Netanyahu denies reports about escalation with Iran in last day before election

Israelis entered the final 24 hours of an intense election season on Monday, as reports circulated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have clashed with the Israeli military over initiating a possible escalation with Iran immediately before elections.Tensions flared over reports that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff clashed over an instruction by the prime minister to carry out an “action” the army worried could reignite the conflict with Iran. Netanyahu’s office denied the report, first published by Israel’s Channel 12, as “fake news.”Defense Minister Israel Katz also quickly denied the report. “I state unequivocally that there has been no intention by Israel of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel,” Katz wrote on X on Monday, calling reports of rifts between political and military leaders “completely baseless and false.” However, he stressed that Israel would respond forcefully if Iran attacks first.Israel’s opposition candidates slammed the rep