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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-20 at 11:06
HEADLINES
Canada would arrest Netanyahu on ICC warrant
PA unveils $67B Gaza reconstruction plan
Zuqar Island 2,000m runway under construction
The time is now 7:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
This is the 7:00 a.m. update on the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Internationally, Canada’s prime minister has said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters Canada, aligning with an ICC warrant and accusing Israel of blocking a Palestinian state. The comment underscores ongoing debates about accountability for alleged war crimes, and it places international legal pressure at the forefront of the Israel-Palestinian dynamic. In a separate domestic security and human-interest case, a Karmiel couple is accused of burying a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor in their yard to continue receiving her benefits, a dramatic allegation that has unsettled communities and raised questions about elder care and welfare safeguards.
On the diplomatic front in the United States, President Donald Trump’s pressure points continue to reverberate through the peace process. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff described the Doha strike fallout and the emotional return of hostages, linking the negotiations that followed Trump’s framework to the current ceasefire efforts. The narrative of those discussions intersects with ongoing reporting of the fragile Gaza truce and the hard-lined positions of multiple actors, including Hamas.
Turning to Gaza itself, the Palestinian Authority unveiled a $67 billion reconstruction plan for Gaza, laid out in three phases over five years. Experts warn that the reconstruction could become a flashpoint for influence, with concerns that regional players such as Qatar and Turkey may shape the process in ways that could sustain Hamas influence. Five years of rebuilding would unfold alongside a complex political and security landscape, where the control of aid and reconstruction contracts could become a proxy for power.
In the technology and business sectors, a widespread outage affected Amazon’s cloud services and related platforms, underscoring how global digital infrastructure can ripple into daily life even amid regional crises. The incident, while not geopolitical in itself, highlights the interconnected nature of modern economies and the potential domestic repercussions of outages in global supply chains and services.
In the Yemen-Houthi theater, satellite images show a nearly 2,000-meter runway under construction on Zuqar Island in the Red Sea. Analysts note the airstrip could enhance surveillance and logistics in a key corridor, potentially affecting security calculations for forces opposing the Houthis. The project is linked to a broader network of bases in the region, with little clarity about intended use, but with potential implications for maritime security and smuggling routes.
In broader Middle East diplomacy, US envoys arrived in Israel to shore up progress on the Gaza plan after weekend violence threatened to derail the ceasefire. Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing to allow humanitarian shipments into Gaza after it was briefly closed following the killing of two Israeli soldiers. In response, Israel conducted a series of strikes across Gaza, arguing that the attacks by Hamas violated the truce. The visit aims to assess progress, press for compliance, and maintain the momentum of a fragile ceasefire that remains under stress.
Russia signaled a willingness to expand cooperation with Iran across all areas, reflecting a shift in regional alignments and signaling that Moscow intends to engage more deeply with Tehran despite Western pressures. The development sits alongside ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities and regional security calculations.
On the security front inside Israel and the occupied
Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago