Podcast Episode Details

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-22 at 04:07

---

---

HEADLINES
Gaza militia forms belt around Khan Younis
West recognizes Palestinian state, Israel reacts
Strongest typhoon in years threatens Hong Kong

The time is now 12:00 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

This hour’s update focuses on Gaza’s evolving security picture, the broader regional reaction to the conflict, and a few consequential developments abroad that touch the attempt to shape the path to peace and stability. In southern Gaza, a new anti-Hamas enclave has emerged under a militia leadership that depicts itself as offering an alternative to Hamas’s rule. The group, calling itself Strike Force Against Terror and led by Hossam al-Astal, operates from a base in Kizan al-Najjar near Khan Younis, a depopulated area where displacement has become routine. Al-Astal says hundreds of displaced Gazans have already joined the encampment and that another 300 to 400 people will arrive in the coming days after security checks to ensure there are no ties to Hamas. He describes his fighters as offering food, water, shelter, and protection from Hamas, and he claims that Israel provides direct electricity, water, and military equipment to support the effort. He adds that funding is coming from multiple sources including the United States, Europe, and Arab states, though he declined to name specific channels. A related militia network, led by a Bedouin commander known as Yasser Abu Shabab, has operated for months in Rafah and says it maintains contact with al-Astal’s unit. Abu Shabab’s fighters have publicly acknowledged receiving equipment and support, and together the groups describe themselves as forming a protective belt around Khan Younis and Rafah, aiming to allow displaced residents to live under a new form of governance in coordination with neighbors and, they claim, with Israeli tacit approval. The Israeli army has not publicly confirmed direct coordination, and officials have not commented on al-Astal’s precise claims. The broader pattern reflected here is the vacuum created by the departure of Hamas from some areas and the reluctance to impose direct civil administration, prompting clan-based militias to step in as de facto authorities, at least for some communities. Those developments come as Gaza’s civilian population remains deeply exposed to risk, with limited access to food, water, and basic services in several pockets of the territory.

On the hostage situation and the battlefield dynamics, reports from Gaza emphasize that Hamas’s grip remains uneven and contested in pockets of the Strip, with new local power centers jockeying to fill gaps as the war continues. While the fighting persists and Palestinian civilians bear the costs, the emergence of these militias underscores a shifting balance inside Gaza’s internal landscape, where groups allied with or operating in parallel to Israel’s objectives are asserting influence in areas that Hamas once controlled outright.

International reaction to the broader conflict has intensified in another area: a wave of dramatic policy shifts by Western governments regarding the status of the Palestinian territories. Over the weekend, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal formally recognized a Palestinian state. The move drew swift and sharp reactions from Israeli leaders who described it as a reward for terror and said it complicates hostage negotiations and the security calculus in Gaza and the West Bank. Supporters of recognition argue it advances a two-state framework and could help lay the groundwork for a negotiated settlement, while opponents say it undercuts the conditions needed for a lasting peace and disregards the security concerns Israel has highlighted, including the imperative to prevent a revival of Hamas’s rule and to secure the release of hostages still in Hamas hands. In Israel’s current political climate, the decision has exposed sharp divisions

---

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago