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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-28 at 06:05
HEADLINES
Ceasefire strains as Netanyahu-Trump talks loom
Gaza City push deepens in Gideon's campaign
NATO boosts Baltic readiness over drones
The time is now 2:00 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
Two a.m. update: a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran remains unsettled as both sides monitor for possible shifts on the ground and in diplomacy. In Washington and Jerusalem there is a shared focus on ending the war, but with divergent approaches: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to meet United States President Donald Trump on Monday, where the American posture emphasizes pressuring for a prompt resolution to open-ended hostilities, while Israel highlights security guarantees and strategic advantages in the region, including potential moves in the West Bank that some observers expect to surface in discussions.
On the Gaza front, the Israeli Defense Forces are pushing deeper into Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II. The campaign is described as slow and methodical, blending airstrikes, ambushes and engineering work to flatten buildings, establish logistics hubs, and prepare for clashes with Hamas tunnel networks. The ground action is paired with ongoing air and artillery activity, and officials say the objective is to degrade Hamas’s operational capabilities while attempting to minimize civilian casualties.
Hamas’s current battlefield footprint is viewed by Israeli officials as degraded but still lethal, especially through hostage dynamics that remain unresolved. While Israel says it has neutralized large numbers of Hamas fighters and eliminated key military infrastructure, the toll in Gaza, as reported by the Gaza health ministry, continues to be stark and disputed by international observers who point to high civilian casualties. Israel maintains it is acting to safeguard its citizens and to thwart Hamas’s ability to wage war from civilian areas.
Across the border in Lebanon, NATO-allied partners watch tensions as drone activity has been reported over Beirut and the broader region. Lebanon continues to face pressure to curb Hezbollah’s influence and to prevent any renewed front along the border, even as security forces and political actors pursue measures to push Iranian-backed militias away from critical front lines.
Analysts note a degraded status among Iran’s proxies as part of a broader rebalancing in the region. Reports from Iran International and other outlets describe assessments that Syria’s regime and allied groups face new vulnerabilities, with some forecasts of fresh moves or restructurings in the near term. Additionally, as international pressure on Iran’s nuclear program resumes via the snapback mechanism, UN measures are restored and must be enforced, a development that sharpens the stakes for both Tehran and its allies.
Internationally, security calculations are shifting in several theaters. European defense officials say NATO will heighten readiness in the Baltic Sea region in response to drone incidents near Denmark, with increased patrols and defensive postures. In separate geopolitical coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping seeks a formal US commitment opposing Taiwan independence, a demand that would mark a tighter alignment of Beijing’s diplomatic posture with a future American administration.
Domestically in Israel, public health and safety developments continue to unfold. Health authorities are coordinating a vaccination campaign in response to a measles outbreak that has claimed several young lives in the past week, underscoring persistent public health challenges amid the broader security crisis. In individual incidents, Israeli emergency services reported a fatal road crash near Caesarea and a separate serious motorcycle crash near Kfar Saba, with medical teams transporting two injured
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago