Israeli sortie reached Iran’s border
Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets, accompanied by aerial refueling aircraft, flew as far as the Iranian border on Monday before returning to Israel. According to Axios, the operation extended more than 800 miles from Israel through Syrian and Iraqi airspace, following a route consistent with a potential strike against Iran.
Israel notified the United States in advance, describing the sortie as a training exercise intended to demonstrate “power projection” and deter Iranian attacks against Israel ahead of the elections. U.S. officials said Israel knew Iranian air defense systems would detect the aircraft.
Some Israeli and U.S. officials said the sortie was not unusual and was intended to deter Iran. Axios reported that it could nevertheless have triggered a miscalculation, prompting an Iranian response and potentially reigniting the war.
Some U.S. sources told Axios they had the impression that Israel hoped Iran would fire at the aircraft, potentially providing justification for strikes against Iran. This was their assessment of Israel’s intent.
State Department disputes broader departure reports
Reuters reported that the United States was preparing to evacuate some embassy personnel and their families from Gulf countries. AFP, citing a diplomatic source, reported that U.S. embassy staff and their families had been ordered to leave Saudi Arabia.
Departure orders were also reported for families of U.S. embassy personnel in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott denied the AFP report, saying the department had issued an ordered departure only for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia.
Two terrorists eliminated in northern Gaza
The IDF said it eliminated Abdullah Munir Mahmoud Harz, a deputy platoon commander in the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization’s rocket array, in a strike in Daraj Tuffah on Monday. Harz had advanced sniper attacks against IDF troops.
In a separate strike in Gaza City on Monday, the IDF eliminated Muhammad Wael Mustafa Sha’sha’a, a sniper operative in the Daraj Tuffah Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organization’s military wing.
According to the IDF, both terrorists advanced attacks against Israeli troops and civilians throughout the war, particularly in recent weeks, and worked to restore their organizations’ military capabilities in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The military said they were eliminated to remove the threat.
Local source reports base preparations in Sweida
Israeli forces transported military equipment to the Jabal al-Arab summit in Syria’s Sweida province to establish a base that could include radar systems, a local source reported.
According to the source, Israeli military helicopters delivered large quantities of weapons, equipment and advanced systems over the past 72 hours. Local Druze authorities have prohibited civilians from approaching or photographing the sites.
