Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-13 at 17:04

HEADLINES
Doha airstrike derails hostage deal
Gazans flee south as strikes widen
Russian drones breach Romanian airspace

The time is now 1:00 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

Good afternoon. Here is the latest hourly update on the Middle East and world developments shaping the day.

In Israel, hostage families began Saturday rallies, marching toward Hostage Square and expressing anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after an airstrike in Doha they say jeopardized a potential deal to secure the release of their loved ones. The families’ protest underscores how fragile negotiations remain as combat operations continue in the region. Israeli authorities say security forces have sealed the homes of two militants who carried out the attack at the Ramot junction in Jerusalem, as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt and deter such violence. On the ground in Gaza, the Israeli defense forces have warned residents to move south as they expand strikes ahead of the possibility of a broader ground operation. The latest security assessments place the number of Gazans who have left the city in the hundreds of thousands, with estimates converging around more than 250,000 to 280,000 displaced so far.

International diplomacy remains in a tense, high-stakes phase. In Doha, world leaders convened in support of Qatar and to condemn the Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas officials, a move viewed by many as jeopardizing efforts to reach a hostage deal. The United States has expressed unease as Qatar weighs a potential shift in its mediator role in the region, a development that could reshape the diplomacy surrounding the conflict. Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, families of hostages pressed for a prompt breakthrough, arguing that leadership decisions affecting negotiations have life-and-death consequences for their relatives.

Across Europe, a surge of political demonstrations has highlighted uneasy debates over immigration and national identity. In London, more than one hundred thousand demonstrators — including participants wearing flags and related symbols — gathered for a large anti-immigration march. The event drew speakers from various political spectra and was policed by hundreds of officers to manage a crowded and emotionally charged scene. In Madrid, an explosion in the Vallecas district injured twenty-one people; authorities have yet to determine a cause, and investigations are continuing.

Security events beyond the immediate theater of Israel and Gaza also command attention. Reports indicate two Russian drones entered Romanian airspace amid multiple intercept attempts, underscoring a broader sense of vulnerability on Europe’s eastern flank. In addition, a powerful reminder of regional fragility came from Iran, where a magnitude four point seven earthquake struck the southern part of the country, a stark reminder of the area’s seismic and geopolitical volatility.

On the diplomatic front in the United States, a federal review of campus antisemitism has drawn attention as the Trump administration has pressed universities to cooperate with investigations and address concerns over safety for Jewish students and staff. The administration’s broader message has been described by officials as a insistence on security and restraint, with a goal of safeguarding civil liberties while confronting extremism. The case of the University of California, Berkeley, which provided information about students and faculty to federal authorities as part of ongoing inquiries, illustrates the tension between academic freedom and national security concerns that the administration has framed as a priority in this period.

In Gaza City today, as evacuation orders push residents to relocate south, authorities report that more than two hundred eighty thousand Gazans have left the city since operations...