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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - September 23, 2026, 03 PM Eastern · Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Israel Today ongoing war report. I'm Noah Levi.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: We begin with deeply concerning news from the Judea and
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Samaria region. Neria Dov Later, the son of Israel's ambassador
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: to the United States, Yetchel Later, is fighting for his
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: life after a brutal car-ramming terror attack on Route 443
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  Speaker 1: near Beit Horon. Sources confirm Later sustained a severe head injury.
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  Speaker 1: and is in critical condition at Shah Zedek Medical Center
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, where doctors are battling to save him. Ambassador Leta,
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  Speaker 1: who previously lost his older son, Major Mosh Yedidia Leta,
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  Speaker 1: in combat in Gaza in November 2023, issued an emotional
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  Speaker 1: plea for prayers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials,
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  Speaker 1: including Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Finance Minister Beit Salel Smotrich,
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  Speaker 1: have expressed solidarity with the family and joined calls for
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  Speaker 1: Neria's recovery. The attack occurred when the terrorist accelerated his
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: vehicle toward a joint security patrol vehicle. In security operations
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: in the northern West Bank, Israeli police and border police
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  Speaker 1: forces uncovered a tunnel under construction approximately 25 metres deep
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  Speaker 1: and the initial excavation of a second tunnel in Kalkalia.
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  Speaker 1: During the operation, forces seized weapons including an M16 rifle
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  Speaker 1: and a sniper rifle along with ammunition, explosive materials, precursors
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  Speaker 1: and other devices. Four suspects were arrested at the scene.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: On efforts towards Gaza's future, a US-controlled panel, the Board
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  Speaker 1: of Peace, has briefed foreign diplomats on a $ 2. 4 billion
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  Speaker 1: recovery plan outlining 66 projects. However, significant hurdles remain and
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  Speaker 1: a definitive start date for implementation is uncertain, with donations
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  Speaker 1: being actively sought. Turning to international reactions... Reports indicate a
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  Speaker 1: demonstration scheduled for October 7 in Oslo, Norway, organised by
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  Speaker 1: the activist group Solidarity Network, is drawing strong criticism. According
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  Speaker 1: to jpost.com, the event is explicitly slated, in support of Hamas,
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  Speaker 1: Iran and Hezbollah, featuring the slogan Support the Palestinian Resistance,
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  Speaker 1: and promotional imagery depicting Hamas terrorists. Marielle Lerand, leader of
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: the Peace and Justice, FOR party participating in the event,
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  Speaker 1: made controversial remarks, stating the entire Norwegian parliament buys into
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  Speaker 1: a lie that Israel is a victim, and asserting that
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  Speaker 1: the real terrorists are Israel, the US, but also all
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  Speaker 1: countries that are part of the NATO alliance, including Norway.
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  Speaker 1: Lerand also referred to the October 7th attacks as a
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  Speaker 1: counter-attack against a genocide that was already underway, and has
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  Speaker 1: previously stated support for what she calls the legitimate resistance
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  Speaker 1: struggle of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's President Ebrahim
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  Speaker 1: Raisi stated in remarks that Tehran is open to talks
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  Speaker 1: but will not yield to US pressure. He also reiterated
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  Speaker 1: that Iran will never abandon its peaceful nuclear programme, while
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  Speaker 1: emphasising commitment to resistance for Iran and Gaza. In a
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  Speaker 1: case involving alleged Iranian espionage, Anna Bernstein, who presented herself
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: as a model and influencer, was released yesterday to house
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: arrest after nearly two years in prison, according to Telegram
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: channel Newsil. She is accused, along with her partner, of
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  Speaker 1: carrying out paid missions for an Iranian agent, including acts
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  Speaker 1: of vandalism and arson. Her partner also faces accusations related
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: to assassination plots and attempting to acquire weapons. Bernstein reportedly
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  Speaker 1: admitted during her interrogation that she understood she was dealing
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: with a dangerous terrorist, but chose to close her eyes.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: In the United States, shareholders of the New York Times
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  Speaker 1: have filed a lawsuit against the paper's parent company. alleging
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: a failure to adhere to its own editorial standards, particularly
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. As reported by jpost.com,
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  Speaker 1: the suit, filed by the State Board of Administration of
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  Speaker 1: Florida and the National Center for Public Policy Research, seeks
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  Speaker 1: internal records related to the paper's reporting. Concerns include allegations
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: of bias, issues with corrections, and disputed reporting, such as
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the coverage of the Al-Ali hospital explosion. A purported newsroom whistleblower,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: described as a Jewish former employee, claimed that internal channels
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  Speaker 1: failed to address her complaints about bias and adherence to standards,
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  Speaker 1: even alleging that complaints were escalated against her. In Canada,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: New Democratic Party leader Avi Lewis is facing significant criticism,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: according to jpost.com, for a social media post made at
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  Speaker 1: the start of Yom Kippur. Lewis wrote that he was
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: reflecting on the fact that we failed to do our
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  Speaker 1: part to stop an ongoing genocide committed in our name. Critics,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: including federal politicians and advocacy groups, have condemned the remarks,
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  Speaker 1: arguing that holding Jewish people collectively responsible for the actions
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  Speaker 1: of the Israeli government constitutes antisemitism and endangers Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: Lewis later posted expressing solidarity with the Jewish community following
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  Speaker 1: a shooting outside a synagogue in Belleville, Ontario. Also in
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  Speaker 1: the US, a coalition of progressive Jewish leaders and Michigan
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  Speaker 1: Democrats have sent a letter to former Vice President Kamala Harris,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Urging her to question Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: his positions regarding Jewish safety and Israel during a joint
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  Speaker 1: campaign appearance, Jpost.com reports, the leaders expressed deep concern over
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: El-Sayed's past remarks, which they characterized as including anti-Semitic dog whistles,
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  Speaker 1: calling Israelis bloodthirsty, and referring to American support for Israel
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  Speaker 1: as purchased loyalty. In U.S. political commentary relevant to Israel,
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  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump shared an election poll on Truth Social
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  Speaker 1: projecting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc to win 54 seats
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: in the upcoming Israeli elections, according to Jpost.com. This follows
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  Speaker 1: prior statements from Trump, where he indicated he may endorse
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  Speaker 1: somebody in the Israeli election, but also conceded it might
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: be more appropriate for him to stay out of it. Domestically,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: the Kassel family held a demonstration in Jerusalem's Paris Square.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: demanding that the Shin Bet take over the investigation into
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  Speaker 1: the disappearance of their daughter. Heymanot Kasser, who has been
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  Speaker 1: missing for 941 days, reports Jpost.com. Her father expressed frustration
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  Speaker 1: with the current investigation, questioning the lack of leads and
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: urging for a more thorough inquiry. Shelly Shemtov, mother of
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: released hostage Omar Shemtov, spoke at the demonstration in solidarity.
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  Speaker 1: And a brief note on Israeli politics. Raviv Drucker reported
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  Speaker 1: via telegram channel Newsil that a UN speech will not
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: be broadcast tomorrow, unless it is sent by Prime Minister Netanyahu,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: indicating a specific conditionality for its airing. For continuing coverage
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: of antisemitism around the world, listen to Antisemitism Watch from
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Clockwork Media. Find it at clockworkmedia.org slash watch. I'm Noah Levi,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Israel Today ongoing war report.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Stay safe and informed. Follow Israel Today. ongoing war report
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: so consult multiple sources for a