Israel News for 9-25-2025
News Update
The Israel Air Force struck over 170 Hamas targets in Gaza over the last 24 hours, while IDF forces continue to destroy Hamas in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis. [Hard to believe that Hamas is still there, but unfortunately, they keep coming back for more.] In Gaza City, Hamas fired a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile at a helicopter, missing it. Staff Sergeant Chalachew Shimon Demalash, aged 21, from Be’er Sheva, a soldier in the 932nd Battalion, Nahal Brigade, was killed by Hamas sniper fire in Gaza City.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is hopeful that a breakthrough on the war in Gaza could be announced in the coming days, based on a 21 point plan that President Trump is promoting to Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The proposal reportedly calls for the release of all hostages held by Hamas, a permanent ceasefire, the end of the war, the creation of a civilian governing mechanism in Gaza with the involvement of moderate Arab states and the Palestinian Authority, a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the entry of international aid.
An international flotilla comprises around 50 civilian boats are on their way to Gaza to “break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza”, and they’re being escorted by 2 Italian Navy ships and Spanish Navy ship, while in international waters. The Israeli Navy, with Air Force support, is working to disrupt the flotilla’s progress toward Israel, but it will avoid engaging with the European warships and wait until the flotilla enters Israeli waters before intercepting it. In her speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of “a massacre of civilians” and said Italy would support European Commission-backed sanctions against Israel. She acknowledged that only Hamas had the power to release the hostages and end the war, and that Italy would recognize a Palestinian state when all the hostages are released and Hamas is not part of the government. She also called the Gaza flotilla “unjustified, dangerous and irresponsible,” and that, “We must not endanger our safety. There is no need to enter a combat zone to deliver aid to Gaza – aid that Italian authorities can send there within hours.” For more, click here.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plane avoided flying over France and other European countries on route to New York today, to avoid the possibility of having to make an emergency landing in countries calling for his arrest under a warrant issues by the International Criminal Court. Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on Friday and then meet with President Trump.
