Israel at War Day 723 September 28, 2025Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeSeptember 28, 2025UpdatesGaza aid flotilla resumes journey despite Israeli blockade threatBoats forming part of the Global Sumud Flotilla sail off Koufonisi islet, Greece, on Friday. Credit: Stefanos Rapanis/REUTERSBoats forming part of the Global Sumud Flotilla sail off Koufonisi islet, Greece, on Friday. Credit: Stefanos Rapanis/REUTERSA private fleet of around 50 vessels carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip has resumed its journey, according to ship-tracking service MarineTraffic.The boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), whose transponders were active on Sunday, were moving slowly about 50 kilometres south-east of the Greek island of Crete, the platform showed.The flotilla had to pause its journey over the past two days due to stormy winds and organizational issues. Weather conditions have now improved.It remains unclear whether the Spanish deep-sea patrol boat Furor and the Italian frigate Fasan, dispatched by Madrid and Rome to the eastern Mediterranean, have reached the flotilla. Both ships are intended to provide assistance if necessary, though how close they may approach the Israel-imposed blockade off Gaza is uncertain.Israel has warned it may use force to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza's coastline. The country has proposed that the activists redirect the aid to the Israeli port of Ashdod, from where it could be transferred to Gaza under controlled conditions.Cyprus has also been discussed as an alternative staging point, with occasional aid shipments sent from there to Ashdod before reaching Gaza.The flotilla organizers have rejected both options, insisting on delivering supplies directly to famine-hit Gaza.The Global Sumud Flotilla set off from Barcelona in late August with hundreds of activists on board. "Sumud" means steadfastness in Arabic.Last week, activists reported drone attacks on the fleet of ships, as well as flash grenades and disrupted radio communications.Iranian lawmakers discuss responses to reimposed UN sanctionsIran weighed Sunday how to respond to reimposed United Nations sanctions over its atomic program, with one lawmaker suggesting parliament would consider potentially withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.Speaking to the Young Journalists Club, which is affiliated with Iranian state television, lawmaker Ismail Kowsari said Parliament would discuss withdrawing from the nuclear treaty."Parliament will discuss this issue ... and decide on it," he said.Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued his own warning to those who would honor the UN sanctions as parliament began meeting Sunday."We announce that if any country wants to take action against Iran based on these illegal resolutions, it will face serious reciprocal action from Iran, and the three European countries that are the initiators of this illegal action will also face our reaction," Qalibaf said without elaborating, according to a report by the state-run IRNA news agency.High Court orders gov't to respond by Tuesday to petition seeking to prevent evacuation of Gaza hospitalsThe High Court of Justice ordered the government to respond by Tuesday to a petition submitted by several Israeli NGOs seeking to prevent the evacuation of Gaza's hospitals, and to allow patients, medical supplies and medical teams to reach them. The petition states that "even after two years during which Israel has occupied the Gaza Strip, Gazans have the right not to die due to lack of access to medical care." Submitted by Israeli NGOs the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Physicians for Huaman Rights, and HaMoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual, the petition cites testimonies from doctors on the ground and UN data indicating that the health system in Gaza is collapsing. Since the beginning of the month, four medical centers in Gaza have been closed, and the few operational hospitals have all been severely damaged by Israeli strikes, and are not properly equipped, according to the petition. "The duty to protect medical institutions and pensure provision of care to the sick and wounded is a basic duty under international law and has also been recognized in rulings of the High Court of Justice. Forcing patients from hospitals and denying them the right to treatment is a cruel act," wrote the organizations. Protesters arrested for 7th time after reading out Hostages' names outside Knesset speaker Amir Ohana's home A demonstrator who was reciting the names of the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip over a megaphone, opposite the Tel Aviv home of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Sunday morning, was arrested for the seventh time, as officials debate the legality of the protest.Police officers trying to break into Levy's vehicle, on Sunday. The police claim Levy was violating a ruling by Israel's High Court of Justice, by overstepping the permitted distance established by the court for noisy protests (using loudspeakers) in proximity to Ohana's home. Levy, who read out the hostages' names from a loudspeaker inside his car, claimed he could not be arrested inside his own vehicle without a court-ordered warrant.The police said Levy was arrested on suspicion of causing a disturbance to public order and assaulting a police officer.Read more on the arrest hereIran FM: Sanctions cannot be revived, Iran will not give in to bullyingIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated his opposition to the reimposition of UN snapback sanctions, saying that it was a "blatant abuse of process" and that the sanctions, which rely on a UN resolution set to expire next month, "cannot be revived." In a post on X, Araghchi said that "the U.S./E3 rejection of diplomacy is intent and premised on the miscalculation that 'might makes right', and that the Iranian People will give in to bullying."He stated that Germany, the U.K. and France "violated their obligations under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, thereby forfeiting any right to now claim. Their invocation of the so-called snapback mechanism is nothing but a blatant abuse of process. UNSCR 2231 will expire on Oct 18, 2025. Terminated sanctions cannot be revived and any attempt to do is null and void."In address before the UN Security Council, I outlined how the United States has betrayed diplomacy and how the E3 have buried it.