Voter turnout in Israel’s elections reached 31.5% as of 12:00 PM, the highest since 1977. As of 12:10 PM Italian time: “Israel is holding Knesset elections, with voter turnout reaching its highest level since 1981.”
Thirty-eight electoral lists are vying for seats in the unicameral 120-member parliament. These are the country’s first general elections since the events of October 2023. The outgoing Knesset was the first since 1988 to almost fully complete its four-year term. Israel’s Central Elections Commission stated: “We have decided not to extend the voting hours at this stage; we will reassess them later.” However, the Likud party has requested and urged an extension of the voting hours. Israel’s Central Elections Commission stated: “Voter turnout reached 55.7% at 4:00 PM.”
Supporting the extension of voting hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party said it had requested an extension of voting hours beyond 10:00 PM, fearing the loss of polling stations. Netanyahu urged his loyalists to bring Israelis to the polls.
“We are at war for our home. Muslim Brotherhood supporters are storming polling stations and stealing the election.” In the Bedouin community of Atawna, voter turnout in the previous elections had been 41% for the entire day. As of 3:30 PM on October 27, it is at 64%, and we are only halfway through the day.
Netanyahu continued: “We learned that they are trying to steal the elections from us. Turnout among the southern Arab community is very high; our turnout must be very high as well. We cannot leave this battle in the hands of the left and the Arab parties, who want to end the Jewish state.”
Gadi Eisenkot, a member of the Israeli opposition: “In the last few hours, Netanyahu has returned to his usual tricks, lying and sowing fear, in an attempt to mobilize the masses.”
Regarding Lebanon, according to Reuters , Hezbollah has received tens of millions of dollars from Iran in recent months, in addition to approximately $200 million allocated by Tehran to support the families of displaced people in southern Lebanon. Recently, Hezbollah has been preparing for the possibility of a resumption of conflict, working to restore its arsenal and command and control systems. The organization is currently focused on acquiring explosives and producing drones.
According to sources of the Al Arabiya television channel , the United States has informed Iraq that it will take action against armed groups if they were to form a military alliance with the IRA .
On October 26, a fourth meeting took place, chaired by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The meeting brought together senior representatives from Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Among those present were Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir, Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, and Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın. There are no specific developments regarding the meeting.
Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC): “America has not brought security to any country in the region; Washington’s inability to provide security guarantees is now evident. Security in West Asia must stem from within the region itself, and any foreign interference must be prevented.”
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow, Russia, to discuss the latest developments in the negotiations, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the energy sector. A gas producers’ summit was held in Moscow, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated: “Today, US military interventions in the Persian Gulf region not only affect regional players but—by creating new shocks—destabilize the pricing process for energy supply and transmission, jeopardizing global economic growth.” “I reiterate that unilateral sanctions against countries, the economic terrorism represented by the US naval and air blockade of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the pressure exerted on other nations to comply with this blockade, constitute illegal acts that seriously threaten the stability of energy markets.”
And now a look at the military landscape in the Middle East and West Asia, updated as of 3:30 PM EDT on August 27. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper recently visited the region, meeting with military personnel involved in various operations, including minesweeping, the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of vessels bound for or originating in Iran, and other missions. This visit follows a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, amid growing signs that the Trump administration is considering resuming large-scale attacks against Iran in the near future.
According to a statement from the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) claim that US vessels have left the Strait of Hormuz is false. US forces continue to operate in the region, and the blockade of vessels bound for or departing from the port of Oran remains in place. According to the latest CENTCOM data on the blockade—which has now lasted over 100 days—138 vessels have been diverted since the blockade was reinstated.
Israel’s Channel 12 reports that a person armed with a knife was stopped after approaching Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party.
According to local sources, an unidentified aircraft attacked a military facility near Homs, near the town of Hasya, along the highway connecting Homs to Damascus. The airstrike caused numerous casualties, including deaths and injuries. A powerful explosion occurred at a weapons depot in the town of Saraqib, in Idlib province, northwestern Syria. Footage shows several secondary explosions. The cause of the blast is not yet known. The Jordanian army said it conducted strikes against terrorist bases in southern Syria in response to a terrorist attack on Friday at a church in the town of Karak.
The head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell said the noise heard in Baghdad was caused by the interception of an unidentified drone near the “Green Zone.” The drone was intercepted. He reported that two drones, without explosives, were intercepted near the “Green Zone” in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, a Baghdad police source said. Military units in the districts of Karkh and Rusafa have reportedly been placed on high alert, while searches are underway to determine the source of the explosions.
Drones from Yemen attacked Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Local residents reported a series of explosions. Thick smoke billowed over Jeddah airport following a Houthi attack.
A Houthi statement reads: “Yemeni armed forces successfully hit an oil refinery in the Ras Tanura area of the Eastern Province using a ballistic missile. The attack was precise and caused large-scale fires inside the facility.”
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense Department issued a warning regarding a potential threat to Riyadh. In the afternoon, Ansar Allah spokesman Yahya Saree announced that the Saudi Ministry of Defense in the capital Riyadh had been targeted. He stated that the operation had achieved its objectives and also announced that two military transport planes had been targeted with ballistic missiles: one at Najran airport and the other at King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait.
A large-scale Yemeni attack reportedly caused explosions in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Yemeni forces reportedly struck Al-Hariq Governorate in Saudi Arabia with missiles. Air traffic at Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has been suspended.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, claimed responsibility for the drone attack in Abha. The strike was precise and disrupted air traffic at the airport. He also reported that Ansar Allah repelled an attempted advance by troops mobilized by Saudi Arabia—under the supervision of Saudi officer Badr Al-Harbi, commander of the forward operating base in Aden—coming from the southern Bab al-Mandab. These forces were hit by a barrage of ballistic missiles and heavy weapons, resulting in a high number of deaths and injuries; several ambulances quickly arrived on the scene.
The Iranian Navy reports that a fire broke out aboard an oil tanker, which was found guilty of a violation, after it struck naval mines east of the Strait of Hormuz. Ballistic missiles were tested from several Iranian provinces as part of exercises conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Missile tests were conducted in the Iranian city of Kerman.
Finally, it was learned that Iranian security forces have arrested six individuals in Bompor, in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan, allegedly linked to the Jaish al-Adl group. According to authorities, the suspects are believed to be involved in attacks that resulted in the deaths of two police officers. Three Kalashnikov rifles, six magazines, 172 rounds of ammunition, a pistol, and a magazine were reportedly seized.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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