Podcast Episode Details

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-24 at 18:10

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HEADLINES
IDF hits Hezbollah logistics chief in Lebanon
US pushes Gaza plan excluding Hamas governance
US warns annexation risks peace framework

The time is now 2:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

This is the 2:00 PM update on developments shaping the Middle East and the Israeli key security and diplomatic environment, with context for an international audience.

Lebanese and northern Israeli fronts remain in the crosshairs of a fragile ceasefire. The Israeli military says it carried out a drone strike targeting Abbas Hassan Karaki, the Hezbollah logistics chief for the organization’s southern front, in the town of Toul in southern Lebanon. Lebanese health authorities and media reported fatalities and injuries, while the IDF described Karaki as a senior figure who oversaw weapon transfers, storage, and rebuilding efforts after the latest round of fighting. The strike followed a day of other Israeli actions in southern Lebanon, including strikes on a Hezbollah site described by Israel as an arms cache and a training camp. The broader frame is that the ceasefire agreement that ended a year of intense exchanges obligates both sides to withdraw from southern Lebanon; Israel says it will continue to act to remove threats, while Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities face international pressure to disarm and to respect the ceasefire terms.

In Gaza, the international diplomatic and military coordination effort is centered on implementing a two-phase plan associated with the Trump-era framework. US officials insist there is no alternative or “plan B” to the agreed approach, which envisions demilitarization of Hamas and a transition for Gaza governed by an arrangement that does not involve Hamas in future governance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Israel and speaking at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, stressed that Hamas cannot govern Gaza and reiterated that the UN agency UNRWA will not participate in delivering aid under this arrangement. Rubio said humanitarian aid will flow through established channels such as the World Food Programme and other NGOs, and that the international Stabilization Force, once assembled, would operate with conditions that Israel itself supports. He signaled that the makeup and authorization of the stabilization force will be a matter of broad consensus among partner states and that Israel’s security concerns must guide the process, including any involvement by Turkey, which Israel has cautioned about.

At the same briefing, Rubio noted that progress toward a broader regional normalization could emerge as a byproduct of stabilizing Gaza, including potential expansion of the Abraham Accords. He also emphasized that any governance framework for Gaza must be agreed to by Israel and its partners, and that the Palestinian Authority’s role remains a matter for future discussion, given Israel’s concerns about incitement and security. In parallel with these security and governance discussions, Rubio asserted that the remains of 13 hostages believed killed or captured in prior exchanges would be released as part of the broader process, though the sequence and timing remain contested publicly by participants in Gaza and in Washington.

The United States is reinforcing its civilian-military coordination posture in Israel. The State Department announced that Steven Fagin, a veteran US diplomat, will serve as the civilian lead of the Gaza coordination center in Kiryat Gat, aligned with Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command’s sphere of responsibility. Rubio said the center will scale up staff to oversee ceasefire implementation and aid delivery, with a focus on preventing theft or diversion of life-sustaining assistance and on laying groundwork for the Stabilization Force’s entry into Gaza in the next phase. He added that the center must work with p

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Published on 1 week, 4 days ago