Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-11-22 at 21:08

HEADLINES Gaza ceasefire frays as Hamas leaders killed Iran back channel signals regional stakes Israel launches New Order to curb violence The time is now 4:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report. At four o’clock this afternoon, the Middle East sits at a moment of renewed vigilance as security and political calculations intersect across Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Israel’s own internal discourse. Israeli officials say the region remains volatile, with ongoing violations in Lebanon and Gaza framed against Iran’s apparent push to rebuild its ballistic missile program and Moscow-style signals of broader regional pressure. Officials emphasize that these developments heighten the risk of preemptive action if deterrence fails, and they stress that Israel is prepared to respond to violations of any ceasefire or security arrangement. In Gaza, Israeli forces conducted a sequence of strikes after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on troops along the southern edge of Gaza. The Israeli government says five senior Hamas officials were killed in the retaliatory airstrikes, describing the strikes as a response to continued hostilities. Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defense agency put tally on the day at roughly 21 dead, a figure that reflects the difficulty of independently verifying casualty totals amid the fighting. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office characterized the Hamas action as a clear violation of the ceasefire, while Hamas officials signaled concerns about violations and called on mediators to balance the terms of the exchange. A separate line coming from Arab mediators suggested that while Hamas fighters had carried out a number of ceasefire violations, Israel’s responses had been disproportionate in some assessments, leading to civilian casualties in Gaza. US officials noted that the Trump administration supports Israel’s broader approach in Gaza, while acknowledging the fragility of the pause in hostilities. Tensions also played out on the ground near Rafah, where the IDF said it killed or captured all 17 Palestinian operatives who had emerged from a Hamas tunnel and attempted to flee toward Hamas-held areas. The operation followed a 24-hour pursuit, during which airstrikes killed several of the fleeing gunmen and troops detained others. A supply-line commander for Hamas’s weapons manufacturing network was among those struck in Gaza City, according to Israeli officials. The IDF says it updated the ceasefire mechanism ahead of the strike, and the broader objective remains to deter and disrupt the operational capabilities of Hamas and allied groups. Separately, Arabic-language media reported searches for the final three bodies of hostages held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with excavations underway in central Gaza and surrounding neighborhoods as negotiators press for the immediate return of the remaining hostages and the disarmament of armed groups, as outlined in the US-brokered framework. Diplomatically, Iran’s top foreign minister asserted a direct communications channel with the American envoy tasked with handling messages surrounding the region. Abbas Araghchi said he maintains a direct line with US envoy Steve Whitakoff to exchange messages on the broader regional situation, signaling ongoing back-channel diplomacy amidst the questions about the viability of the current ceasefire and the strategic implications for negotiations with Israel and its allies. The United States, while publicly backing certain Israeli actions in Gaza, continues to emphasize mediation and the avoidance of a broader regional conflagration, even as other regional actors stress the gravity of the stakes. Across Europe and beyond, security developments continued to unfold in areas not far from the main flashpoints. In the Netherlands, defenses reported the detection of several drones near Amsterdam’s international airport, prompting temporary shutdowns of civilian and, in some cases, military air traffic while authorities assessed the threat and prepared countermeasures. The incident underscores the wider concern about unmanned aerial systems in increasingly tense environments, where even marginal security breaches can escalate quickly. In Israel itself, the weekend’s violence extended beyond the theatres of war. Police said a violent weekend occurred with various criminal incidents, including deadly shootings and other crimes in multiple cities, though officials stressed that the incidents appeared to be motivated by criminal activity rather than nationalist or terrorist aims. Law enforcement authorities in the southern region said a major operation would continue to target criminal networks and illicit weapons exchanges, part of a sustained effort to restore security and public order in the face of rising violence and intercommunal tensions. In related domestic security events, the government announced a large-scale operation named “New Order” to curb shootings and the leakage of military-grade w