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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - September 28, 2026, 02 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 an escalating diplomatic dispute between Israel and
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  Speaker 1: the Netherlands. The Dutch government summoned Israel's ambassador to protest
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  Speaker 1: Israel's decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats
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  Speaker 1: stationed at the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. This Israeli move is
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  Speaker 1: a direct response to Dutch sanctions targeting Israeli settlement products
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  Speaker 1: from the West Bank. Israel's foreign ministry, through political director
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  Speaker 1: Gilad Cohen, called the Dutch ban outrageous and offensive, noting
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: it is leading to luggage inspections of Israeli travellers. Foreign
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  Speaker 1: Minister Gideon Sarr announced Israel's decision, vowing countermeasures against any
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  Speaker 1: country taking hostile and one-sided actions. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Berenson expressed regret. calling the decision unnecessary and stating it's
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: an obligation under international law not to contribute to unlawful situations.
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  Speaker 1: The Palestinian Authority condemned Israel's action, viewing it as an
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  Speaker 1: attempt to reduce the international and diplomatic presence. This exchange
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  Speaker 1: marks a significant escalation in relations. In a separate development
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  Speaker 1: concerning Iran, a recent Senate report reveals that Tether's USDT
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  Speaker 1: stablecoin has become a significant financial lifeline for the Islamic Republic.
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  Speaker 1: acting as a tool to fund proxy organisations, including Hezbollah.
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  Speaker 1: The report, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, analysed hundreds of
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  Speaker 1: sanctioned crypto wallets connected to Iran, finding that 84% of
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  Speaker 1: them transacted in USDT. Senator Blumenthal stated the findings expose
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: how Tether and its flagship token have become central to
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  Speaker 1: Iran's shadow banking system, enabling the Iranian government to move
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  Speaker 1: money and fund various activities amid US sanctions. The report
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  Speaker 1: calls for investigations by the Treasury and Justice Departments. Tether
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  Speaker 1: has stated its commitment to cooperating with the US government
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  Speaker 1: and supported past freezing of Iran-linked USDT. In southern Lebanon,
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  Speaker 1: IDF 55th Brigade troops have concluded their mission, destroying over
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  Speaker 1: 600 terror sites. The operation also included the demolition of
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  Speaker 1: eight underground bunkers and a Hezbollah tunnel that was found
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  Speaker 1: hidden inside a civilian home in the village of Al Mansoury.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: On the diplomatic front concerning Iran, a US official has
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  Speaker 1: indicated that President Donald Trump is willing to offer sanctions
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  Speaker 1: relief and the release of frozen funds. This offer is
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  Speaker 1: contingent on Iran making concrete progress on its nuclear issues.
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  Speaker 1: Indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials are described as
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  Speaker 1: positive and constructive, but a final deal will only be
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: reached if nuclear concerns are fully addressed. A new academic
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  Speaker 1: study is offering a different perspective on international accusations against Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Researchers Philippe Karp and Gunther Jikely have evaluated legal and
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  Speaker 1: historical claims labelling Israel as an apartheid state, a settler-colonial project,
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  Speaker 1: or guilty of genocide. Their analysis concludes that these accusations
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  Speaker 1: are not established. While acknowledging persistent disparities, the study notes
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  Speaker 1: Arab citizens participate in Israeli political life. Regarding the West Bank,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: It argues that while it presents the strongest case for accusation,
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  Speaker 1: the evidence does not establish the required intent for systematic
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  Speaker 1: racial domination. The study also distinguishes Gaza's situation from an
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  Speaker 1: institutionalised racial regime and points out limitations in applying the
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  Speaker 1: settler-colonial framework to Israel's context. Domestically, Israel's Supreme Court is
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  Speaker 1: set to hear arguments concerning the potential disqualification of Arab
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  Speaker 1: political parties and candidates, including Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh,
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  Speaker 1: and MK, Ofer Kasif. Experts and legal organisations warn that
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  Speaker 1: the intense political campaigning and increasingly exclusionary rhetoric surrounding these
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  Speaker 1: cases could frighten Arab voters, potentially making election participation feel dangerous.
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  Speaker 1: The Attorney General has expressed opposition to the disqualification of
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  Speaker 1: Kasif and the Joint List, citing insufficient legal evidence. In Austria,
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  Speaker 1: An Israeli family reportedly faced discrimination when they were denied
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  Speaker 1: service at a restaurant in Bad Hofgastien. According to reports,
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  Speaker 1: the owner allegedly told them they would not be served
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  Speaker 1: because we are Jewish. Eli Rosen, head of the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: community in Austria, described the antisemitism situation as worsening, with
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  Speaker 1: an increase in isolated incidents. The Israeli embassy in Austria
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  Speaker 1: has condemned the alleged discrimination. Separately, UN special rapporteur Francesca
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  Speaker 1: Albanese has issued an apology for misstatements made during an interview.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: She retracted claims that Jews were called Muslims in Nazi
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  Speaker 1: camps and admitted to misinterpreting the origin of the term antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: Albanese explained she misread the term muselman, a descriptor for
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: severely emaciated prisoners, and wrongly inferred that antisemitism originally encompassed
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  Speaker 1: hatred of all Semitic peoples. The term was, in fact,
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  Speaker 1: coined specifically to denote hatred of Jews. Yad Vashem noted
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  Speaker 1: the historical inaccuracy of her use of the term. An
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: investigation by Fake Reporter alleges a coordinated network of over
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  Speaker 1: 100 social media accounts was used to target political rivals
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  Speaker 1: of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givir. The investigation reportedly suggests
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: some accounts used AI-generated identities and that the network has
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  Speaker 1: ties to a consulting firm involved in his party's election campaign.
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  Speaker 1: Minister Ben-Givir's office has denied these allegations. A controversial remark
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: from a Likud candidate has surfaced, with reports stating he
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: wished he could return ex-hostage Yoshevd Lifshitz to Hamas. Lifshitz,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: who was held captive by Hamas, has accused Prime Minister
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Netanyahu of orchestrating this candidate's public statement to incite against her.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Potentially as a distraction from prior reports about warnings, the
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  Speaker 1: Prime Minister allegedly received before the October 7 attack. In Gaza,
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  Speaker 1: intelligence assessments have prompted heightened alert within two IDF divisions.
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  Speaker 1: A senior officer has indicated that Hamas may be looking
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: to replicate the scenario of creating another Gilad Shalit before
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  Speaker 1: upcoming elections in Israel and the United States. For continuing
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: coverage of antisemitism around the world, listen to Antisemitism Watch
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: from Clockwork Media. Find it at clockworkmedia.org slash watch. I'm
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Noah Levi, thank you for joining us on Israel Today,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Ongoing War Report. Stay safe and informed. Follow Israel Today,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: ongoing war report in your podcast app so you don't
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: miss the next update. Keep in mind that this AI-generated
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: a comprehensive view.