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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-25 at 20:06
HEADLINES
Israeli Strike Targets Islamic Jihad Amid Ceasefire
Egypt Team Enters Gaza to Find Remains
Trump Engages Qatar Emir on Gaza Peacekeeping
The time is now 4:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
This is your 4:00 PM update on events shaping the conflict in Gaza, the broader regional diplomacy, and the surrounding international response.
A US-backed ceasefire remains in effect more than two years after the Gaza war began, but authorities on all sides cautioned that violations continue to be a feature of the situation. In central Gaza, Israeli forces conducted a targeted strike described by the Israeli military as aimed at a member of Islamic Jihad who was planning an imminent attack against Israeli troops. The attack comes as security officials emphasize a continuing effort to prevent immediate threats while maintaining the terms of the broader ceasefire framework.
On the humanitarian and hostage front, there is movement that mediators describe as potentially significant. An Egyptian technical team has entered Gaza with engineering equipment to aid in locating the remains of hostages, a step that Israeli officials described as important for advancing the broader humanitarian and negotiation goals tied to the ceasefire. Israel’s government says the entry is a technical measure and that the team’s task is to locate slain hostages. At the same time, Israeli leadership and American intermediaries have signaled that progress on locating and returning the remains of hostages remains a central test of overall trust in any future stabilization plan. Reports indicate there is anticipation that a small number of remains could be returned in the coming days, though officials caution that the situation remains fragile and subject to mediation dynamics and security assessments on the ground.
In Washington, President Trump conducted talks in Doha aboard Air Force One with Qatar’s emir to discuss Gaza ceasefire implementation and the possible roles a regional peacekeeping framework might play after the next phase of quieting the conflict. The discussions underscored Qatar’s continuing engagement as a mediator and as a potential partner in postwar stabilization efforts. US officials have described a broader international push to secure disarmament, ensure humanitarian access, and lay groundwork for reconstruction in Gaza, with an emphasis on a multinational approach that includes several Arab and Muslim-majority countries.
Complementing that effort, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials have indicated that more than two dozen countries are prepared to contribute to Gaza’s postwar stabilization and reconstruction, highlighting a coordination mechanism intended to ensure disarmament, governance, and critical services. In parallel, discussion continues about the potential reopening of the Rafah crossing, a move that would be contingent on progress in prisoner and remains exchanges and on Hamas’s disarmament commitments, according to mediators and Israeli officials familiar with the talks.
On the diplomatic front, regional actors continue to reassess roles and boundaries. Egypt’s involvement in Gaza’s stabilization discussions has grown, with Turkish participation—something Israel has resisted—also discussed in the broader frame of regional engagement. Israel has indicated continued preference for a carefully structured multinational approach that preserves security control at key crossings and protects Israeli civilian and military interests. Multinational planning groups are coordinating alongside United Nations agencies and several Western partners, with the United Arab Emirates taking a leading role in the reconstruction planning and humanitarian corridors.
In parallel, regional political developments outside the immediate conflict are drawing international atte
Published on 1 week, 3 days ago