Approximately 4,800 diplomats as well as their families started early voting on Oct. 15.By JNSEarly voting for the 26th Knesset began on Wednesday at military polling stations on Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts across all operational arenas, including the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.More than 850 polling stations, many of them mobile, have been deployed, according to the IDF.“Our mission is to enable all IDF service members to exercise their democratic right to vote by secret ballot, including during operational activities and combat beyond the border. The IDF is an apolitical people’s army that will do everything necessary to ensure that the elections are held as scheduled,” said IDF Elections Officer Col. Vered Ben-Yehuda.Voting will continue until polling stations close on Election Day, Oct. 27, subject to operational requirements.Regular-duty soldiers and active-duty reservists may vote at either military or civilian polling stations, with a double-envelope system used to verify eligibility and prevent double voting, an Israeli military official told JNS last week.Hundreds of election officers and about 3,000 soldiers trained as polling committee members will administer the voting, with each station run by a four-member committee, the official added.Israelis are heading to the polls to elect the 120 members of the 26th Knesset in the country’s first national election since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, and the multi-front war that followed.Israel has strict rules on early voting. Military personnel and diplomats are the exception. Approximately 4,800 diplomats as well as their families started early voting on Oct. 15.Employees of diplomatic missions, government ministry emissaries and various attachés serving the state overseas, including family members, were also eligible.IDF bolstering defenses to prevent election interferenceIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Tuesday that the military had reinforced troops across all fronts to thwart threats and allow the Oct. 27 vote to proceed securely.“Our goal is to enable democratic elections to take place without external interference,” Zamir said during a visit to a large-scale Gaza Division command exercise, according to an IDF statement.“Our enemies have suffered very heavy blows, but they continue to plan attacks against us,” he said. “We do not wait for threats to emerge; we act proactively to eliminate them.”The drill incorporated lessons from Oct. 7 and simulated defensive and offensive scenarios, the military said. Zamir reviewed the division’s readiness and ability to carry out operational plans alongside senior commanders, including Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor and Gaza Division head Brig. Gen. Liron Batito.“The lessons of Oct. 7 require us to ensure that such an event never happens again,” Zamir said. “We must always be prepared, recognize that blind spots exist that we may not have identified, and prepare for every scenario.”He also praised Southern Command operations targeting terrorists and infiltrators who participated in the Oct. 7 attack, calling their pursuit “an operational and moral mission.”Netanyahu: ‘Clear signs’ Iran, proxies want to influence Knesset voteIran and its proxies want to sway next week’s Knesset vote and may launch an attack against Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with i24News on Tuesday night.“We have clear signs that Iran and its proxies want to influence the elections. They want me to lose,” he said in the Hebrew-language interview.The premier said possible Iranian action could come “in various arenas,” including through the regime’s terror proxies.IDF chief Zamir raised the threat level after intelligence was received from the Mossad, Netanyahu said, adding: “We are preparing for it.”He said the Islamic Republic’s allies—including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis—openly say they want him gone.“They don’t want what is good for Israel. They want Israel’s destruction,” he said.The post Gaza, Lebanon and Syria: 850 polling stations open for IDF early voting appeared first on World Israel News.