Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-12 at 22:07

HEADLINES
- Gaza hostage talks hinge on ongoing strikes
- Syria Israel push to restore 1974 ceasefire
- Lebanon moves to disarm Hezbollah near border

The time is now 6:00 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

This is 6:00 PM, and the news cycle remains dominated by the Gaza war and its wider regional reverberations. A fragile ceasefire relationship between Israel and Iran and their respective allied factions continues to hold only in a tense balance, with neither side declaring victory and both sides signaling readiness to respond to perceived provocations. In public diplomacy and back-channel diplomacy alike, the United States has reiterated a posture aligned with Israel’s security needs while stressing the importance of preventing a broader regional conflagration. Israel has pressed ahead with military pressure against groups it deems a direct threat, while also seeking to protect the possibility of hostage negotiations tied to any broader settlement.

On the Syrian front, Damascus confirms ongoing talks with Israel centered on renewing the 1974 ceasefire framework and restoring the security status quo that existed before the upheavals of recent years. Syrian officials say any new arrangement would require a withdrawal by Israel from territory it has seized, including Mount Hermon, and would restore the line of calm that existed prior to the latest rounds of conflict. President Bashar al-Assad’s government, though weakened, remains intent on reasserting sovereignty and reducing external threats through a renewed security architecture with Israel and international mediators. American and regional diplomats have taken part in discussions, with discussions also touching on the role of United Nations peacekeeping forces. In Lebanon, the government has signaled a push to disarm Hezbollah near the border, and Beirut’s pledge to restore order around the border area aligns with a broader aim to reduce cross-border hostilities after a period of intense tensions. Meanwhile, Egypt’s security coordination with Israel has reportedly been scaled back in the wake of events in Qatar, reflecting a recalibration of shared security interests and regional expectations.

Lebanon’s experience remains deeply intertwined with Hezbollah’s fate. In recent weeks, Israeli operations from the border and deeper into Lebanese territory have been part of a campaign that officials say is designed to degrade Hezbollah’s leadership and capabilities. The Lebanese cabinet’s plan to disarm Hezbollah near the border has drawn attention, with observers noting that the government asserts it can advance disarmament within a three-month horizon, though many details remain private. The border environment remains fragile, and the broader aim is to return to a state of mutual deterrence rather than open conflict.

In Gaza, Hamas’s operational capacity has been constrained but not erased. Israeli forces are continuing high-profile, high-intensity strikes on what the military describes as Hamas infrastructure, including high-rise targets and command and control nodes, as the army moves to clear corridors for a possible expansion of ground operations in Gaza City. Civilian casualties continue to mount, and the humanitarian crisis worsens by the day. Official figures from Gaza’s health authorities indicate dozens of deaths in Gaza City and surrounding areas on a single day, underscoring the perilous conditions faced by civilians amid evacuation warnings and displacement. The fates of hostages abducted during the October seventh attacks remain uncertain, with hundreds reportedly still unaccounted for. In Doha, a confrontation over leadership and strategy within Hamas drew international attention after a strike on Hamas leaders gathered there did not, by many accounts, eliminate the group’s top leadership. Hamas has publicly stated that several leaders...