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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-31 at 10:05
HEADLINES
Iraq-based militias threaten Israel with missiles
Katz sacks attorney general amid detainee video
Hostage survivor bears tooth for tooth message
The time is now 6:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
This morning, the Israeli security establishment remains on heightened alert for the possibility of an Iran-backed, Oct. 7-style threat from militias operating in Iraq, with officials saying the main mode of attack would likely involve missiles and drones launched from Iraqi soil, mirroring early days of the Israel-Hamas war. The warning comes as regional security authorities posture for a broad set of contingencies across the Middle East, including potential spillover into broader regional corridors.
In Jerusalem, attention also turns to a domestic governance development at the nexus of security and accountability. Defense Minister Israel Katz dismissed the military’s attorney general, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, amid an inquiry tied to a leaked video involving Palestinian detainee treatment. Tomer-Yerushalmi has since resigned. The episode underscores ongoing debates over oversight and legal checks within the defense establishment as it continues to face complex security challenges and public scrutiny.
On the human front of the conflict, new testimony from freed hostages continues to surface, providing stark reminders of the toll of the war. Maxim Herkin, who was held by Hamas in Gaza, recounted brutal beatings and described how captors inscribed the message “a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye” on his back as a message to a senior Israeli official. Herkin said his captors were relentless during interrogations and that he was kept in inhumane conditions, though he remained defiant about his choice to try to protect others. Israeli officials have framed his testimony within the broader context of hostage conditions and the ongoing dispute over how to secure releases and remains in Gaza, where, despite a US-brokered ceasefire, a number of hostages’ remains have not yet been accounted for. In all, 20 hostages were released in mid-October as part of a ceasefire deal, with remains of others still unreturned and the fate of some still unresolved.
From the battlefield to the home front, Israeli security forces have carried out extensive counterterrorism operations across Judea and Samaria in the past week. The military reports multiple operations targeting militants, weapons production, and planning cells, including discoveries of improvised weapon-making equipment and an ongoing effort to disrupt attempts to plan attacks against civilians. In parallel, the IDF and Shin Bet have transported detainees for questioning as part of coordinated security theater intended to reduce the risk of imminent violence.
Beyond Israel’s immediate neighborhood, regional developments continue to shape the security calculus. In Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces said they have arrested fighters accused of abuses as they claim control of El-Fasher in Darfur after an 18-month siege, while the United Nations has warned that horror remains in the region. In Yemen, the Houthis have said 43 local United Nations staff will face trial on charges related to an Israeli airstrike that targeted senior leaders in August, a development that underscores the fragility of international operations in a war-torn region and the risks faced by humanitarian workers.
Inside Israel’s own political landscape, reports describe a forthcoming rearrangement within Zionist institutions. A deal under discussion would see Yaakov Hagoel return to the leadership of the World Zionist Organization, with Doron Perez set to become the next head of the World Zionist Organization’s Diaspora and Information Department, pending final approvals. The arrangement would also see Meir Cohen lead the Jewish National Fund-KKL, with a rotating plan for futu
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