The new round of airstrikes followed reports from the IDF that Hamas fighters had fired RPGs and sniper rounds at Israeli soldiers operating near the southern border. Hamas denied responsibility for some of the attacks, but Israeli leadership treated the claims as enough to greenlight immediate retaliation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would carry out powerful responses to protect Israeli lives, and the result was a series of strikes on what the IDF identified as Hamas weapons depots, observation sites, command posts, and tunnel networks used for movement throughout Gaza.
Israeli officials stressed that several Hamas commanders linked to recent attacks were targeted and killed. These operations aimed to degrade the group’s operational capacity and stop future cross-border strikes. Yet the reality on the ground reveals another layer. Gaza’s health authorities reported casualties that included women and children, and the strikes hit densely populated areas where civilians have fewer safe places left to go. Homes, apartment blocks, and stretched medical facilities all took damage. Yes, I know, this is starting to sound like a broken record.
The violence also expands beyond Gaza. The IDF reported intercepting activity from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel struck at what it said were rocket launch positions and weapons storage sites. That front remains a source of tension that could shift the conflict into something wider if either side misjudges the moment.
The United States brokered a ceasefire deal earlier in October, but the agreement has held together only through constant pressure. Every strike, every rocket launch, every casualty pushes against that balance. Israel frames these latest operations as tactical measures intended to protect Israeli territory and eliminate threats before they grow. For people inside Gaza, the blast patterns tell another story as civilian casualties rise and humanitarian conditions erode again.
This conflict sits on layers of history and mistrust, and neither side seems ready to pull back fully. Israel’s latest strikes show how quickly a ceasefire can strain when militants fire from the shadows and political leaders respond with force. The path to stability is still uncertain, and every day brings another test of how much the region can absorb before the tenuous quiet finally breaks.
A series of strikes were reported in Gaza yesterday evening and today after a Hamas terrorist attacked Israeli forces and several other Hamas terrorists attempted to exit a tunnel in Rafah within the Israeli side of the yellow line and approach Israeli forces. Several additional… pic.twitter.com/RACtRarYKj
— Tzvi Joffre (@TzviJoffre) November 22, 2025
China Drags Japan Before the United Nations as the Taiwan Flashpoint Heats Up
China’s latest move against Japan landed with the weight of a diplomatic warning shot. On November 21st, Beijing took its grievance to the United Nations and accused Tokyo of edging toward armed involvement in a potential Taiwan conflict. China’s Permanent Representative, Fu Cong, sent a letter to Secretary General António Guterres and circulated it to every member state. The message framed Japan’s recent comments about Taiwan as a direct challenge to China’s sovereignty and a threat that Beijing said it would meet with self-defense under international law.
This escalation traces back to Taiwan’s disputed status. China views Taiwan as a province that must be reunited, even if force is required. Taiwan operates as a democratic, self-governing society that rejects Beijing’s authority entirely. That tension has simmered for decades, but Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, threw a jolt into the region when she stepped away from Tokyo’s usual strategic ambiguity. Speaking before parliament on November 7, she said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan might present an existential crisis for Japan. Under Japan’s Peace and Security Legislation, that kind of crisis could justify collective self-defense.
For China, that crossed a line. Fu Cong called any Japanese military involvement an act of aggression. The consul general in Osaka went further with sharp remarks that many in Japan interpreted as thinly concealed threats. Beijing demanded a retraction. Tokyo refused and said Takaichi’s comments were consistent with Japan’s established security policies. What had been a tense relationship hardened into a dispute with global reach.
Economic fallout followed quickly. China halted imports of Japanese seafood and pulled the plug on planned cultural exchanges. Military friction rose as Chinese vessels maneuvered near disputed islands and conducted exercises in the Yellow Sea. Every move added pressure to a relationship already shaped by a long memory of past conflict.
This confrontation also exposes the strategic stakes in East Asia. China wants to rally support for its claim that outside involvement in Taiwan is interference in its core interests. Japan wants to show it will not stand idle if a conflict threatens its national security or regional stability. Both governments are signaling resolve, and neither is backing down.
China’s decision to elevate the clash to the United Nations shows how central the Taiwan question has become for both countries. What began as a set of pointed remarks has now shifted into a global forum, where each side hopes to shape the narrative before events on the ground decide it for them.
China’s envoy to the United Nations on Friday submitted a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres detailing Beijing’s position on what it calls “erroneous and dangerous” remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister #SanaeTakaichi about #Taiwan, according to the Chinese mission… pic.twitter.com/jfxxQprDgg
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) November 22, 2025
Evening Brief: Former Brazilian President Arrested, Israel Launches New Strikes into Gaza, China Takes Issues with Japan to the UN
Brazil drags its ex-president to prison for a coup gone sideways, Israel’s uneasy ceasefire buckles under fresh fire in Gaza, and China hauls Japan before the UN over Taiwan, each flashpoint showing how fast the global order can tilt when leaders gamble and the fallout hits every border at once. It’s Saturday, November 22nd, 2025. This is your SOFREP Evening Brief.
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