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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-23 at 01:08
HEADLINES
US pushes bold Gaza ceasefire blueprint
Netanyahu bars PA and Turkish postwar role
Rubio visit anchors Gaza stabilization drive
The time is now 9:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
At 9:00 PM, the evolving effort to end the Gaza conflict continues to be shaped by a delicate balance of security concerns, regional diplomacy, and domestic debates inside Israel. In Washington, the United States is intensifying coordination with Israeli leaders and regional partners as it seeks to implement what has been described as President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Conflict in Gaza, a framework that envisions a phased Gaza ceasefire, hostage releases, and a transition that would involve Hamas only after conditions tied to disarmament and demilitarization. US officials have stressed a commitment to Israel’s security while pressing for steps that would stabilize the region and advance a broader regional peace in tandem with Arab partners.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces a set of high-stakes questions as Washington’s approach gains momentum. Reports from Israeli television indicate Netanyahu has voiced a firm stance that the Palestinian Authority should have no governing role in Gaza in the postwar period, a position that aligns with certain talking points surrounding the US plan but also raises friction with others in Washington who argue that the plan requires feasible roles for regional actors beyond Israel. The US side has signaled that Turkey remains a significant factor in any long‑term stabilization framework, while Israel’s leadership has publicly insisted that the multinational plan can move forward without Turkish involvement in the postwar stabilization mechanism. Israeli officials, however, have also suggested they are open to compromise, reflecting a strategic calculus about what is necessary to secure a durable ceasefire and to enable a broader international coalition.
Two key figures are poised to be at the heart of the next phase. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive in Israel for a multiday visit aimed at reinforcing the United States’ backing for the Gaza plan and to bolster efforts to translate international momentum into tangible steps on the ground. Washington’s public posture during his visit is to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and to work with partners across the Middle East to build on the momentum toward a durable peace and regional integration. Rubio’s schedule places him in Israel through the weekend before continuing to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, underscoring the breadth of US engagement in the region.
At the same time, Deputy Secretary of State and senior US officials have been active in orchestrating a regional push. Reports describe Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi to deepen support among Gulf states for the plan—financial, military, and diplomatic backing that Washington views as essential to sustaining a transitional period in Gaza and to ensuring that a postwar order does not erupt into renewed instability. In one strand of the reporting, the discussions emphasized aligning security arrangements with the objective of disarming Hamas before any significant IDF withdrawal and ensuring that any Palestinian security role in Gaza would be carefully framed within a broader international stabilization effort.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has also been in close contact with US officials about red lines for the Gaza situation. A notable point in the reporting is that Netanyahu has insisted that any future arrangement must prevent a Turkish role in Gaza and must keep the Palestinian Authority or Hamas from governing Gaza in the immediate aftermath of war. Israeli security officials also note that they regard a full IDF withdrawal as contingent on Hamas’s di
Published on 1 week, 6 days ago