Episode Details

HEADLINES
Israel targets Iran's Arak and Ardakan facilities
Iran fires hundreds of missiles at Israel
Hezbollah tunnel stocked near El-Khiam church

The time is now 2:02 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In Operation Lion's Roar, Israel confirmed strikes on Iran’s Khandab heavy water reactor in Arak and the Ardakan uranium enrichment facility on Friday, part of a broader attack the IDF described as targeting regime military infrastructure. Iranian state media noted that the Ardakan facility produces yellowcake, a concentrated uranium powder used in early fuel manufacturing. An official told Fars News Agency that there were no casualties at the heavy water site and that there is no danger to nearby residents; Fars also said the facility was struck twice. The IDF said heavy water is a material used to operate reactors such as Arak’s and can be used as a neutron source for nuclear weapons. The targeted complex near Arak has been described as an economic asset for the regime, generating tens of millions of dollars for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, and the Arak facility has been linked to a reactor complex that was damaged in the 12‑Day War. Iran has said the reactor is used for research and medical isotopes, and under the 2015 nuclear accord Iran pledged to redesign the reactor and fill its core with concrete to prevent military use, though Tehran has been seen preserving options for return. Reports also indicate Israeli forces attacked power facilities in Khondab, Iran.

In Iranian Retaliation, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles toward Israel since the start of the conflict, with fragments four to five meters long falling across Israel and the West Bank. Some fragments are the size of small trucks and have landed in places including near Nablus and in a West Bank schoolyard, leaving behind hazardous debris and raised concerns about unexploded ordnance or toxic materials. Israeli authorities warned that these objects pose explosion and shrapnel risks. Roughly 270 fragments have fallen across the West Bank, with the majority near Ramallah and others near Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Salfit. Separately, satellite imagery appears to show a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker destroyed and several others possibly damaged after an Iranian attack earlier today against Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, carried out with ballistic missiles and drones.

In Regional Impacts, Ukraine is closing in on security accords with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to counter Iranian drone attacks, with discussions aimed at broader cooperation—including unmanned technologies—and a push to involve China in end‑of‑war efforts as Kyiv seeks continued Western support for its war against Russia. Gulf Arab states have told the United States that ending the war is not enough; they want any deal with Tehran to permanently degrade Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz and global energy supplies remain protected, with enforceable restraints on attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping. There are also reports suggesting Iran is seeking a ceasefire, a signal some interpret as a battlefield reality, while the conflict’s economic dimension persists with reports that Ahvaz’s steel plants are burning.

In the Conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, the skies above Haifa were illuminated by a barrage from Lebanon earlier, signaling ongoing cross‑border escalation. The IDF said it uncovered a Hezbollah tunnel stocked with weapons near a church in the southern Lebanese village of El‑Khiam, an area previously cleared in 2024. The military described Hezbollah as exploiting Lebanon’s Christian population and turning villages into battle zones, with church grounds used for military purposes and civilians prevented from fleeing, a pattern the IDF said endangers Christian civilians and property.