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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-02-20 at 00:02
Published 1 week, 2 days ago
Description
HEADLINES
Soroka Prep as Iran War Looms
Deputy Speaker Crosses Gaza Border, IDF Pursues
Bennett Unity Gov Idea Leaks, Opposition Splits
The time is now 12:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In the conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, Soroka Medical Center has begun preparing for conflict with Iran, with hospital management and emergency teams updating procedures, checking readiness, and running simulations for wartime scenarios. The hospital was hit by a ballistic missile in June 2025, sustaining severe damage to its infrastructure. Since then, Soroka Center has been working on recovery and is now forced to prepare for another military campaign. The medical center is already simulating emergency situations, and in recent days, procedures have been refined and guidelines updated for transferring patients in case of another emergency. Additionally, preparations have begun at Wolfson Medical Center. The orthopedics department has moved to urology, the pediatric surgery department to the children's department, and the hospital's underground areas have been evacuated. It should be emphasized that there has been no reduction in patient care. In addition to heightened alert levels in hospitals, the issue of municipal preparedness is also being raised. The Tel Aviv Municipality has declared that, in the event of an emergency, public shelters will automatically open. In Petah Tikva, some shelters are ready. Trump was asked again about the deadline for Iran and said: “10-15 days maximum.”
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Limor Son Har-Melech, together with dozens of activists from the Nachala movement, crossed the border fence into the Gaza Strip in violation of the law on Thursday evening. Son Har-Melech dedicated the act as a Purim celebration, "With the aim of encouraging Jewish settlement in Gaza," the journalist Eli Zilberberg wrote in a post on X. According to Kan News, the activists are being pursued by the IDF. The Otzma Yehudit MK has said in a statement published by Nachala that "Gaza is ours forever," trying to justify her entrance into the territory. In a post on her personal X account, Son Har-Melech said, "At the beginning of the month of Adar, (...) we merited, with thanks to the Lord, to enter the land of Gaza, together with the Nachala movement and dozens more families, women, men, and children." On Instagram, the Nachala movement shared that the group that entered Gaza has planted trees. "With tremendous excitement, we planted trees in our beloved Gaza region together with the Deputy Speaker ..." The group is being pursued by the IDF.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, If the political elite keep performing for cameras, Israel will never be able to heal - editorial. Months before voters head to the polls, and before Israel has even set a date for its next election, the opposition that is seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government is already breaking apart. The opposition leaders are engaging in attacks on each other, setting up political traps, and formulating excuses for failure. A leaked recording of former prime minister Naftali Bennett was published by Kipa News, in which Bennett floated the idea of a national unity government modeled on the late-1980s arrangement between Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir. The comparison itself was not particularly controversial or unwelcome; Israel is still warring with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with a second major war with Iran appearing more and more inevitable by the day. In the recording, he rejected the politics of blanket boycotts and said he would not rule out governing alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Bennett said that the national security minister is a “deeply unserious individual,” adding th
Soroka Prep as Iran War Looms
Deputy Speaker Crosses Gaza Border, IDF Pursues
Bennett Unity Gov Idea Leaks, Opposition Splits
The time is now 12:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In the conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, Soroka Medical Center has begun preparing for conflict with Iran, with hospital management and emergency teams updating procedures, checking readiness, and running simulations for wartime scenarios. The hospital was hit by a ballistic missile in June 2025, sustaining severe damage to its infrastructure. Since then, Soroka Center has been working on recovery and is now forced to prepare for another military campaign. The medical center is already simulating emergency situations, and in recent days, procedures have been refined and guidelines updated for transferring patients in case of another emergency. Additionally, preparations have begun at Wolfson Medical Center. The orthopedics department has moved to urology, the pediatric surgery department to the children's department, and the hospital's underground areas have been evacuated. It should be emphasized that there has been no reduction in patient care. In addition to heightened alert levels in hospitals, the issue of municipal preparedness is also being raised. The Tel Aviv Municipality has declared that, in the event of an emergency, public shelters will automatically open. In Petah Tikva, some shelters are ready. Trump was asked again about the deadline for Iran and said: “10-15 days maximum.”
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Limor Son Har-Melech, together with dozens of activists from the Nachala movement, crossed the border fence into the Gaza Strip in violation of the law on Thursday evening. Son Har-Melech dedicated the act as a Purim celebration, "With the aim of encouraging Jewish settlement in Gaza," the journalist Eli Zilberberg wrote in a post on X. According to Kan News, the activists are being pursued by the IDF. The Otzma Yehudit MK has said in a statement published by Nachala that "Gaza is ours forever," trying to justify her entrance into the territory. In a post on her personal X account, Son Har-Melech said, "At the beginning of the month of Adar, (...) we merited, with thanks to the Lord, to enter the land of Gaza, together with the Nachala movement and dozens more families, women, men, and children." On Instagram, the Nachala movement shared that the group that entered Gaza has planted trees. "With tremendous excitement, we planted trees in our beloved Gaza region together with the Deputy Speaker ..." The group is being pursued by the IDF.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, If the political elite keep performing for cameras, Israel will never be able to heal - editorial. Months before voters head to the polls, and before Israel has even set a date for its next election, the opposition that is seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government is already breaking apart. The opposition leaders are engaging in attacks on each other, setting up political traps, and formulating excuses for failure. A leaked recording of former prime minister Naftali Bennett was published by Kipa News, in which Bennett floated the idea of a national unity government modeled on the late-1980s arrangement between Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir. The comparison itself was not particularly controversial or unwelcome; Israel is still warring with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with a second major war with Iran appearing more and more inevitable by the day. In the recording, he rejected the politics of blanket boycotts and said he would not rule out governing alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Bennett said that the national security minister is a “deeply unserious individual,” adding th