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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-06-08 at 12:02
Published 1 month, 1 week ago
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Israel vows Dahiyeh strikes if Hezbollah attacks
Khamenei unseen as missiles fly under protocol
Oman silent as Hormuz tolls loom
The time is now 12:02 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In Direct Israel-Iran Clashes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has the full right to defend itself and will exercise that right as needed in a pre-recorded statement on Monday evening, telling the nation that he is in contact with President Trump and that, together, they will bring safety to the North. He warned that Israel will continue to strike the Beirut neighborhood of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah keeps attacking Israel’s northern region, while Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran’s threats are rejected and that any attempt to use ties with Lebanon to attack Israel will be met with great force. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly proposed to the Security Cabinet that Israel should strike 20-30 buildings in Dahiyeh for every Iranian missile launched at Israel. The IDF struck Dahiyeh on Sunday. Separately, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that the current round of missile exchanges is behind us, with the next big hurdle resting in the Trump administration’s hands to shield Tehran-Washington negotiations from spilling into Lebanon.
In Iranian Retaliation, Iran International reported that communication lines between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other Iranian officials have been disrupted since Sunday night. A source familiar with the escalation said the missiles fired toward Israel were likely carried out under pre-established military protocols without coordination with Khamenei’s office. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ rapid response to Israel’s strike on Dahiyeh in southern Beirut appeared too swift to reflect an exchange of messages between Khamenei and the IRGC and military chiefs. Khamenei was severely wounded during Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28 at the start of Operation Roaring Lion and has not appeared publicly since, although officials have read at least three separate statements attributed to him in May and June.
In Regional Impacts, former US ambassador to Oman Marc Sievers told The Jerusalem Post that Oman’s inaction on the Hormuz question is puzzling and has undermined its reputation in Washington. Muscat has not confirmed or denied Tehran’s claims of joint Omani-Iranian administration of the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority seeks to offer specialized services for a fee, including navigational support and environmental protection, a description critics argue masks a toll on vessels crossing the waterway in violation of international law. The silence has coincided with US threats to sanction Oman should it join Tehran in tolling Hormuz. Separately, Saudi Arabia and Qatar signaled that diplomacy remains possible and urged mediation between the United States and Iran, a move seen as a sign that negotiations remain on the table even after renewed missile attacks on Israel. The same week, reports noted that schools across Israel are believed to operate normally tomorrow.
In US Policy Concerning Israel, the analysis frame centers on a moment reminiscent of Levi Eshkol’s era. It argues that had Netanyahu bowed to Trump’s request and refrained from responding after Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles, Israel would have signalled weakness. Fifty-nine years after the Six-Day War, the piece recalls a 1967 letter from then-President Lyndon Johnson telling Eshkol not to go it alone, warning that “If you go alone, you will stand alone.” Netanyahu faced a similar decision and chose a path aligned with protecting Israel’s interests, a move framed as refusing external dictates in the face of renewed threat.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, Moshe Dovidovitch, head of the regional council Meta Ahshur and chair of the Forum for the Fr
Israel vows Dahiyeh strikes if Hezbollah attacks
Khamenei unseen as missiles fly under protocol
Oman silent as Hormuz tolls loom
The time is now 12:02 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In Direct Israel-Iran Clashes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has the full right to defend itself and will exercise that right as needed in a pre-recorded statement on Monday evening, telling the nation that he is in contact with President Trump and that, together, they will bring safety to the North. He warned that Israel will continue to strike the Beirut neighborhood of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah keeps attacking Israel’s northern region, while Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran’s threats are rejected and that any attempt to use ties with Lebanon to attack Israel will be met with great force. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly proposed to the Security Cabinet that Israel should strike 20-30 buildings in Dahiyeh for every Iranian missile launched at Israel. The IDF struck Dahiyeh on Sunday. Separately, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that the current round of missile exchanges is behind us, with the next big hurdle resting in the Trump administration’s hands to shield Tehran-Washington negotiations from spilling into Lebanon.
In Iranian Retaliation, Iran International reported that communication lines between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other Iranian officials have been disrupted since Sunday night. A source familiar with the escalation said the missiles fired toward Israel were likely carried out under pre-established military protocols without coordination with Khamenei’s office. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ rapid response to Israel’s strike on Dahiyeh in southern Beirut appeared too swift to reflect an exchange of messages between Khamenei and the IRGC and military chiefs. Khamenei was severely wounded during Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28 at the start of Operation Roaring Lion and has not appeared publicly since, although officials have read at least three separate statements attributed to him in May and June.
In Regional Impacts, former US ambassador to Oman Marc Sievers told The Jerusalem Post that Oman’s inaction on the Hormuz question is puzzling and has undermined its reputation in Washington. Muscat has not confirmed or denied Tehran’s claims of joint Omani-Iranian administration of the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority seeks to offer specialized services for a fee, including navigational support and environmental protection, a description critics argue masks a toll on vessels crossing the waterway in violation of international law. The silence has coincided with US threats to sanction Oman should it join Tehran in tolling Hormuz. Separately, Saudi Arabia and Qatar signaled that diplomacy remains possible and urged mediation between the United States and Iran, a move seen as a sign that negotiations remain on the table even after renewed missile attacks on Israel. The same week, reports noted that schools across Israel are believed to operate normally tomorrow.
In US Policy Concerning Israel, the analysis frame centers on a moment reminiscent of Levi Eshkol’s era. It argues that had Netanyahu bowed to Trump’s request and refrained from responding after Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles, Israel would have signalled weakness. Fifty-nine years after the Six-Day War, the piece recalls a 1967 letter from then-President Lyndon Johnson telling Eshkol not to go it alone, warning that “If you go alone, you will stand alone.” Netanyahu faced a similar decision and chose a path aligned with protecting Israel’s interests, a move framed as refusing external dictates in the face of renewed threat.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, Moshe Dovidovitch, head of the regional council Meta Ahshur and chair of the Forum for the Fr