Israeli military sources said Tuesday they have detected no concrete preparations or operational moves on any front indicating an imminent attack on Israel, contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warning earlier in the day that there were signs of a planned attack ahead of the October election.
Netanyahu warned while touring the Tel Nof airbase that "there are signs that ahead of the elections our enemies will try to attack us."
The statement has raised questions within Israel's security agencies, which have so far made no decision to raise the military's alert level and have not issued reserve call-up orders or summoned key emergency personnel, the sources said.
Typically, when security officials identify signs of a potential major escalation, the military and security establishment raise forces' readiness and begin calling up reservists well in advance to allow time to prepare for possible developments.
Opposition chairman Yair Lapid is set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11 P.M. on Tuesday, the Prime Minister's Office said, after Lapid demanded a meeting with the prime minister, Shin Bet chief David Zini and the head of Israel's Central Elections Committee following Netanyahu's warning.
Israel's Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party remove the video, accusing him of using a security warning for political purposes ahead of the elections.
The Yashar party called for the video, filmed at Tel Nof Air Base, to be removed within four hours, saying that if Netanyahu had security information warranting a public warning, he should deliver it "in a statesmanlike, responsible and measured manner" rather than in a personal video that could cause unnecessary alarm and create the impression that public fears and military assets were being used for political gain.
Security officials believe Netanyahu's remarks may be linked to the heightened security tensions that typically accompany the period before an election. However, it was not immediately clear which front the prime minister was referring to or what intelligence underpinned his warning.
The military's alert level has remained high over the past three years, particularly during the Jewish High Holy Days period. But shifting from routine operational activity to war readiness or preparations for a major escalation requires focused measures, including calling up and reinforcing personnel, preparing equipment and moving critical resources to the front where fighting is expected to develop.
As of Tuesday evening, the military had not been instructed to take such measures or raise its alert level on any front.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Yahad party, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, announced that they held consultations ahead of Lapid's security briefing with Netanyahu.
In a joint statement, the two said that during the meeting they highlighted the need to discuss the shortage of soldiers, and added that they "discussed ways to ensure the preservation of a proper electoral process, free from the involvement of political considerations in security missions."
After his security briefing with Netanyahu, Lapid said that "the IDF, Shin Bet, and police are prepared for the elections, and there is no reason to panic the public."
The meeting, which lasted about half an hour, took place following Netanyahu's earlier statement that there are intelligence signs pointing toward an attack against Israel ahead of the elections.
"Security threats are something that must be handled professionally and responsibly; Israel's security and IDF bases are not the backdrop for election videos," Lapid said. "Updates regarding threats should come from professionals - from the IDF, from the Shin Bet - not from the Twitter account of a politician who is in the middle of an election campaign. Before October 7, Netanyahu ignored every warning, and now, 28 days before the elections, he is suddenly busy with scare tactics. Without going into details, the IDF, Shin Bet, and police are prepared for the elections, and there is no reason to panic the public."
