Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-13 at 13:06

HEADLINES
Gaza City strikes Hamas hub evacuees rise
Forty eight hostages remain ceasefire talks endure
Lebanon begins Palestinian disarmament boosts state forces

The time is now 9:00 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

From Gaza, Israel’s military campaign expanded its focus on Hamas infrastructure as it pressed a warning to residents of Gaza City to move south. The Israeli army said a high-rise building in Gaza City used by Hamas was struck, part of a broader operation that comes as more than 250,000 Gazans have already emptied the city in response to evacuation orders. Spokesman Avichay Adraee CaucasianArabic remarks and the latest briefings describe a continuing effort to disable Hamas’s leadership and command networks while attempting to minimize civilian harm through warnings, precision strikes, and aerial surveillance. In the meantime, the Gaza Health Ministry releases tallies that the conflict has killed or left missing more than 64,600 people in the Strip, a figure the Israelis say reflects the toll among both civilians and combatants, while Israeli officials say their own figures place combatant deaths well into the tens of thousands and include both fighters in Gaza and attackers elsewhere.

On the hostage front, pressure remains intense as families of captives and their supporters plan marches and vigils across major Israeli cities. They warn that any action that undermines a potential ceasefire or the negotiated exchange risks jeopardizing the return of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. Israel maintains that any deal must secure the release of all captives and end the war on terms it can accept, including Hamas’s disarmament and a new governance arrangement for the Strip. Hamas has signaled a preference for a framework that would release captives and bodies in exchange for a ceasefire, but recent Israeli strikes on Doha against Hamas leadership have drawn sharp international questions and public scrutiny from negotiators who fear such actions could jeopardize progress toward hostage releases. The hostage issue remains central to the dispute, with 48 hostages known to be in Hamas hands and the fate of several others still unresolved.

In parallel, the broader regional and international landscape continues to shift. In the United States, discussions have continued over Americans detained in Afghanistan, with US officials meeting Taliban authorities in Kabul to address ongoing cases and broader bilateral issues. Washington signaled a careful approach, while reiterating that Americans abroad must be safeguarded. Separately, in a political moment shaped by security concerns, reports note a reorganization within the US administration aimed at coordinating wartime policy and strategy, reflecting a heightened focus on national security and crisis response as conflicts around the region evolve.

Lebanon’s arena also features shifting dynamics. Lebanese sources and regional observers note that the Lebanese army has begun a new phase in Palestinian disarmament, including the diversion of weapons shipments that were bound for Palestinian groups and reallocation to state forces. This development occurs amid a broader effort to reshape the balance of power along Lebanon’s southern border, where Israeli forces have conducted operations against militant infrastructure and leadership networks tied to Hezbollah, with the aim of preventing the regrouping of militant capabilities near the border.

Militaries in the region continue to respond to ongoing threats from within Gaza and beyond. Israel’s air and ground forces have targeted a multi‑story building in the city that, according to the army, housed Hamas military assets used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli troops in the area. The operation followed strict warning measures and the use of precise munitions, with commanders noting that militant...