Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-12 at 23:07

HEADLINES
Israel hits Hamas leaders in Qatar
Qatar leads hostage talks toward fragile ceasefire
Syria Israel talks hint at withdrawal

The time is now 7:00 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

An uneasy calm persists in the wider Israel-Iran arena as a fragile ceasefire holds amid ongoing regional salients. On the security front, Israel continues to face a confluence of threats from Iran and its allied networks while pressing for conditions that would prevent a broader widening of hostilities. In parallel, diplomacy remains the principal channel for managing opportunities and risks, with key mediators in Qatar and other partners watching closely as talks on hostage releases and a broader pause in fighting continue to unfold.

The latest run of events in Doha underscored the uniquely difficult balance between striking at Hamas leadership and preserving space for hostage negotiations. Israel moved to a high-profile airstrike against Hamas figures in Qatar after a plan to deploy ground operatives was reportedly opposed by the Mossad over concerns about the durability of Qatar’s mediation and the broader implications for future security ties. The operation relied on air-launch missiles fired from over the Red Sea, and Israeli officials described it as an approach designed to limit direct engagement on Saudi or Qatari soil. Hamas, for its part, indicated the strike did not kill senior leaders, though it did report casualties among associates and a Qatari officer. Western reporting also highlighted internal dissent within Israel’s security establishment about the timing of the operation, with some officials arguing that hostages and the prospect of a ceasefire deal were more fragile than the moment allowed.

In the wake of the Doha strike, diplomatic repercussions quickly echoed through the region. Qatar, a key mediator, has scheduled an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the incident, and allied voices in Europe and the United States publicly urged caution in a step that could complicate negotiations over hostage releases and a future security arrangement. President Donald Trump publicly criticized the decision as mishandled, while reporting in Washington noted frustration within the Trump administration over the timing and method of the operation and its possible impact on hostage negotiations. The broader US stance remains one of aligned cooperation with Israel to pursue security outcomes—an approach described in public discourse as peace through strength—while insisting that any military action not jeopardize critical diplomatic channels or hostage outcomes.

Beyond the Hamas leadership question, regional dynamics continue to shift as Syria’s political landscape evolves. Syria’s leadership has signaled that talks with Israel are ongoing about security arrangements and a possible Israeli withdrawal from areas seized in the aftermath of the regime’s fall. The willingness to engage in negotiations marks a notable shift in the assumptions that shaped the conflict’s earlier years, even as operational realities on the ground in neighboring Lebanon and along the Golan Heights continue to demand vigilance.

Lebanon remains a central piece of the regional puzzle. An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon reportedly killed at least one person, with Beirut offering little immediate comment from the IDF. The episode comes as Lebanon’s government pushes a plan to disarm Hezbollah in border zones, a move that officials say would be completed within three months under the current timetable. The ceasefire arrangements brokered in late 2023 and subsequently adjusted have allowed for a degree of stability along the frontier, but Hezbollah’s presence remains a potent element of regional security calculations. The long arc here is about the state’s capacity to enforce order, deter cross-border attacks, and manage...