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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - September 3, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Israel Today ongoing war report. I'm Noah Levi.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: In a significant development on the northern front, the IDF
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: announced Thursday the completion of a months-long operation to clear
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: two major Hezbollah underground infrastructures beneath Ali al-Taha Ridge in
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: southern Lebanon. According to the military, these complex facilities, built
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: over two decades and planned and funded by Iran, served
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: as operational hubs for the Badr Regional Division. IDF forces
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: from the 36th Division achieved operational control above and below ground,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: neutralising Hezbollah operatives, some of whom were killed while others fled.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: The tunnels contained command rooms, weapons storage and living quarters,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: and were used to carry out terrorist attack plans against Israel.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: The IDF is now working to neutralise the structures, after
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: which it will redeploy for defensive operations, shifting focus to Iran,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that overthrowing the Iranian regime
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: is a central mission that is within reach. Speaking ahead
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: of Rosh Hashanah, Netanyahu described the regime as faltering and
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: weaker than ever before, engaged in a fight for its life.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: He expressed confidence in Israel's ability to remove this threat,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: citing growing economic and military pressures on Tehran, including US
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  Speaker 1: sanctions and strikes on Iranian military infrastructure by Israel and
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  Speaker 1: the US. Meanwhile, the US State Department is offering up
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: to $ 10 million for information leading to the arrest of
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Amir Yeriab, suspected of managing cyber operations headquarters for Iran's
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Revolutionary Guard, highlighting US efforts to counter state-sponsored cyber activities.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: On the diplomatic front, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: publicly condemned Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, stating, Violence is violence.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter who does it, it should be condemned.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: He emphasised that hypocrisy would be shown if only Palestinian
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: violence against Israelis were condemned. In other US policy news,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: former Biden administration senior, adviser Amos Hochstein rejected opposition leader
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Yair Lapid's claim that Israel had previously blocked a US-Saudi
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: nuclear agreement. Hochstein stated that Washington's negotiations with Riyadh were
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: conducted independently and only gained momentum after the Bennett-Lapid government
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: left office, asserting that Israel can have input but cannot
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: block US policy. Additionally, dozens of civil rights and advocacy
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: groups are urging Congress to remove a provision from the
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would deepen US-Israeli military
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: technology ties, citing growing US skepticism towards Israel. White House
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Special Assistant to the President and Director of Jewish Engagement,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Martin Marks, is also noted for his role in managing
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Jewish outreach and facilitating specific delegations to President Trump. In
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Israeli domestic politics, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared a
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: diplomatic emergency, warning that foreign leaders are making decisions about
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  Speaker 1: our future, hostile countries are shaping our borders. He outlined
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: a foreign policy platform ahead of upcoming elections, emphasising the
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: need to restore Israel's standing in the US and the
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Middle East, and pledged to renew the octopus strategy against Iran. Meanwhile,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: the newly formed right-wing Unity Party, led by Jilad Erden,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: is exploring political alliances to clear the electoral threshold, aiming
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: to form a broad government coalition that excludes radical parties.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Senior officials from Arab countries are also reportedly engaging with
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: individuals close to former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: preparing for the possibility of him becoming prime minister after
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the upcoming elections. In a separate development, former officials claim
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: that Netanyahu's intelligence aid was alerted hours before the Hamas attack,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: but made a reasonable decision not to wake the Prime Minister,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: as the prevailing assessment was that Gaza remained at routine readiness.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: This claim directly contradicts previous accounts. Turning to antisemitism, a
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: report by Spain's Jewish Umbrella Organisation and a watchdog group
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: details a 14.5% rise in antisemitic incidents in Spain during 2025,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: with numbers increasing from 193 in 2024 to 221 in 2025.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: The Spanish Interior Ministry also reported a significant jump in
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: formally recorded hate crimes against Jews. Finally, in other news,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: police detained 16 people in Yavnel following a raid targeting
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: illegal underage marriages. Law enforcement officials suspect this practice has
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: been ongoing for years within the local Breslov Hasidic community,
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: which they describe as a small, closed community, where children
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: are taught to marry and conceive young. This follows previous
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: detentions in June and February. I'm Noah Levi. Thank you
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: for listening to Israel Today Ongoing War Report. Stay safe
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: and informed. Follow Israel Today Ongoing War Report in your
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: podcast app so you don't miss the next update. Keep
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view.