Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-15 at 02:11

HEADLINES
- Israel tightens strikes Iran axis under pressure
- Hamas wanes hostages keep Gaza tense
- Trump praises Qatar warns Israel

The time is now 10:00 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

Good evening. A fragile, uneasy ceasefire picture persists as Israel continues to press its security aims against Iran’s regional network while seeking to prevent Hamas from regaining operational capacity. At the same time, Washington’s approach toward Israel remains aligned with a stance of peace through strength, and allied cooperation remains central to how Jerusalem navigates the conflict and its broader security challenges.

In Syria, the country remains deeply fractured, and Israel is adapting to a shifting battlefield where Iranian influence still ambitions, but where the Assad regime’s grip is contested and increasingly stretched. Israeli forces have carried out targeted operations against remnants of the Assad regime, including raids on outposts that illustrate the ongoing contest over the regime’s reach. In a significant development cited by Israeli commanders, several abandoned regime sites were cleared and weapons caches were seized, signaling continued Israeli vigilance on the Hermon front as winter approaches and deployments extend into tougher conditions. Israeli officials describe the broader picture as a realignment of the regional balance, with the Iranian axis under pressure and facing a more constrained operational envelope.

Hezbollah’s posture remains a central concern for Israel, with officials emphasizing that Hezbollah’s capacity has been diminished by sustained Israeli actions in the north. Behind the front lines, Lebanon faces domestic pressure to reduce Hezbollah’s influence, even as the group retains the potential to reconstitute capabilities. In this environment, Israeli leaders caution that the Iranian axis is being weakened but warn that any signs of renewed aggression require a swift and decisive response to deter future escalations.

Turning to Gaza, the war’s momentum has shifted as Hamas’ military capacity has diminished, even as the hostage crisis keeps the situation dangerously unsettled. Israeli strategists say that any pause or ceasefire must be tightly linked to the return of hostages and to the dismantling of Hamas’ operational network. The government maintains that the objective remains the destruction of Hamas’ capacity to threaten Israeli civilians, while navigating the humanitarian and political complexities an extended hostilities pose.

On the international front, former president Donald Trump has weighed in on the Qatar relationship, praising Doha as a “great ally” to the United States while cautioning Israel to be “very careful” in its approach to Qatar. The message underscores a broader theme in American policy: support for security cooperation with Israel and steady engagement with partners seen as important in mitigating threats from Hamas and Iran, even as public diplomacy emphasizes measured actions. In Washington, the administration signaled ongoing discussions with regional partners; on the ground in the region, officials continue to coordinate through channels that seek to balance deterrence with the risk of broader conflict. In parallel, a scheduled bilateral engagement in Jerusalem between Israel and the United States’ top diplomatic figures, including a formal statement at the end of a meeting, reflects the continuing emphasis on close cooperation with Jerusalem on security and diplomacy.

Domestically in Israel, government decisions this hour reflect a careful balancing act between environmental, legal, and security concerns. A planning panel decided not to advance a plan by the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa to build a sulfur solidification facility until further review of benzene emissions from July and the readiness of emergency...