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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-30 at 04:07
HEADLINES
Gaza siege escalates as Iran proxies loom
Heroic Gevim stand halts massacre
Netanyahu backs US plan for Gaza
The time is now 12:00 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
An uneasy quiet persists around the Israel–Iran dynamic as the region braces for renewed pressure on multiple fronts. Israel’s leaders warn that Iran and its allied networks remain capable of striking, even as a tactical pause appears to hold for now. In parallel, Israel continues to press its military operations in Gaza, with officials stressing the goal of restoring security for Israeli civilians while acknowledging the broader risk that Tehran’s proxies may seek to test any pause in hostilities.
On the ground in Gaza, the war remains deeply three dimensional. Israeli forces say their focus is to prevent Hamas from regaining capability while safeguarding civilians, and in Gaza City the fighting has intensified at times, with rapid movements and shifting fronts. In the background, Israel is pushing to secure the return of hostages held by Hamas, while international efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and stabilize the region continue to face obstacles.
In a separate but connected thread, a military investigation into the October seventh assault on Kibbutz Gevim found that local protectors held the line for hours when the main force of Hamas terrorists attempted to breach the perimeter. The inquiry credits the kibbutz security coordinator and a standby squad along with civilian residents for preventing a massacre, as reinforcements arrived and combatants were ultimately repelled. The investigation notes that, although the Israeli defense was unable to shield Gevim from the initial attack, the community’s defense saved lives and prevented a broader breach.
Across the border, Israel says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and killed two militants who were moving weapons and plotting attacks toward Israeli population centers. The army reports that the operations, carried out with air power guided by northern command, aimed to degrade the group’s artillery and rocket capabilities and to disrupt planning for attacks against civilians near the border. The army stresses that the conflict with Hezbollah remains a separate dimension of the broader war, and that Israel will continue to act to remove threats.
Meanwhile, the broader hostilities and security pressures extend beyond Israel’s immediate borders. Yemen’s Houthi movement continues to threaten shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, adding another layer of risk to regional stability and to global commodity supply routes. An EU maritime mission reported a Dutch cargo vessel adrift and ablaze after an attack in regional waters, underscoring the persistent risk to international commerce and to humanitarian relief shipments moving in and out of Red Sea corridors.
In Washington, the Trump administration has proposed a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza war and to address the fate of hostages. The plan envisions a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza coupled with the deployment of an international security force, a transitional Palestinian technocrat government, and an accelerated path toward a two-state framework once reforms are achieved. Eight Arab and Muslim-majority foreign ministries issued a joint statement welcoming the plan and expressing confidence in the United States’ path to regional peace, while Palestinian authorities welcomed the stated reforms and the aim of restoring aid to Gaza and ensuring a secure, orderly process. Hamas has said it will study the plan and respond in due course, arguing that it should not be presented as a fait accompli that legitimizes Israeli actions or bypasses Palestinian rights.
In the same vein, a prominent New York Times–Siena College poll shows shifting public opinion inside the United States. Supp
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