Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-06-26 at 02:02

HEADLINES
Israeli soldiers wounded in Lebanon clash evacuated
Three anti-Israel candidates win NYC primaries
Gadi Eisenkot a nightmare for Netanyahu

The time is now 2:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In אתמול (ה׳), קצין לוחם נפצע באורח בינוני וקצין לוחם ושני לוחמים נוספים נפצעו באורח קל כתוצאה מהיתקלות עם מחבל בדרום לבנון. הלוחמים פונו לקבלת טיפול רפואי בבית ח hospital ומשפחותיהם עודכנו. Soldiers were evacuated for medical treatment at a hospital and their families were notified.

In Mamdani's Democrats: New York City's primary results bode ill for US-Israel relations - editorial, what happened in New York is being played out in other areas of the United States, providing evidence that the anti-Israel tremors in the Democratic Party extend beyond the biggest US city. Three candidates with bona fide animosity toward Israel, backed and endorsed by New York City’s Israel-hating Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won their primaries. Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated Representative Dan Goldman in a Lower Manhattan district, Assembly member Claire Valdez beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in an open seat being vacated by retiring Representative Nydia Velázquez, and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat. Valdez said she would call for Palestinian liberation, stand up to genocide, refuse to abide by apartheid, and use money to improve lives here instead of destroying them abroad. Lander, who is Jewish and describes himself as a liberal Zionist, has repeatedly spoken on the record about his stance in the party’s debates over Israel.

In Editor's Notes: Gadi Eisenkot is Netanyahu’s nightmare opponent - comment, Gadi Eisenkot is not a man in a hurry. He has emerged as a leading opposition figure, with his Yashar party now polling as the largest in the opposition alongside Likud, a reflection of debates over leadership, conscription and identity ahead of elections. His personal history—his son Gal was killed in Gaza in December 2023 while he sat in the war cabinet, and his nephew was killed in the same war—shapes his stance, and observers note that this biography is a challenge for Prime Minister Netanyahu. A Maariv poll this week put Yashar level with Likud at 21 percent each, the first time any opposition party has matched Netanyahu in the Knesset race.

In Former Shin Bet chief threatens to sue Channel 14 over ‘completely false’ inflammatory comments, Yoram Cohen, a former Shin Bet chief and a member of Eisenkot’s Yashar! party, sent a legal warning to Channel 14 after it aired inflammatory remarks about him. A lawsuit was filed by Cohen against Micha Kobi, a panelist on the program, who claimed Cohen had pushed for the release of deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as part of the Gilad Shalit deal and pressured Prime Minister Netanyahu into taking the deal while Sinwar was allegedly planning future violence. Cohen rejected the claims as completely false and baseless. The legal warning, filed through the Ben Zur Corb & Co. firm, demanded a correction, a public apology, a clarification that the remarks were incorrect, and the immediate removal of all broadcasts.

In How antisemitic rhetoric seeped into Albania's anti-Kushner protests, local observers blame Russia, Iran and Turkey for trying to sow unrest in the country, which is seeking membership in the European Union. Others call the antisemitism a false flag. The protests began May 31 in Tirana as a public outpouring of anger against a $4 billion coastal resort proposed by Jared Kushner, and quickly grew into demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Alongside the political grievances, antisemitic imagery appeared, with posters portraying Rama as a Hasidic Jew and maps of Albania labeled with slogans denouncing a Zionist takeover. Organizers insist they are not against Israel, Jews, or Kushner’s father-in-law, but their target has become Rama and his rival Berisha, a longtime political force. Trolls online have spread fake news headlines and AI-generated videos to amplify the messages.

Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update.
I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed.
Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description.

SOURCES
https://t.me/newssil/205310
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-900581
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-900580
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-900595
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-900597