurs, Iran would strike its essential infrastructure.In the Conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, the IDF's 162nd Division and 98th Division are set to join operations against Hezbollah terrorists within southern Lebanon, alongside the 91st and 36th Divisions, to conduct sweeps for concealed Hezbollah weapons. This latest push would extend the removal effort into the second line of villages in the region, building on prior operations in fall 2024 that focused on destroying the first line of villages. At the start of the current conflict, the military had prepared the 91st, 36th, 162nd, 98th, and 146th Divisions for deployment in border areas, and with the addition of the 162nd and 98th Divisions the penetration into southern Lebanon is being expanded.In Israeli Domestic Politics, Netanyahu seeks to avoid snap vote as Iran war gives no boost in polls. The prime minister is racing to pass a state budget and stave off early elections he would likely lose, with the war in Iran not yet delivering the expected improvement in his standing. In the war’s early days, his camp saw an opening to hold elections ahead of an anticipated October date, but nearly four weeks into the conflict, reports indicate he is aiming to prevent an early contest. A possible trigger remains tha
