FRANKLIN FOER: Yes.
I want to pivot to the killing of Yahya Sinwar, because as you said, Kamala Harris obviously wants the war in Gaza over.
So, what's a type of turning point does this spark for the war?
PETER BAKER: I think because it happens just two weeks before the Election Day, it's unlikely that we will find such a shift in the dynamics on the ground there in that time that would affect things here, probably, right?
It does offer Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, an opportunity if he wants to, to declare victory and say, okay, we're done.
Let's get the hostages out and move on.
He doesn't seem likely to go that route and particularly doesn't seem likely to go that route in the next two weeks.
So, for Kamala Harris, you know, it does, it's kind of an X factor, right?
How much does that encourage people who otherwise might not want to vote for her to think, okay, well, at least the war is going to start coming to an end at some point, hard to say.
VIVIAN SALAMA: It is worth noting that Trump said that he spoke to Bibi Netanyahu today.
So, you know, I think he's -- Netanyahu has sought to keep Donald Trump looped in just in case he is the future president and he's going to be the one to basically support Israel moving forward and to get his blessings about whatever he wants to do next.
SUSAN GLASSER: Yes.
But his public comment was, these things happen.
I mean, you know, it wasn't exactly a brilliant -- FRANKLIN FOER: Arousing, yes.
VIVAN SALAMA: And Sinwar was a bad person.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: I was going to say, he was a bad person.
SUSAN GLASSER: I just -- I think that that's sleepwalking into the election.
Come on.
Like we're pretending as if Donald Trump has a meaningful position on the world.
What he did in his first term in office was outsource American policy to Netanyahu and the far right in Israel.
He's very likely to do that again, but not out of some very deeply considered foreign policy view of the world.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: But Netanyahu did call him, according to Trump, and we've seen recently that Zelenskyy is also calling Donald Trump, because, at this point, we are three weeks out from the election and soon Joe Biden will be a late -- FRANKLIN FOER: It's like the equivalent of the betting markets.
You watch where the foreign leaders go.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: Well, in a couple weeks, we'll know whether it's Donald Trump or it's Kamala Harris, and they are already looking, in case it's Donald Trump, to start making those inroads.
FRANKLIN FOER: Peter, let me just finally turn to this question, because one thing that's been looming over this last stretch of the campaign is the almost inevitability that Israel will retaliate to the Iranian missiles that were launched against it.
What's taking so long?
Why the delay?
PETER BAKER: Well, I mean, I think they're having a argument inside Israel's own security cabinet and its structure about how far to go, right?
They seem now to have ruled out the most extreme version of retaliation, which would go against Iran's nuclear program or against its energy industry.
But now they're trying to figure out what targets would be appropriate from their point of view make the statement they want to make without necessarily escalating or forcing Iran to then have another tit-for-tat response.
But they're feeling their oats right now.
They have killed some really important people, not just Simwar, but Haniyeh and Nasrallah.
And they are feeling like they're on a run here, and they want to feel like they could reshape the region in this moment of opportunity.
They may be overthinking it, but that's where they're at.
FRANKLIN FOER: Unfortunately, we need to leave it there for now.
Thanks to our panelists for sharing your reporting.
