The IDF has completed a broad operational deployment ahead of Yom Kippur, which begins this evening, Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported this morning. Kan said the planning followed about a month of staff work that…

The IDF has completed a broad operational deployment ahead of Yom Kippur, which begins this evening, Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported this morning. Kan said the planning followed about a month of staff work that began before Rosh Hashanah and a discussion led by the head of the Operations Directorate, with representatives of the IDF, the Shin Bet, the police and the Prison Service. The IDF said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered additional companies deployed across Northern, Central and Southern Commands, with a senior commander present in each sector throughout the holiday. The Israeli Air Force will hold an increased number of armed aircraft at heightened readiness and the Navy will keep more missile boats at sea, the military said. The Home Front Command will have a major general on duty at its headquarters and a district commander on duty in each district. The IDF said the reinforcements are added to the existing force deployment and do not replace it. A military source told Kan that forces were added in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Judea and Samaria, and that units still in training were placed on alert. The source said the military is "prepared in all theaters, including against Iran," and is in constant readiness to move from ceasefire to renewed fighting, in defense and in attack. Kan said units and reserves were reorganized over the weekend and drills were held against surprise scenarios, and that there has been no pause in IDF activity and no reduction in force levels.

The U.S. missions in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have issued the same security alert circulating across the region, bringing to at least nine the number of U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East…

The U.S. missions in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have issued the same security alert circulating across the region, bringing to at least nine the number of U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East to warn Americans since Saturday. The alerts tell Americans currently in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions. As we reported earlier, identical texts have come from the U.S. embassies in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon and from the U.S. Mission in Iraq. The Saudi alert carries the same Yemen passage as the others, telling Americans that Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports, and that the conflict carries the potential for rapid escalation.

At least six U.S. diplomatic missions across the Middle East have issued identically worded security alerts dated Saturday, warning Americans of the potential for unforeseen escalation and citing Houthi attacks on Saudi…

At least six U.S. diplomatic missions across the Middle East have issued identically worded security alerts dated Saturday, warning Americans of the potential for unforeseen escalation and citing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The alerts have come from the U.S. embassies in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon and from the U.S. Mission in Iraq. Muscat distributed its version overnight through the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, while the Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain texts have been posted publicly on mission websites. The alerts told Americans currently in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions, and directed travelers to confirm departure status with their airlines. Each said Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports, and that the conflict carries the potential for rapid escalation. That passage does not appear in the alerts the same missions issued on September 1, making it the substantive change in this round. Houthi forces have struck inside Saudi Arabia repeatedly this month. Reuters reported that Houthi forces launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base on Monday, and the New York Times reported that a Saudi military spokesman said strikes on Jeddah, Yanbu and Taif injured 13 people. Saudi civil defense said on Thursday that debris from an intercepted drone over Taif killed one person and injured two others, according to Reuters.

President Isaac Herzog has granted a pardon to former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, ordering the immediate removal of the remaining period of his criminal record nearly a decade after the shooting incident in Hebron. Azaria…

President Isaac Herzog has granted a pardon to former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, ordering the immediate removal of the remaining period of his criminal record nearly a decade after the shooting incident in Hebron. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 after fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, a Palestinian attacker who had already been neutralized following a stabbing attack against an Israeli soldier in Hebron in March 2016. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was released in 2018. The decision, announced ahead of Yom Kippur, follows a recommendation from Defense Minister Israel Katz, despite opposition from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials. "After many long years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions," the President's Office said, the circumstances and passage of time justify allowing him to "open a new chapter in his life." Katz welcomed the decision, calling it a "correct, humane and worthy decision" that reflects the spirit of forgiveness ahead of Yom Kippur. "We do not abandon soldiers, and we do not leave them behind," Katz added. Herzog emphasized that the pardon does not overturn Azaria's conviction or invalidate the military court's original ruling, stressing that the decision "does not constitute a reassessment of the case."