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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-02-22 at 07:02
Published 6 days, 8 hours ago
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HEADLINES
IRGC Led Hezbollah Eyes Broader Israel Clash
Court Orders Western Wall Egalitarian Platform Upgrades
Three Year Rafah Rebuild for 500k Gazans
The time is now 7:02 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, the Institute for the Study of War says Hezbollah could seek to involve itself in a broader conflict by aiming at Israel, should Tehran perceive that the United States or Israel intends to topple the Islamic regime. Al-Arabiya reports that Hezbollah is now being led by officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Lebanon, with new arrivals from Tehran and plans to accelerate rebuilding Hezbollah’s military capabilities. The ISW assessment notes that Hezbollah’s foundational ideology, tied to the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, binds its actions to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the group has suffered damage from the conflict with Israel and faces a weakened political position in Lebanon, making recovery a priority, while Tehran’s strategic calculus remains the driving force behind any potential move.
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), the High Court of Justice on Thursday ordered the government and the Jerusalem Municipality to move forward with obtaining building permits for long-delayed repairs and infrastructure upgrades at the Western Wall’s egalitarian prayer platform, setting binding procedural deadlines after years of stalled implementation tied to the 2016 Kotel Agreement. An expanded seven-justice panel unanimously ruled that authorities must complete the necessary steps to restore and upgrade Ezrat Yisrael, the southern prayer area designated for mixed-gender and non-Orthodox worship, and clarified that no additional cabinet or ministerial approval is required as a precondition for filing building-permit applications. Separately, the Board of Peace announced plans to rebuild Rafah in three years, starting with homes for 500,000 Gazans.
In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, two antisemitic individuals were arrested after using a water gun to spray unknown material on a Jewish man wearing a kippah outside a Miami synagogue; police say both suspects were charged with hate crimes.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, a Maariv poll found that a majority of Jewish Israelis attribute the high murder rate in Arab society to a cultural problem, with 56 percent of Jewish respondents holding that view while 57 percent of Arab respondents blamed police inaction. Across the full sample, about half cited cultural factors as the main cause, 31 percent cited police inaction, 12 percent cited restrictions by the judicial system on police and security agencies, and 8 percent said they did not know. On violent demonstrations, 69 percent said authorities should use the maximum force legally available, with opposition voters showing particularly strong support at 78 percent. The findings come amid ongoing uncertainty over Iran’s front and public uproar following an attack on two female soldiers in Bnei Brak. In sports, Israel’s bobsleigh team was disqualified on the final day of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after a teammate falsely claimed illness to allow a substitution; the deception was admitted, and the Israel Olympic Committee condemned the action and barred the team from further competition. In a separate security note, police in the city of Kafr Kara conducted Ramadan-related preparations and arrested three youths after they threw rocks at officers, with the police chief vowing zero tolerance for violence. In government matters, Micha’el Shem said that after the incident involving the attorney general, the cabinet meeting did not raise the topic of targeted killings.
In Israeli Economy and Business, Vision is described as a luxury residential project in th
IRGC Led Hezbollah Eyes Broader Israel Clash
Court Orders Western Wall Egalitarian Platform Upgrades
Three Year Rafah Rebuild for 500k Gazans
The time is now 7:02 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, the Institute for the Study of War says Hezbollah could seek to involve itself in a broader conflict by aiming at Israel, should Tehran perceive that the United States or Israel intends to topple the Islamic regime. Al-Arabiya reports that Hezbollah is now being led by officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Lebanon, with new arrivals from Tehran and plans to accelerate rebuilding Hezbollah’s military capabilities. The ISW assessment notes that Hezbollah’s foundational ideology, tied to the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, binds its actions to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the group has suffered damage from the conflict with Israel and faces a weakened political position in Lebanon, making recovery a priority, while Tehran’s strategic calculus remains the driving force behind any potential move.
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), the High Court of Justice on Thursday ordered the government and the Jerusalem Municipality to move forward with obtaining building permits for long-delayed repairs and infrastructure upgrades at the Western Wall’s egalitarian prayer platform, setting binding procedural deadlines after years of stalled implementation tied to the 2016 Kotel Agreement. An expanded seven-justice panel unanimously ruled that authorities must complete the necessary steps to restore and upgrade Ezrat Yisrael, the southern prayer area designated for mixed-gender and non-Orthodox worship, and clarified that no additional cabinet or ministerial approval is required as a precondition for filing building-permit applications. Separately, the Board of Peace announced plans to rebuild Rafah in three years, starting with homes for 500,000 Gazans.
In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, two antisemitic individuals were arrested after using a water gun to spray unknown material on a Jewish man wearing a kippah outside a Miami synagogue; police say both suspects were charged with hate crimes.
In Israeli Domestic Politics, a Maariv poll found that a majority of Jewish Israelis attribute the high murder rate in Arab society to a cultural problem, with 56 percent of Jewish respondents holding that view while 57 percent of Arab respondents blamed police inaction. Across the full sample, about half cited cultural factors as the main cause, 31 percent cited police inaction, 12 percent cited restrictions by the judicial system on police and security agencies, and 8 percent said they did not know. On violent demonstrations, 69 percent said authorities should use the maximum force legally available, with opposition voters showing particularly strong support at 78 percent. The findings come amid ongoing uncertainty over Iran’s front and public uproar following an attack on two female soldiers in Bnei Brak. In sports, Israel’s bobsleigh team was disqualified on the final day of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after a teammate falsely claimed illness to allow a substitution; the deception was admitted, and the Israel Olympic Committee condemned the action and barred the team from further competition. In a separate security note, police in the city of Kafr Kara conducted Ramadan-related preparations and arrested three youths after they threw rocks at officers, with the police chief vowing zero tolerance for violence. In government matters, Micha’el Shem said that after the incident involving the attorney general, the cabinet meeting did not raise the topic of targeted killings.
In Israeli Economy and Business, Vision is described as a luxury residential project in th