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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-07 at 22:06
HEADLINES
Trump backed ceasefire framework nears final deal
Hostage family condemns Thunberg image
War anniversary reshapes Israeli politics
The time is now 6:00 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
This is the 6:00 PM update. We begin with a rapid roll of developments shaping the Gaza war and its reverberations around the region and beyond.
Yeela David, the sister of hostage Evyatar David, publicly condemned Greta Thunberg for sharing Evyatar’s image in a post focused on Palestinian prisoners, calling the act a “joke” and demanding the post be removed. The moment underscored the highly charged battle over imagery in the information environment surrounding the conflict, as relatives of hostages push back against what they see as instrumentalization of their loved ones.
In Stockholm, Greta Thunberg amplified controversy by alleging torture of Gaza flotilla detainees in Israeli custody, saying she and others were kidnapped and subjected to harsh treatment. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the characterization, reiterating that detentions followed standard procedures and emphasizing Israel’s insistence on safeguarding all prisoners of war and civilians while combatting Hamas’s use of civilians as shields. The case has sharpened questions about treatment of detainees and the broader narrative surrounding Gaza-related detentions.
Across Europe, tensions flared outside the Israeli embassy in Athens, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with police in what authorities described as high-profile protests marking two years since the Hamas attack on Israel. The scene reflected the international dimension of the Gaza war, with protests erupting in multiple capitals as parties examine the ramifications of the ongoing fighting, hostage crisis, and humanitarian needs.
Back in Israel, President Isaac Herzog marked the two-year anniversary of October 7 with reflections that the nation’s soul was “torn apart,” while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the period as a moment of critical decisions. The government has faced both the existential questions raised by the war and mounting domestic debate about how best to proceed in pursuit of the hostages’ return and a sustainable end to the conflict.
On the diplomatic front, decisive days are anticipated in talks over a broader Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. An Egyptian source, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, signaled optimism that a Trump-backed framework could be finalized in the near term if a positive atmosphere persists. The discussions have progressed on the hostages-for-ceasefire framework and potential withdrawal maps, even as Hamas has pressed for additional guarantees and the release of certain convicted terrorists, including figures seen as pivotal to Hamas’s internal calculations. US involvement remains central, with senior American mediators and President Trump’s team in Sharm el-Sheikh to help bridge gaps, alongside Israeli and Arab mediators. In parallel, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Qatari officials have been positioned to join the talks, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin is traveling to Egypt to participate in the negotiations. Hamas officials, including Khalil al-Hayya, have publicly framed the talks as a path to ending the war through guarantees from the international community, the United States, and the deal’s backers, even as they insisted on conditions intended to shape the timeline and terms of a potential ceasefire and hostage release.
President Trump, who has framed the effort as a breakthrough opportunity, has said the hostages should be released immediately and has warned Hamas of “total annihilation” if it refuses to relinquish control of Gaza. Trump’s involvement has included meetings with hostage families and a push to secure international guarantees for any deal, with White H
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