Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday denied reports of a clash with Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir over a proposed military operation that could trigger fighting with Iran ahead of Israel’s election.
Channel 12 reported on Sunday that Zamir requested a detailed discussion and signed legal authorisation from political leaders before carrying out their instructions. The broadcaster did not disclose the nature of the operation.
The report cited military concerns that the political leadership could exploit tensions with Iran for electoral gain before the Oct 27 parliamentary vote.
A security official warned that the operation could rapidly escalate into a confrontation with Iran and lead to a miscalculation at a particularly sensitive time.
Netanyahu denied any dispute with Zamir during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 later on Sunday.
“There is no confrontation,” he said.
Political officials also rejected the claim that the Iranian issue was being used for electoral purposes, according to Channel 12.
In the same interview, Netanyahu said he had instructed the Mossad intelligence agency and the military to work toward toppling Iran’s government.
Channel 12 did not establish whether the undisclosed operation was connected to those instructions.
Netanyahu also claimed Iran had resumed its nuclear programme and portrayed the election as a matter of Israel’s survival.
Earlier on Sunday, he posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv alongside a warning about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Opposition party leaders Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan accused him of spreading fear and panic before the vote.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Monday that reports of a rift between Israel’s army and its civilian leaders over fresh action in the war with Iran were “entirely baseless”.
“The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the IDF (army) on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false,” Katz said on X, insisting there was “complete” coordination between the two.
Katz stated “unequivocally that there was no intention on Israel’s part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid referenced the report in a post on X Sunday, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote.
“Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections,” he said.
“This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home.”
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