Hamas bet election week would tie Israel's hands and lost at a roadside pillbox, and the army would like its ministers quieter on Iran.
A lot of this morning's claims arrive with a number attached and nobody vouching for the count. Jerusalem has one of those too. The counts that do hold up come from soldiers and shipping trackers, and neither is running for anything.
Flash Brief: The Day in 90 Seconds or Less
- Judea Junction: Hamas-linked gunmen wound five at the pillbox before Home Front officers kill both, and Judea and Samaria closes through Tuesday. See The War Today.
- Iran: The IDF says Trump never stopped an Israeli strike because none was planned, and wants less talk from ministers. See The War Today.
- Saudi Arabia: An Israeli official confirms IDF intelligence helps Riyadh against the Houthis, and Aramco empties its Dhahran headquarters. See The War Today.
- The High Court: Justices keep E1's tender sealed until after the vote, and bar parties from counting their voters at polling stations. See Inside Israel.
- Shas: Shas's oldest Torah sage says anyone voting Likud loses his share in the world to come. See Inside Israel.
- Sakharov: The European Parliament gives its top rights prize to the International Criminal Court, and the EPP stands to applaud. See Israel and the World.
- Istanbul: Turkey hosts Saudi, Egyptian, Pakistani, British, French, and German foreign ministers, and Ankara adds Judea and Samaria to the agenda. See Israel and the World.
- Russia: Moscow calls Netanyahu's bot charge absurd, accuses him of leaking before the vote, and says Russia barely has antisemitism. See Israel and the World.
- Utah: A grand jury indicts an Ogden man caught with six pipe bombs, and one count is an attempted hate crime. See Israel and the World.
- Palau: Pacific leaders take Israel on as a Pacific Islands Forum partner, beside the US, China, Japan, and the EU. See Briefly Noted.
- Awarta: Arsonists torch the tomb Jewish tradition holds is Eleazar the High Priest's, and the army is hunting them. See Briefly Noted.
- Iraq: Baghdad shuts the al-Sheeb crossing into Iran, and Washington reportedly wants all but two of the gates closed. See Developments to Watch.
Most of what Israel's doing this week comes down to what it doesn't know. The warning came with no place and no day on it, so the closure takes in the whole territory. And the army can't rule out Tehran taking a stump speech literally, so it would like fewer stump speeches. The arguments about everybody else's numbers can wait until Tuesday's are in.
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