English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 25/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?" So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 20/01-16/‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?" They said to him, "Because no one has hired us." He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard." When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first." When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat."But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?" So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 24-25/2025
Israel says holding off on exit as Lebanon army deployment under deal stalls
Israeli refusal to fully withdraw from Lebanon sparks regional concerns
Israel sees more to do on Lebanon ceasefire as deadline nears
Israeli forces to stay in south Lebanon beyond withdrawal deadline
Does Hezbollah Not Feel Ashamed of Blaming the Lebanese State for Any Delay in Israel's Withdrawal?/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/X site/January 24, 2025
Govt. formation process: Latest developments
Washington Urges Immediate Ceasefire Extension as Tensions Continue in Southern Lebanon
Israel prepares for possible Hezbollah fire, residents may force their way into towns
Kuwaiti foreign minister visits Lebanon to express support
Renewed Gulf Support: Kuwait's Foreign Minister in Lebanon to Strengthen Ties
Lebanese from devastated Naqoura return home, only to find ruins
Emirates airline to resume flights to Beirut
UAE announces reopening of embassy in Beirut
Extension of Social Security Contribution Deadline to March 31, 2025
Taif Agreement Carries No Provision of Monopoly on Ministerial Portfolios/Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
Mine Clearance in Lebanon: When Will Displaced Families Return South?/Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
The Last Shot… Ending Amal-Hezbollah Grip on Finance Ministry/Johnny Kortbawi/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
IDF said bombed apartments were Hezbollah base - but most of dead were civilians/Nawal al-Maghafi/BBC/January 24, 2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 24-25/2025
Israeli drone strike kills two in major ongoing West Bank operation
Gaza life expectancy nearly half prewar levels: Study
Netanyahu suffers health challenges, court documents reveal
Israeli PM office confirms it received list of hostages to be released by Hamas
UN denounces Israel’s use of ‘war fighting’ methods in West Bank
One minute, they were celebrating Gaza’s ceasefire. The next, they were killed
Freedom is bittersweet for Palestinians released from Israeli jails
A dramatic video showing the aftermath of the incident was shared widely online.
Saudi foreign minister calls for ending Syria sanctions during talks in Damascus
ADNOC shipping rules out quick return to Red Sea, CEO says
Davos 2025 concludes with regular WEF meeting in Riyadh announced starting spring 2026
Trump immigration enforcement memo targets migrants who entered legally under Biden
Syria cancels port management contract with Russian firm, sources say
Saudi FM in Syria for first visit since Assad's ouster
Saudi Foreign Minister: Riyadh is engaged in negotiations to lift sanctions on Syria and we are receiving positive signals in this regard
Al-Shara: We will not allow the division of Syria or the threat of Kurdish militants to Turkey and efforts to reactivate the free trade agreement between Ankara and Damascus
Syrian security forces confront an attack by elements of the former regime in Jableh, and were able to neutralize the attackers

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 24-25/2025
Question: “Is it acceptable to repeatedly pray for the same thing?”/GotQuestions.org?/January 24/2025
Turkey is more dangerous to Israel than Iran/Amine Ayoub/Ynetnews/January 24/2025
How Dearborn became symbol of pro-Iranian influence in America/Eran Lahav/Ynetnews/January 24/2025
Video/Text/Arabic & English/Gaza Ceasefire: Implications for Israel, Hamas, and U.S. Policy/Dennis Ross, Matthew Levitt, Neomi Neumann/The Washington Institute./January 25/2025
Iran Makes Second Effort to Recover IRGC Officer from Iraqi Custody/Michael Knights/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025
Opening the Floodgates: The Gaza Deal and Trump’s Presidency/Assaf Orion/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025
Expect the Unexpected with Trump and the Gulf/Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 24-25/2025
Israel says holding off on exit as Lebanon army deployment under deal stalls
Ynetnews/January 24/2025
In statement PMO says Lebanon army not deployed to the south to enforce Hezbollah's removal north of the Litani, says gradual withdrawal of troops in cooperation with U.S. The Prime Minister's office (PMO) announced Friday that the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon would be delayed. The military was supposed to complete its pullout of troops by Sunday, 60 days after the cease-fire agreement in the war with Hezbollah was signed. "The agreement was articulated with the understanding that the process may take more than 60 days," the PMO said. "It is conditioned on the Lebanese army is deployed in South and effectively enforcing the terms of the deal, as Hezbollah withdraws its forces north of the Litani River.  According to the PMO, since that has not yet been fully enforced by Lebanon, Israel will continue a gradual l its commitments under the deal, and while Hezbollah forces would be pushed out of the region, north of the LItani River. Since that has not been fully enforced by Lebanon, the gradual withdrawal of troops would continue in full cooperation with the United states." The cabinet decided on Thursday that it would react forcefully to Hezbollah's violation of the cease-fire agreement, but the ministers do not believe this would put the deal at risk. Although the Shi'ite terror group accused Israel of violations and speakers for the group warned that the war could resume, it only once used military force in response to the IDF's fire.  Leaders in the opposition also urged a delay in the IDF withdrawal, citing the danger to the residents of the north if the cease-fire terms are not fully implemented. "The IDF must continue and increase its actions in the face of even the slightest Hezbollah violation of the deal. We must insist that the resident of the north would never again be under threat," former defense minister Benny Gantz said. "During IDF operational activity in the Saluki area last week, 769th Brigade troops located several significant underground routes intended to be used by Hezbollah terrorist operatives. Combat engineering and Yahalom Unit soldiers investigated the routes before dismantling them," the IDF said in a statement on Friday. "The troops also located a weapons cache inside a mosque, a vehicle loaded with weapons, hundreds of mortar shells, explosives, rockets, weapons, and additional Hezbollah military equipment." The military said other forces located trucks carrying heavy rocket launchers, along with several weapons storage facilities containing a large number of rockets, shoulder-fired missiles, launchers, mortar shells, explosives, and military equipment. "All weapons were confiscated, and the weapons storage facilities were dismantled."

Israeli refusal to fully withdraw from Lebanon sparks regional concerns
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/January 24, 2025
BEIRUT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday Israeli troops would not withdraw from the border area of southern Lebanon in accordance with the time frame set in the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, amid claims that the Lebanese Army has not fulfilled its obligations.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun held talks with France and the US to urge Israel to fully implement the agreement and withdraw within the stipulated timeframe to prevent the situation from deteriorating. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati also called on the US to “intervene to ensure the implementation of Resolution 1701 and Israel’s withdrawal.”On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said that “the gradual withdrawal from Lebanon will continue in full coordination with the US administration.”However, the Israeli Cabinet decided that “the Israeli Army will remain in its current positions,” warning that “the Israeli Army is prepared for any scenario and will respond harshly and immediately to any violations by Hezbollah.”Israeli media reports said “Israel is requesting an additional one-month delay in the withdrawal of its army from Lebanon and an extension of the ceasefire agreement.”The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that “the political leadership has instructed the army to remain in the eastern sector of Lebanon,” noting that “the additional period before the complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon may range from days to weeks.” The development accompanied continued Israeli operations in the border region, particularly in the eastern sector. Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed Israeli forces “uncovered several underground tunnel routes belonging to Hezbollah in Wadi Saluki, intended for the party’s members to take shelter,” asserting that “these routes have been destroyed.”
Adraee spoke about “the discovery of a stockpile of weapons inside a mosque, as well as a vehicle loaded with weapons, and hundreds of mortar shells, improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and other military equipment.”He said: “In another operation by the Golani Brigade, trucks loaded with heavy rocket launchers were found, along with weapons depots that contained large quantities of rocket shells, mortars shells, shoulder-launched rockets, improvised explosive devices and military equipment.”Calls intensified from border area residents following Israel’s announcement to gather on Sunday and demand to be allowed to return to their villages. On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was informed by US Gen. Jasper Jeffers, head of the international committee monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, of “Israel’s intention to extend the presence of its forces in several locations in southern Lebanon,” according to information distributed about the meeting. Berri told the general “that people will head to their villages on Sunday.”In a statement, Hezbollah said that “Israel’s failure to adhere to the 60-day deadline is an attack on sovereignty that requires the state to act and address it, using all international means and conventions to reclaim Lebanese territories and liberate them from the grip of occupation.”
At the political level, Lebanon received further Gulf support for its new leadership.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, along with a delegation from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry and the GCC, held meetings with Lebanese leaders in Beirut on Friday. This visit, along with the visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan less than 24 hours earlier to Beirut, where he met with Lebanese officials and emphasized the importance of implementing Resolution 1701, carry exceptional importance in light of the developments in Lebanon and the wider region. During his meeting with Aoun, Al-Yahya reaffirmed Kuwait’s “support, endorsement and commitment to standing by Lebanon to provide all necessary aid in all fields.”He stressed “activating the Lebanese-Kuwaiti joint committees to address the issues raised according to Lebanon’s needs” was of the utmost importance, recalling that Lebanon “was the first country to condemn the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait through the stance of late Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss.”Albudaiwi conveyed the GCC’s “unwavering support for Lebanon and its sovereignty,” emphasizing its commitment to “the non-interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs.” He affirmed that “the GCC is moving toward helping Lebanon in terms of economic development projects after implementing the intended reforms,” noting that “a Gulf program for Lebanon is set to be developed in cooperation with the future Lebanese government.” Aoun said he hoped “for Kuwaitis in particular and the Gulf people in general to come back and visit Lebanon,” stressing that “the Arab countries’ unity is the cornerstone for confronting current challenges.” The president affirmed that “after forming the government, we will establish new foundations for cooperation with the Gulf countries,” adding that “the main titles of these new foundations were included in the inauguration speech, which set the rules for building the state.”Both Gulf officials met with Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, who affirmed “the importance of working to confront the internal challenges faced by Lebanon during this period.” Salam stressed “the significance of restoring Lebanese-Gulf relations, which he sees as a priority in the near future.”
The Gulf officials also met with caretaker Mikati and Berri.
The Kuwaiti minister and the GCC secretary-general held a joint press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habibi following a meeting. Al-Yahya said: “We reaffirm our solidarity with Lebanon, and our firm commitment to supporting its sovereignty and territorial unity, as well as the importance of implementing the UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1701, and the Taif Agreement. “We look forward to building the best relations with Lebanon and strengthening security and stability in the region,” he added. Al-Yahya affirmed that “the GCC had called for the full adherence to the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping forces,” pointing out “the importance of the role played by the army and the security forces to achieve security in the country.” He said: “We encourage the implementation of the intended reforms. There’s a historical chance to overcome the past challenges and start the reconstruction and development process in a way that achieves the Lebanese people’s prosperity aspirations.”Al-Budaiwi stated: “We are very pleased with what we heard from the Lebanese leadership and its keenness to achieve the needed reforms and the internationally-recommended programs to ensure the country’s stability. “These reforms constitute the right path toward Lebanon’s recovery. We believe in the necessity to implement these mandatory reforms and the security council’s resolutions, namely Resolution 1701, and the Taif Agreement.”
He reiterated the final communique of the ministerial committee’s extraordinary meeting in regard to supporting the five-nation group on Lebanon.

Israel sees more to do on Lebanon ceasefire as deadline nears
Reuters/January 24, 2025
Summary
60-day period set out in US-brokered truce ends on Sunday
Israeli government sees 'much more work to do'
Hezbollah says exceeding 60-day period would violate deal.
Hezbollah also urges pressure on Israel
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Sunday as set out in the deal.
The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Sunday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT). The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened. "There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. "We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue. Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.
Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable. The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly". Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said. Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire. It inflicted major blows on Hezbollah during the conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and thousands of the group's fighters and destroying much of its arsenal. The group was further weakened in December when its Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled, cutting its overland supply route from Iran.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, said Israel had put an end to hostilities and was removing its forces from Lebanon, and that the Lebanese army had gone to locations of Hezbollah ammunition stores and destroyed them. He also indicated there was more to do to shore up the ceasefire. "Are we done? No. We will need more time to achieve results," he said.
Three diplomats said on Thursday it looked like Israeli forces would still be in some parts of southern Lebanon after the 60-day mark. A senior Lebanese political source said President Joseph Aoun had been in contact with U.S. and French officials to urge Israel to complete the withdrawal within the stipulated timeframe. The Lebanese government has told U.S. mediators that Israel's failure to withdraw on time could complicate the Lebanese army's deployment, and this would be a blow to diplomatic efforts and the optimistic atmosphere in Lebanon since Aoun was elected president on Jan. 9.

Israeli forces to stay in south Lebanon beyond withdrawal deadline
Middle Eastcategory · January 24, 2025
JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon beyond a Sunday deadline stipulated in a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah because the terms of the agreement have not been fully implemented, the Israeli prime minister's office said on Friday.
Under the agreement, which came into effect on Nov. 27, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani river and Israeli troops should withdraw as the Lebanese military deploys into the region, all within a 60-day timeframe due to conclude on Sunday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).
The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that left Hezbollah severely weakened and displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli military's withdrawal process was "contingent on the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani". "Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, the gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States," the statement said. There was no immediate comment from Lebanon or Hezbollah. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hezbollah said on Thursday that any delay of Israel's withdrawal would be an unacceptable breach of the agreement, with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters". Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket fire. It inflicted major blows on Hezbollah during the conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and thousands of the group's fighters and destroying much of its arsenal. Hezbollah was further weakened in December when its Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled, cutting its overland supply route from Iran.

Does Hezbollah Not Feel Ashamed of Blaming the Lebanese State for Any Delay in Israel's Withdrawal?
(Free translation by: Elias Bejjani)
By Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/X site/January 24, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/139383/
Does Hezbollah not feel ashamed of holding the Lebanese state responsible for any delay in Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, while it is the primary culprit for igniting the war that devastated the country? How can a party that chose to gamble with the lives of its people and the security of its nation justify burdening the state with the consequences of a disaster it caused?
According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to withdraw by January 26. However, it informed the United States of its desire to extend the withdrawal deadline by an additional month. Yet Hezbollah, instead of owning up to its responsibility for the dire situation it brought upon Lebanon, resorts to threats of returning to war, declaring that any delay would be considered a severe breach and escalation.
But the real question is: who gave Hezbollah the right to speak on behalf of Lebanon and single-handedly hold the state accountable for the consequences of its recklessness? If it weren’t for dragging Lebanon into a destructive war under the guise of “supporting Gaza,” Israel wouldn’t have invaded Lebanese territory in the first place. This party is responsible for the destruction, for displacing thousands, killing hundreds, and for the collapse of Lebanon’s economy and security. Enough adventures, enough crimes, and enough gambling with the future of a great nation and a kindhearted people.
Let the Lebanese state breathe without being shackled by your agendas and conflicts. Let the people rebuild what your policies have destroyed. Lebanon needs peace, not threats and intimidation. Either remain silent or leave if you truly care about the welfare of this country.

Govt. formation process: Latest developments
Naharnet/January 24, 2025
and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam are “not opposed to giving the finance portfolio to the Shiite community, but not to the Shiite Duo,” MTV reported on Friday. Moreover, MTV said that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Salam in their meeting Thursday of “the need to conduct reforms.”
“The PM-designate agreed with him and stressed the importance of political, financial and administrative reform,” MTV added. Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that Salam has told visitors that he has “agreed to keep the finance portfolio with Shiites” and that he will “choose the name from among several candidates.” “He is also studying how to settle the issue of the candidates nominated for the defense and interior portfolios, amid President Aoun’s demand that they be under his supervision in one way or another,” al-Akhbar added.

Washington Urges Immediate Ceasefire Extension as Tensions Continue in Southern Lebanon
This is Beirut/January 24, 2025
As the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon nears its expiration on Monday, January 27, Washington has called for an urgent extension, urging Lebanese authorities to consider a temporary and short-term prolongation. The call comes as Tel Aviv announced its intention to extend its military withdrawal from southern Lebanon beyond the 60-day period originally outlined in the truce agreement. In a statement to Al Arabiya English on Friday, Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, emphasized the urgent need for an extension. He noted, “A temporary, short-term extension of the ceasefire is crucial to ensure that Hezbollah does not pose a threat to the Lebanese people or their neighbors.” Hughes also confirmed that the US is working with its allies to finalize the terms of the extension.
President Donald Trump, according to Hughes, remains committed to the safe return of Israeli citizens to northern Israel and is also offering support to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the newly formed Lebanese government. Hughes expressed approval that Israeli forces had already begun withdrawing from the central sector of southern Lebanon, in line with the ceasefire agreement.
However, earlier on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the Israeli military would extend its withdrawal beyond the original 60-day deadline, citing Lebanon's failure to fully implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement. This announcement followed Tel Aviv’s assertion that the Lebanese government had not met its obligations, particularly regarding Hezbollah’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Lebanese forces were to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces began their phased pullback. While Israel has evacuated the coastal areas, it continues to maintain a presence in more easterly regions of the country.
In response, Netanyahu’s office explained that the phased withdrawal would continue in consultation with the US, noting that one of the key stipulations of the agreement—Lebanese Army deployment in southern Lebanon—has not been fully met. The statement also reiterated that Hezbollah must vacate areas north of the Litani River, a requirement that has yet to be fulfilled.
In a press briefing, Hughes further clarified that the US continues to monitor the situation and support both Israeli and Lebanese efforts to ensure the safety and security of their citizens. He specifically highlighted the importance of preventing any further instability in the region, which remains on edge after more than two months of intense conflict.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun had previously called for Israel to adhere to the original terms of the ceasefire, demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces by the agreed-upon deadline. He also condemned continued Israeli violations, including air and ground operations, which have exacerbated tensions along the border. In particular, President Aoun denounced Israel’s demolition of homes and destruction of border villages, actions he believes violate the spirit of the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah, for its part, has warned that any Israeli failure to meet the January 27 deadline would constitute a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire terms. The militant group has urged the Lebanese government to take “all necessary measures” to enforce the agreement. While Hezbollah has refrained from escalating its military operations, it has pointed to Israeli actions, including airstrikes and ground operations, as violations that should not go unaddressed.
On January 22, Israeli forces conducted additional raids in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah positions and military infrastructure. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson reported a series of airstrikes aimed at neutralizing threats and destroying Hezbollah weapon depots and observation posts. However, the specifics of the locations targeted were not disclosed.
As the ceasefire deadline approaches, the situation in southern Lebanon remains precarious. The United States, Israel, and Lebanon are all navigating a delicate balance between upholding the terms of the ceasefire and ensuring long-term stability in the region. With Israel's military withdrawal ongoing and Lebanon's political landscape in flux, the next steps will be crucial in determining whether peace can be sustained or if further escalation looms.

Israel prepares for possible Hezbollah fire, residents may force their way into towns
Naharnet/January 24, 2025
The Israeli army is preparing to face “symbolic gunfire” by Hezbollah toward the occupied Shebaa Farms in response to the Israeli army’s decision to keep its forces in south Lebanon’s eastern sector past the Sunday deadline, Israeli media reports said. Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL peacekeepers have gone on alert to deal with possible incidents at dawn Sunday should Lebanese residents insist on entering the border towns where Israel’s forces are still deployed. Hezbollah said Thursday that it will be the responsibility of the Lebanese state to act and press the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement should Israel delay its military pullout from south Lebanon.

Kuwaiti foreign minister visits Lebanon to express support
Naharnet/January 24, 2025
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya began an official visit Friday to Lebanon, after the country elected a new president and appointed a PM-designate.“Our visit is for support, assistance and expressing our commitment to stand by Lebanon,” al-Yahya told President Joseph Aoun in a meeting in Baabda.
“We call for activating the joint Lebanese-Kuwaiti committees to address the current issues according to the Lebanese needs,” the minister added. Gulf Cooperation Council chief Jassem al-Budaiwi, who accompanied al-Yahya to Baabda, for his part said that the GCC “backs Lebanon, its sovereignty and non-interference in its affairs.” He also called for “preparing a Gulf program for Lebanon in coordination with the Lebanese government.”President Aoun for his part said that “after the formation of the new government, there will be communication with the Gulf counties to lay out new foundations for cooperation, whose broad lines were mentioned in the inaugural speech that laid out the bases for building the state.”

Renewed Gulf Support: Kuwait's Foreign Minister in Lebanon to Strengthen Ties
This is Beirut/January 24, 2025
Renewed Gulf Support: Kuwait's Foreign Minister in Lebanon to Strengthen Ties
Kuwaiti delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Ali Al Yahya, with President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Palace on January 24, 2025. ©Lebanese Presidency In a bolstered show of Gulf support for Lebanon, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Yahya embarked on an official visit to Beirut following the recent visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. Minister Al Yahya arrived in Beirut on Friday morning alongside a delegation. He kickstarted his visit with a meeting at Baabda Palace with President Joseph Aoun. The Kuwaiti delegation was welcomed at Rafic Hariri International Airport by caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib. Highlighting the urgency of revitalizing the Lebanese-Kuwaiti joint committees to tackle pertinent issues aligned with Lebanon's unique requirements, Minister Al Yahya underscored, “Our visit is a gesture of support to Lebanon, reaffirming our commitment to stand by its side.”President Aoun reciprocated the sentiment, expressing his faith in Kuwait's enduring support for Lebanon. “I trust in your solidarity with the Lebanese people. They eagerly await your return, ready to embrace you with open arms in the spirit of camaraderie and unity.”
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassim Al-Budaiwi also arrived in Beirut early this morning. During his meeting with President Aoun, he reaffirmed his unwavering support for Lebanon, its sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in its internal affairs. He also emphasized the Gulf's commitment to establishing a specific program for Lebanon, in close collaboration with Lebanese authorities.

Lebanese from devastated Naqoura return home, only to find ruins
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/January 24, 2025
Residents returned Thursday to the town of Naqoura near the Lebanon-Israel border, which hosts the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area. Long lines of cars, some waving Hezbollah flags, inched along the coastal road. The Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers had reopened roads, cleared mines and removed unexploded ordnance from residential neighborhoods. Residents of the southern town were among over 1.2 million Lebanese displaced during the Israel-Hezbollah war. Returning residents found their homes and businesses along the main road completely destroyed, some looted. Water and electricity networks lay in ruins. Mosques, health centers and the municipality building were damaged. Rabab Yazbeck, surveyed the collapsed remains of her home. “Thank God — the most important thing is that we’re back to our land.” The Israeli military was still deployed in parts of Lebanon's south, days ahead of a January 26 deadline to fully implement the terms of the truce. The deal gave the parties 60 days to withdraw -- Israel back across the border, and Hezbollah farther north -- as the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers redeployed to the south. The Lebanese military had asked residents of Naqoura not to go back home for their own safety after Israel's army issued similar orders, but in spite of the danger, Mayor Abbas Awada returned to inspect the destruction. "Naqoura has become a disaster zone of a town... the bare necessities of life are absent here," he said in front of the damaged town hall, adding he was worried a lack of funds after years of economic crisis would hamper reconstruction. "We need at least three years to rebuild," he continued, as a small bulldozer worked to remove rubble near the municipal offices. Lebanese soldiers deployed in coastal Naqoura after Israeli troops pulled out of the country's southwest on January 6, though they remain in the southeast. The Israelis' withdrawal from Naqoura left behind a sea of wreckage. Opposite the town hall, an old tree has been uprooted. Empty, damaged houses line streets filled with rubble. Most of the widespread destruction occurred after the truce took hold, Awada said. "The Israeli army entered the town after the ceasefire" and "destroyed the houses", he said. "Before the ceasefire, 35 percent of the town was destroyed, but after the truce, 90 percent of it" was demolished, he added, mostly with controlled explosions and bulldozers.
Smell of death -
Under the November 27 ceasefire deal, which ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon as Israel withdraws. At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south. Both sides have accused each other of violations since the truce began. Around the nearby UNIFIL headquarters, houses are still intact, but almost everywhere else in Naqoura lies destruction. Facades are shorn from bombed-out houses, while others are reduced to crumpled heaps, abandoned by residents who had fled for their lives, leaving behind furniture, clothes and books.
AFP saw a completely destroyed school, banana plantations that had withered away and unharvested oranges on trees, their blossoming flowers barely covering the smell of rotting bodies. On Tuesday, the civil defense agency said it had recovered two bodies from the rubble in Naqoura. Lebanese soldiers who patrolled the town found an unexploded rocket between two buildings, AFP saw. In October 2023, Hezbollah began firing across the border into Israel in support of its ally Hamas, a day after the Palestinian group launched its attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war. An Israeli army spokesperson told AFP that its forces were committed to the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. They said the army was working "to remove threats to the State of Israel and its citizens, in full accordance with international law".
'We want the wars to end'
On the coastal road to Naqoura UNIFIL and the Lebanese army have set up checkpoints. Hezbollah's yellow flags fluttered in the wind, but no fighters could be seen. Twenty kilometers to the north, in Tyre, Fatima Yazbeck waits impatiently in a reception center for the displaced for her chance to return home. She fled Naqoura 15 months ago, and since then, "I haven't been back", she said, recounting her sadness at learning her house had been destroyed. Ali Mehdi, a volunteer at the reception center, said his home was destroyed as well. "My house was only damaged at first," he said. "But after the truce, the Israelis entered Naqoura and destroyed the houses, the orchards and the roads." In the next room, Mustafa Al-Sayed has been waiting with his large family for more than a year to return to his southern village of Beit Leef. He had been forced to leave once before, during the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. "Do we have to take our families and flee every 20 years?" he asked. "We want a definitive solution, we want the wars to end."

Emirates airline to resume flights to Beirut
Agence France Presse/January 24, 2025
Emirates airline will resume flights to Beirut on February 1 after a four-month suspension triggered by conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a statement said on Friday. The Middle East's biggest airline will first offer a daily return flight and scale up to two services per day from April 1, the statement said. Emirates will also resume a daily flight to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, from February 1, it added. The Dubai-based, state-owned carrier was one of several regional airlines to suspend Beirut services in late September as tensions soared between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. A truce came into effect on November 27, ending over a year of hostilities.

UAE announces reopening of embassy in Beirut
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 24, 2025
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Friday that it has reopened its embassy in Lebanon, years after it was closed in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
According to state news agency WAM, the Emirati embassy in Beirut "has officially resumed diplomatic activities." Omar Obaid al-Shamsi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted by WAM as saying, "The reopening of the embassy represents an important step in advancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries." In October 2021, the UAE, along with several other Gulf states, recalled its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia following a Lebanese minister’s criticism of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
The UAE-Lebanon relationship had been strained for years, primarily due to the growing influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
However, in early January, Lebanon appointed its new president, Joseph Aoun, ending a years-long political deadlock, which followed a significant blow to Hezbollah’s leadership after its war with Israel. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated Aoun on his election, expressing hope for "mutual cooperation and prosperity for both nations and their peoples."

Extension of Social Security Contribution Deadline to March 31, 2025
This is Beirut/January 24, 2025
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has extended the deadline for institutions to pay their social security contributions to March 31, 2025. This extension covers contributions originally due for September, October, November and December 2024. This decision follows a series of field visits by NSSF Director Mohammad Karaki to different southern regions, including Nabatieh and Tyre. The visits aimed to assess the damage to Social Security offices caused by recent Israeli attacks and to directly address the concerns of NSSF beneficiaries and employees. During his visits, Karaki recognized the difficulties faced by both citizens and institutions and committed to implementing measures to alleviate the effects of the ongoing crisis. In response to extensive feedback, particularly from the productive and educational sectors, and to uphold the NSSF’s key role in maintaining social security, Karaki introduced a series of measures aimed at supporting the economy, including streamlining the payment process for institutions' social security contributions. In this context, Karaki reiterated his commitment to advancing efforts initiated since the outbreak of the war.

Taif Agreement Carries No Provision of Monopoly on Ministerial Portfolios
Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
For some in Lebanon, everything takes precedence over the law and the Constitution. Terms such as the National Pact, consensus, custom or even the “minutes of the Taif Agreement” are frequently misused to justify allocating the Ministry of Finance to the Shiite duo Amal-Hezbollah. This is not the first time the minutes of the Taif Agreement have been brought up. Debates over its content have resurfaced repeatedly, particularly regarding the President of the Republic's role in government formation, the designation of the Prime Minister and the President's part in mandatory parliamentary consultations. However, these discussions have never led to conclusions, as the minutes remained with the late Speaker of Parliament Hussein al-Husseini, who never disclosed them. The Taif Agreement was incorporated into the Constitution, and no clause in the Constitution allocates specific ministries to particular communities. None of the deputies who participated in the Taif negotiations mentioned any implicit agreement reserving the Ministry of Finance exclusively for the Shiite community. The facts speak for themselves: since Taif, the Ministry of Finance has been led by Shiite ministers eight times and by non-Shiites 12 times, including late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, who played a central role in the Taif negotiations. This raises critical questions: Why was the Ministry of Finance repeatedly granted to Shiites? Why didn’t parliamentarians from other communities oppose or request specific ministries—for example, Foreign Affairs for the Maronites or Interior for the Sunnis? Did Christian MPs compromise too much, even as the President's powers were curtailed? Why did the Hezbollah-Amal duo occasionally agree to forego the Ministry of Finance for Shiites? Was it a concession or merely an exchange of interests? And why do the Shiites seem to hold a superior position, making them solely entitled to head the Ministry of Finance? Are they truly the only group with the necessary expertise to manage it? Among the parliamentarians who attended the Taif negotiations, only a few remain alive today. Some of them have stated they do not recall any agreement reserving the Ministry of Finance for Shiites. If such a decision had been made, it would have been explicitly included in the National Reconciliation Agreement or the amended Constitution. Others suggest the topic may have been raised at the time, but was ultimately rejected—just as the Druze community's request to reserve the presidency of the State Council was also turned down. Publishing the minutes of the Taif Agreement could therefore be crucial to affirm that such proposals were indeed dismissed and never formalized.

Mine Clearance in Lebanon: When Will Displaced Families Return South?
Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
Haunted by thousands of landmines and unexploded ammunition, Lebanon faces a significant challenge: clearing a territory scarred by decades of conflict, the most recent being the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Tel Aviv, the conflict spilled over into Lebanon under the banner of “unity of fronts,” reigniting the issue. Today, new areas are contaminated with landmines and unexploded munitions, primarily affecting border regions and rural areas, which thousands of Lebanese were forced to flee to escape the violence.
The Scale of the Problem: How Much Land Remains Contaminated?
Identifying the exact extent of mine-contaminated areas in Lebanon remains a complex task, rendered more difficult by ongoing military operations, particularly along the Lebanese border. “By the end of 2023, we had cleared 84% of the contaminated areas,” an informed source said. However, they indicate that at that time, “demining teams were still tasked with clearing approximately 16 million square meters (out of a total of 26.68 million square meters at the start of 2023) that were still at risk.” Field studies are currently underway to reassess the situation and develop a new plan. Nonetheless, “demining operations are ongoing and proceeding alongside reassessment missions,” the source added.
Experts estimate that around 25% of the Lebanese territory continues to be affected by landmines and unexploded ammunition, with the most severe impacts observed in southern regions, particularly along the border with Israel and in the Beqaa Valley. The most heavily impacted areas are those adjacent to the Blue Line and rural regions in the south and east of the country.
Key Players in Mine Clearance in Lebanon
Mine clearance in Lebanon involves various stakeholders, including state institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL). The Lebanese Mine Action Center (LMAC), operating under the Ministry of Defense, is tasked with coordinating demining efforts. This structure collaborates with NGOs and international players to ensure the safety and reconstruction of contaminated areas. Among the NGOs playing a crucial role in demining operations are MAG (Mines Advisory Group), an international organization specialized in mine detection, clearance and safety education and Handicap International, which has been operating in Lebanon since 2007, as well as Danish Church Aid and Norwegian People Aid.. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) also plays a role in mine clearance operations, particularly along the Blue Line. While its primary mission is to monitor the cessation of hostilities, UNIFIL assists in neutralizing mines and explosive devices.
The Demining Process
Mine clearance in Lebanon follows a meticulously regulated procedure, with several key stages. A typical process begins with the identification of contaminated areas. Geospatial surveys and field inspections are then conducted to locate high-risk zones, while information is gathered from local communities and authorities to pinpoint suspected sites. Once an area is identified, experts carry out a risk assessment. This includes analyzing the types of mines present and determining the safest techniques required for neutralization. Various methods are employed by mine clearance teams to locate and defuse mines, including metal detectors, mine detection dogs, and other manual and mechanical methods. Mines are neutralized through controlled detonation or safe removal. Once the mines are removed, further checks and inspections are conducted to ensure no residual risks remain. Clearance techniques are then applied to make the area safe and accessible for local residents. “An essential part of demining is educating the local population about the dangers of mines, which is why safety education programs are set up to prevent accidents,” stressed a security source.
Duration of Demining Operations
Mine clearance operations can span from a few months to several years, depending on the size of the area to be cleared and the complexity of the terrain. After major conflicts such as that of 2024, the process is even more stretched due to the need to clear newly contaminated areas. Furthermore, hard-to-reach urban or rural regions often complicate operations. Given the slow pace of interventions and the high cost of necessary equipment, it is estimated that Lebanon would need around a year to fully clear all mines from the land and unexploded ammunition, according to the source. “Everything also depends on the funding required for this. Many authorities have promised to allocate funds for mine clearance, but we have received nothing so far,” the security source added. Closely linked to demining operations is the critical issue of the return of displaced Lebanese to their homes, a matter of great concern. During the 2024 war, many inhabitants of border regions, notably those nearest to the border with Israel, were forced to flee their villages. Today, ongoing hostilities, coupled with the fear of mines and unexploded ammunition, hinder their swift return. Resolving this intricate problem requires the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the completion of demining operations, which is expected by next year.

The Last Shot… Ending Amal-Hezbollah Grip on Finance Ministry
Johnny Kortbawi/This is Beirut/January 24/2025
The Ministry of Finance is not just a mere step in government formation. Speaker Nabih Berri has reopened the “Taif” files, reflecting on a past that no longer has anyone to endorse or oppose. The Ministry of Finance was indeed part of the Taif Agreement discussions, with a proposal to assign it to the Shiite community. However, this proposal was never finalized, and over the years, the Ministry has shifted between various religious communities – from Sunnis to Christians to Shiites. It was never monopolized by any one group, and there was no attempt to preserve it as a constitutional gain for any party, in order to avoid solidifying any practices related to the so-called “third signature.”With Nawaf Salam’s appointment, the Ministry of Finance has gained greater importance, almost as if it represents the entire government. While other ministries may hold the potential for significant reforms and a broad renewal of governance, if the Ministry of Finance becomes entangled in sectarian disputes due to its association with the Amal-Hezbollah duo’s bloc, and if its approval is required for every project, we will be facing a much worse situation than before.
Liberating the Ministry of Finance from the control of the Amal-Hezbollah duo – rather than the Shiite community as a whole – marks a third victory following the presidential election and the designation of the prime minister. Hezbollah no longer holds the power to impose its choices, conditions or vetoes. It failed to impose Sleiman Frangieh, failed to reinstate Najib Mikati, and now, it is expected to lose its ability to block the government unless its demands are addressed in a reasonable manner. This is not about undermining the Shiite community, which is why Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has expressed his readiness to accept a Shiite nominee for the Ministry, appointed by both the president and the prime minister-designate. Perpetuating Amal-Hezbollah dominance would further undermine the Shiite community, which has already had to bear the heaviest consequences and a far greater price than other communities as a result of such dominance.
Liberating the Ministry of Finance from Amal and Hezbollah’s grip also frees Lebanon and the Shiite community as a whole. Ultimately, the focus should be on managing the Ministry with those who can best serve the national budget, reduce the deficit and implement economic policies that revitalize the country and attract investment. If this is achieved, it will benefit all Lebanese, regardless of religion.

IDF said bombed apartments were Hezbollah base - but most of dead were civilians
Nawal al-Maghafi - Senior international investigations correspondent, BBC World Service/January 24, 2025
Julia Ramadan was terrified - the war between Israel and Hezbollah was escalating and she'd had a nightmare that her family home was being bombed. When she sent her brother a panicked voice note from her apartment in Beirut, he encouraged her to join him in Ain El Delb, a sleepy village in southern Lebanon.
"It's safe here," he reassured her. "Come stay with us until things calm down."Earlier that month, Israel intensified air campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon, in response to escalating rocket attacks by the Iran-backed armed group which had killed civilians, and displaced tens of thousands more from homes in northern Israel. Ashraf was confident their family's apartment block would be a haven, so Julia joined him. But the next day, on 29 September, it was subject to this conflict's deadliest single Israeli attack. Struck by Israeli missiles, the entire six-storey building collapsed, killing 73 people.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the building was targeted because it was a Hezbollah "terrorist command centre" and it "eliminated" a Hezbollah commander. It added that "the overwhelming majority" of those killed in the strike were "confirmed to be terror operatives". But a BBC Eye investigation verified the identity of 68 of the 73 people killed in the attack and uncovered evidence suggesting just six were linked to Hezbollah's military wing. None of those we identified appeared to hold a senior rank. The BBC's World Service also found that the other 62 were civilians - 23 of them children. Among the dead were babies only a few months old, like Nouh Kobeissi in apartment -2B. In apartment -1C, school teacher Abeer Hallak was killed alongside her husband and three sons. Three floors above, Amal Hakawati died along with three generations of her family - her husband, children and two granddaughters.
Ashraf and Julia had always been close, sharing everything with each other. "She was like a black box, holding all my secrets," he says. On the afternoon of 29 September, the siblings had just returned home from handing out food to families who had fled the fighting. Hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon had been displaced by the war. Ashraf was in the shower, and Julia was sitting in the living room with their father, helping him upload a video to social media. Their mother, Janan, was in the kitchen, clearing up.
Then, without warning, they heard a deafening bang. The entire building shook, and a massive cloud of dust and smoke poured into their apartment.
"I shouted, 'Julia! Julia!,'" says Ashraf.
"She replied, 'I'm here.'
"I looked at my dad, who was struggling to get up from the sofa because of an existing injury to his leg, and saw my mother running toward the front door."
Julia's nightmare was playing out in real life.
"Julia was hyperventilating, crying so hard on the sofa. I was trying to calm her down and told her we needed to get out. Then, there was another attack."
Ashraf, along with many others, was trapped under the rubble. He began calling out, but the only voice he could hear was that of his father, who told him he could still hear Julia and that she was alive. Neither of them could hear Ashraf's mother.
Ashraf sent a voice note to friends in the neighbourhood to alert them. The next few hours were agonising. He could hear rescuers sifting through the debris - and residents wailing as they discovered loved ones dead. "I just kept thinking, please, God, not Julia. I can't live this life without Julia."
Ashraf was finally pulled from the rubble hours later, with only minor injuries.
He discovered his mother had been rescued but died in hospital. Julia had suffocated under the rubble. His father later told him Julia's last words were calls for her brother. In November, a ceasefire deal was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah with the aim of ending the conflict. The deal gives a 60-day deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon and for Hezbollah to withdraw its forces and weapons north of the Litani River. As this 26 January deadline approaches, we sought to find out more about the deadliest single Israeli attack on Lebanon in years.
In the apartment below Julia and Ashraf's, Hawraa and Ali Fares had been hosting family members displaced by the war. Among them was Hawraa's sister Batoul, who, like Julia, had arrived the previous day - with her husband and two young children. They had fled intense bombardment near the Lebanon-Israel border, in areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence. "We hesitated about where to go," says Batoul. "And then I told my husband, 'Let's go to Ain El Delb. My sister said their building was safe and that they couldn't hear any bombing nearby.'"
Batoul's husband Mohammed Fares was killed in the Ain El Delb attack. A pillar fell on Batoul and her children. She says no-one responded to her calls for help. She finally managed to lift it alone, but her four-year-old daughter Hawraa had been fatally crushed. Miraculously, her baby Malak survived.
Hawraa, and her cousins Hassan and Hussein, photographed playing together. Hawraa is wearing a pink dress with puff sleeves and a square neck line. Her cousins are both in yellow cartoon dinosaur t-shirts.
Four-year-old Hawraa with her cousins - all three were killed in the attack [Fares family]
Three floors below Batoul lived Denise and Moheyaldeen Al-Baba. That Sunday, Denise had invited her brother Hisham over for lunch.
The impact of the strike was brutal, says Hisham.
"The second missile slammed me to the floor… the entire wall fell on top of me."
He spent seven hours under the rubble.
"I heard a voice far away. People talking. Screams and… 'Cover her. Remove her. Lift the stone. He's still alive. It's a child. Lift this child.' I mean… Oh my God. I thought to myself, I'm the last one deep underground. No-one will know about me. I will die here." When Hisham was finally rescued, he found his niece's fiance waiting to hear if she was alive. He lied to him and told him she was fine. They found her body three days later.Hisham lost four members of his family - his sister, brother-in-law and their two children. He told us he had lost his faith and no longer believes in God. To find out more about who died, we have analysed Lebanese Health Ministry data, videos, social media posts, as well as speaking to survivors of the attack. We particularly wanted to interrogate the IDF's response to media - immediately following the attack - that the apartment block had been a Hezbollah command centre. We asked the IDF multiple times what constituted a command centre, but it did not give clarification. So we began sifting through social media tributes, gravesites, public health records and videos of funerals to determine whether those killed in the attack had any military affiliation with Hezbollah.
We could only find evidence that six of the 68 dead we identified were connected to Hezbollah's military wing. Hezbollah memorial photos for the six men use the label "Mujahid", meaning "fighter". Senior figures, by contrast, are referred to as "Qaid", meaning "commander" - and we found no such labels used by the group to describe those killed. We asked the IDF whether the six Hezbollah fighters we identified were the intended targets of the strike. It did not respond to this question.
One of the Hezbollah fighters we identified was Batoul's husband, Mohammed Fares. Batoul told us that her husband, like many other men in southern Lebanon, was a reservist for the group, though she added that he had never been paid by Hezbollah, held a formal rank, or participated in combat.
Israel sees Hezbollah as one of its main threats and the group is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, many Western governments and Gulf Arab states.
But alongside its large, well-armed military wing, Hezbollah is also an influential political party, holding seats in Lebanese parliament. In many parts of the country it is woven into the social fabric, providing a network of social services.
In response to our investigation, the IDF stated: "The IDF's strikes on military targets are subject to relevant provisions of international law, including taking feasible precautions, and are carried out after an assessment that the expected collateral damage and civilian casualties are not excessive in relation to the military advantage expected from the strike." It had earlier also told the BBC it had executed "evacuation procedures" for the strike on Ain El Delb, but everyone we spoke to said they had received no warning.
Watch on YouTube if outside the UK
UN experts have raised concerns about the proportionality and necessity of Israeli air strikes on residential buildings in densely populated areas in Lebanon.
This pattern of targeting entire buildings - resulting in significant civilian casualties - has been a recurring feature of Israel's latest conflict with Hezbollah, which began when the group escalated rocket attacks in response to Israel's war in Gaza.
Between October 2023 and November 2024, Lebanese authorities say more than 3,960 people were killed in Lebanon by Israeli forces, many of them civilians. Over the same time period, Israeli authorities say at least 47 civilians were killed by Hezbollah rockets fired from southern Lebanon. At least 80 Israeli soldiers were also killed fighting in southern Lebanon or as a result of rocket attacks on northern Israel. The missile strike in Ain El Delb is the deadliest Israeli attack on a building in Lebanon for at least 18 years. The village remains haunted by its impact. When we visited, more than a month after the strike, a father continued to visit the site every day, hoping for news of his 11-year-old son, whose body had yet to be found.
Ashraf Ramadan, too, returns to sift through the rubble, searching for what remains of the memories his family built over the two decades they lived there.
He shows me the door of his wardrobe, still adorned with pictures of footballers and pop stars he once admired. Then, he pulls a teddy bear from the debris and tells me it was always on his bed. "Nothing I find here will make up for the people we lost," he says. Additional reporting by Scarlett Barter and Jake Tacchi.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 24-25/2025
Israeli drone strike kills two in major ongoing West Bank operation
Reuters/January 24, 2025
RAMALLAH (Reuters) - An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the West Bank town of Qabatiya killed two people, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday, the fourth day of a large-scale Israeli operation in the nearby city of Jenin launched after the truce in Gaza. The Israeli military said an air strike had hit a vehicle with what it said was a "terrorist cell" inside but gave no further details. The military has been carrying out a major operation in Jenin aiming to crack down on Palestinian militant groups it says are backed by Iran, launched just two days after a ceasefire took effect in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At least 12 Palestinians have been killed in the operation, Palestinian health officials said, including two claimed by the armed wing of Hamas. The Israeli military said it had also arrested 20 wanted suspects and seized weapons. Armoured bulldozers and diggers have demolished houses and dug up roads in the crowded refugee camp adjacent to Jenin, a major centre of armed militant groups, where thousands of people have left their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Thameen Al-Kheetan said he was deeply concerned about the use of unlawful lethal force and said the Jenin operation raised serious concerns about unnecessary or disproportionate force. Fighting in Gaza has halted for the start of a six-week first phase of a ceasefire backed by the United States. Israeli officials say the operation in Jenin is part of a multifront war against an axis of Iranian-backed groups in the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Yemen.

Gaza life expectancy nearly half prewar levels: Study
Arab News/January 24, 2025
LONDON: Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a drop in average life expectancy of 35 years in the Palestinian enclave, a new study has found. The Lancet journal published data suggesting that life expectancy had dropped to 40.5 years by September 2024, having been 75.5 years before Israel began its invasion in October 2023. Researchers for the study at the University of Pennsylvania said the true average age could be lower as only data from those killed by war injuries was considered rather than overall casualty figures, which were likely exacerbated by the collapse of Gaza’s health system. Casualty lists from Gaza’s health authorities were cross-referenced with a UN refugee list and census data to arrive at the findings. “Our life expectancy results show that the … war in the Gaza Strip generated a life expectancy loss of more than 30 years during the first 12 months of the war, nearly halving pre-war levels,” the study’s authors said. Despite the logistical issues caused by the war, the UN considers the Gaza health data — which claims that 47,000 have died — accurate. The UN Human Rights Office said it verified the identities of 8,119 people killed from November 2023 to April 2024. It added that 44 percent were children and 26 percent were women, with the largest age bracket 5-9-year-olds, and that around 80 percent of people were killed in residential buildings. “Our case-by-case evaluation of the Gaza Health Ministry list of killed individuals did not detect any substantial errors or signs of intentional inflation,” the researchers said. “It is highly likely that our central estimates underestimate true losses, because they do not include individuals reported missing or under the rubble. “Even more importantly, our results do not include the indirect effects of the war on mortality.”A separate Lancet study published earlier this month suggests that the 47,000-casualty figure may be an underestimate by around 40 percent.

Netanyahu suffers health challenges, court documents reveal
Ynetnews/January 24/2025
Prime minister attorney in his criminal trial for corruption tells Jerusalem District Court Netanyahu sufferd from an infection after an operation to remove his prostate gland and was unable to sit, stand or work for more than 3 hours without rest nd was surgically removed earlier last month. Court documents filed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defense team on Friday revealed that the prime minister had suffered a severe infection after his prostate gland was surgically removed earlier last month. Netanyahu submitted a request to the Jerusalem District Court where he is on criminal trial for corruption, to reduce the number of days he would testify next week, after he was allowed to delay his testimony for his operation and recovery. His defense attorney Amid Haddad wrote in the request that Netanyahu's physicians said he must avoid any activity lasting for more than three hours without rest in the coming week and also avoid traveling a long distance, sitting or standing for extended periods. The prime minister's trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust was moved out to Tel Aviv amid security concerns during the war. The hearings are being held in the Tel Aviv District Court building. Haddad requested that Netanyahu only testify one day next week, and not the three days scheduled by the court, that testimony would begin one hour later than the 9 am hour set by the court and that he be allowed to rest during his testimony. Haddad said Netanyahu's involvement in the hostage-release deal which he has "undertaken to fulfil despite his medical condition," has delayed his recovery. The prosecution said that after reviewing the medical documents submitted to the court, they oppose any reduction in the number of days that the prime minister must testify. The decision to testify in his defense was Netanyahu's to make and his testimony was postponed by months at his request, after he claimed that his defense team could not prepare him because of the war. His testimony began last December.

Israeli PM office confirms it received list of hostages to be released by Hamas
Ynetnews/January 24/2025
Netanyahu's office says mediators delivered a list from Hamas; however, the list differs from what Israel had expected, raising a significant difficulty over whether to accept it. The Prime Minister’s Office reported Friday that it received from mediators the list of hostages set to be released by Hamas on Saturday.
The situation presents a complex difficulty, as the list—delivered by Hamas—differs from what Israel had anticipated. The list was passed to Mossad Director David Barnea by Qatar’s prime minister and is now under careful review by Israeli authorities. After 477 days in captivity, four hostages are expected to be released on Saturday as part of the second phase of the agreement. Discussions with mediators are ongoing, and Israel is reportedly considering various options, including delaying the withdrawal from Netzarim and the return of Gaza residents to the northern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF's Arabic spokesperson, this return is set to begin Sunday, per the agreement, "provided Hamas adheres to its terms." An official statement from Gaza confirmed that the "Palestinian resistance factions" will provide the list of hostages set to be released. This indicates that Hamas and Islamic Jihad will participate in this phase of the exchange.

UN denounces Israel’s use of ‘war fighting’ methods in West Bank
AFP/January 24, 2025
GENEVA: The United Nations voiced serious concerns Friday over the Israeli military’s use of force during its raid this week in the West Bank, including methods “developed for war fighting.”The Israeli military this week launched a raid in the Jenin area, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, days into a ceasefire in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We are deeply concerned by the use of unlawful lethal force in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank,” UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told a media briefing in Geneva. “The deadly Israeli operations in recent days raise serious concerns about unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, including methods and means developed for war fighting, in violation of international human rights law, norms and standards applicable to law enforcement operations.“This includes multiple airstrikes and apparently random shooting at unarmed residents attempting to flee or find safety.”UN human rights chief Volker Turk has called for Israel to adopt and enforce rules of engagement that are fully in line with applicable human rights norms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the objective of the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” was to “eradicate terrorism” in the area. Kheetan said the UN rights office had verified that at least 12 Palestinians had been killed and 40 injured by Israeli security forces since Tuesday, adding that most of them were reportedly unarmed. He called for all killings in a law enforcement context to be thoroughly and independently investigated. “Those responsible for unlawful killings must be held to account,” the spokesman added. Kheetan said that following the Gaza ceasefire announcement, Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been “attacking Palestinian villages and stoning vehicles,” with houses and cars torched. “We are also concerned by repeated comments from some Israeli officials about plans to expand settlements further still, in a fresh breach of international law. We recall again that the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into territories it occupies also amounts to a war crime,” he said. “We call for an immediate end to the violence in the West Bank. We also call on all parties, including third States with influence, to do everything in their power to ensure peace is achieved in the region.”

One minute, they were celebrating Gaza’s ceasefire. The next, they were killed
Zeena Saifi, Abeer Salman, Jeremy Diamond and Tareq ElHelou, CNN/January 24, 2025
Thirteen-year-old Zakariya Barbakh had spent most of his life shuffling between hospitals across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Israel. Born without a lung, he had struggled to breathe. Doctors had predicted he would need a transplant if he were to reach adulthood. But the last 15 months of war in Gaza had made that impossible. When the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Sunday, Zakariya was ecstatic.“Mom, now we can go look for my lungs!” his mother recalled him saying. Less than 24 hours later, Zakariya was shot dead. Doctors at Nasser Hospital say an Israeli sniper fired the fatal shot in the southern city of Rafah on Monday. Zakariya’s family told CNN he had been looking for wood to use for cooking and heating. “He didn’t die from his disease; he ended up dying at the hands of the occupation. All he wanted was to have lungs to breathe, what did he do to deserve this? What did this child do?” his mother said, unable to hold back tears. The Israeli military told CNN it was not aware of the incident. Zakariya is one of at least four Palestinians allegedly shot by the Israeli military since the ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli military has withdrawn to buffer zones along Gaza’s border, but has warned Palestinians against approaching areas where its troops are still stationed. It has published a map of zones that are “very dangerous” to approach. But where those zones begin and end is not always as clear on the ground. “How would he know he would face occupation forces? How would he know he was in the wrong area? All he did was try to find something to eat. He got lost along the way. Can you not see the way this child looks? He looks sick and despairing,” his mother said.

Freedom is bittersweet for Palestinians released from Israeli jails
Sam Mednick/RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)/January 24, 2025
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — When Dania Hanatsheh was released from an Israeli jail this week and dropped off by bus into a sea of jubilant Palestinians in Ramallah, it was an uncomfortable déjà vu. After nearly five months of detention, it was the second time the 22-year-old woman had been freed as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas to pause the war in Gaza. Hanatsheh’s elation at being free again is tinged with sadness about the devastation in Gaza, she said, as well as uncertainty about whether she could be detained in the future — a common feeling in her community. “Palestinian families are prepared to be arrested at any moment,” said Hanatsheh, one of 90 women and teenagers released by Israel during the first phase of the ceasefire deal. “You feel helpless like you can’t do anything to protect yourself.”Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners are to be released as part of a deal to halt the fighting for six weeks, free 33 hostages from Gaza, and increase fuel and aid deliveries to the territory. Many of the prisoners to be released have been detained for infractions such as throwing stones or Molotov cocktails, while others are convicted of killing Israelis.
Hanatsheh was first arrested in November 2023, just weeks into the war triggered by Hamas' deadly attack on Israel. She was freed days later during a weeklong ceasefire in which hundreds of Palestinians were released in exchange for nearly half of the roughly 250 hostages Hamas and others dragged into Gaza. She was detained again in August, when Israeli troops burst through her door, using an explosive, she said. On neither occasion was she told why she’d been arrested, she said. A list maintained by Israel's justice ministry says Hanatsheh was detained for “supporting terror,” although she was never charged or given a trial and doesn't belong to any militant group. Her story resonates across Palestinian society, where nearly every family — in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — has a relative who has spent time in an Israeli jail. This has left scars on generations of families, leaving fewer breadwinners and forcing children to grow up without one or both parents for long stretches. Since the start of the war 15 months ago, the number of Palestinians in Israeli jails has doubled to more than 10,000, a figure that includes detainees from Gaza, and several thousand arrested in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to Hamoked, an Israeli legal group. Many prisoners are never told why they were detained. Israel’s “administrative detention” policy allows it to jail people — as it did with Hanatsheh — based on secret evidence, without publicly charging them or ever holding a trial. Only intelligence officers or judges know the charges, said Amjad Abu Asab, head of the Detainees’ Parents Committee in Jerusalem.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel cannot be later rearrested on the same charges, or returned to jail to finish serving time for past offenses. Prisoners are not required to sign any document upon their release. The conditions for Palestinian prisoners deteriorated greatly after the war in Gaza began. The country’s then-national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, boasted last year that prisons will no longer be “summer camps” under his watch. Several of the prisoners released this week said they lacked adequate food and medical care and that they were forced to sleep in cramped cells.
Men and women prisoners in Israel are routinely beaten and sprayed with pepper gas, and they are deprived of family visits or a change of clothes, said Khalida Jarrar, the most prominent detainee freed. For years, Jarrar, 62, has been in and out of prison as a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction with an armed wing that has carried out attacks on Israelis. Human Rights Watch has decried Jarrar's repeated arrests — she was last detained late in 2023 — as part of an unjust Israeli crackdown on non-violent political opposition. At an event in Ramallah to welcome home the newly released prisoners, Jarrar greeted a long line of well- wishers. But not everyone was celebrating. Some families worried the ceasefire wouldn't last long enough for their relatives to be freed. During the ceasefire's first phase, Israel and Hamas and mediators from Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt will try to agree upon a second phase, in which all remaining hostages in Gaza would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.” Negotiations on the second phase begin on the sixteenth day of the ceasefire.
For Yassar Saadat, the first release of prisoners was a particularly bittersweet moment. His mother, Abla Abdelrasoul, was freed after being under “administrative detention” since September, according to the justice ministry, which said her crime was “security to the state - other.” But his father — one of the most high-profile prisoners in Israel — remains behind bars. “We don’t know if he’ll be released, but we don’t lose hope,” he said. His father, Ahmad Saadat, is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted of killing an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001 and has been serving a 30-year sentence. It’s unclear if he’ll be released and, even if he is, whether he’ll be able to see his family. The ceasefire agreement says all Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks who are released will be exiled, either to Gaza or abroad, and barred from ever returning to Israel or the West Bank. The release of some convicted murderers is a sore spot for many Israelis, and particularly those whose relatives were killed. Micah Avni’s father, Richard Lakin, was shot and stabbed to death by a member of Hamas on a public bus in 2015 and his killer's name is on the list of prisoners to be freed in phase one. While Avni is grateful that more hostages in Gaza are beginning to come home, he doesn’t believe it'll lead to long-term peace between Israel and Hamas. “These deals come with a huge, huge cost of life and there are going to be many, many, many more people murdered in the future by the people who were released,” he said. Israel has a history of agreeing to lopsided exchanges. In 2011, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, taken hostage by Hamas. One of the prisoners released during that deal was Hamas’ former top leader, Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack who was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza last year. Some Palestinians said the lopsided exchanges of prisoners for hostages is justified by Israel's seemingly arbitrary detention policies. Others said, for now, all they want to focus on is lost time with their families. Amal Shujaeiah said she spent more than seven months in prison, accused by Israel of partaking in pro-Palestinian events at her university and hosting a podcast that talked about the war in Gaza.
Back home, the 21-year-old beamed as she embraced friends and relatives.  “Today I am among my family and loved ones, indescribable joy ... a moment of freedom that makes you forget the sorrow.”

A dramatic video showing the aftermath of the incident was shared widely online.
CNN. - Obtained by CNN/January 24/2025
News that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire deal triggered celebrations across the Strip last Wednesday. But in several areas those celebrations were soon drowned out by the sound of Israeli airstrikes. In the four days between when the deal was announced and when it went into effect on Sunday morning, Israeli attacks killed at least 142 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, including dozens of women and children. Among them were members of 3-year-old As’ad Khalifa’s family. Less than 24 hours after the ceasefire deal was announced, an Israeli airstrike targeted his home. As’ad survived, but in an instant, he became an orphan. His parents and sister were killed in the strike. His next-door neighbor Moutasem Dallou told CNN the strike happened in the middle of the night and “shook the ground beneath.” Pieces of shrapnel had reached Dallou’s home and terrified his young children.
Dallou knew the family as they had been displaced by the war at the same time. He went searching for them under the rubble with other neighbors. Using basic equipment and their bare hands, they were able to uncover and retrieve the dead bodies of the mother and father but the children remained missing.
Before they gave up, they heard the cries of a child and began frantically throwing aside blocks of cement until they reached the source. After a grueling 30 minutes, they found a small hand reaching out amid the rubble and gripping the air. They were able to pull the child – As’ad – out, roughed up and covered in dust – but alive. His little sister was found dead next to him.
Dallou and his sister Mawada have since taken him in.
“Nearly four hours after the ceasefire announcement, his mother sent us a text message congratulating us for the news. Moments later, she was killed….This child lost his mother and father in mere seconds. Because of the decision of a pilot in the sky, this child lost everything he had in life,” Mawada told CNN.
In a statement to CNN, the Israeli military said it “struck terror infrastructure where a commander in the Hamas terrorist organization …was present. The terrorist was responsible for many rocket attacks.”“The IDF took intelligence measures to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals,” the statement added.
Dallou has children of similar age to As’ad, which has helped to integrate him into their family. But he is concerned about how As’ad will grow up. “I know from my experience with my little daughter that this child is going through a difficult psychological state. They are petrified from any sound now …They start crying for their mother,” he said. Mawada said that because she knew As’ad’s mother, she would do everything she can to embrace him.
“We will try, but we will not be able to replace his mother or bring her back.”

Saudi foreign minister calls for ending Syria sanctions during talks in Damascus
Arab News/January 24, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa held talks in Damascus on Friday including the Kingdom's efforts to remove international sanctions from Syria. Prince Faisal traveled to Syria for his first official visit there since the downfall of Bashar Assad to meet top officials in the new Syrian administration.The talks with Al-Sharaa focused on “supporting Syria's security, stability and unity,” the foreign ministry said. “The talks also addressed efforts to support Syria's political, humanitarian, and economic aspects, emphasizing the ongoing efforts to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and provide all forms of assistance and support to Syria during this critical phase to restore stability across its entire territory and revive its national institutions in a manner that aligns with the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people,” the statement said. Speaking at a press conference alongside the Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, Prince Faisal said it was important to accelerate the “lifting and freezing of all sanctions." He said Saudi Arabia was engaged in "active dialogue with all relevant countries, whether the United States or the European Union, and we are hearing positive messages.”The EU and the US placed an extensive sanctions regime on Syria during the rule of Assad, who was toppled from power by Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies in December. The US said earlier this month that it would ease sanctions on transactions with Syrian government institutions to help the flow of humanitarian assistance. The EU is reported to be close to agreeing to ease sanctions on certain sectors. During his meeting with Al-Sharaa, Prince Faisal passed on the greetings of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The new Syrian administration chose Saudi Arabia for its first foreign visit when Al-Shaibani led a delegation to Riyadh earlier this month. The Kingdom has stepped up humanitarian aid supplies to Syria since the start of the year. Prince Faisal arrived in Syrian after a visit to Lebanon on Thursday, where he met the new President General Joseph Aoun.

ADNOC shipping rules out quick return to Red Sea, CEO says
Reuters/January 24, 2025
DUBAI: Red Sea shipping remains risky despite the Gaza ceasefire and an announcement by Houthis to limit attacks, according to the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s logistics and shipping arm. Shipping executives remain cautious about a return to the Red Sea, given the risk to seafarers, cargo, and their assets. Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, resulting in most shipping companies diverting vessels away from the Suez Canal to use the longer route around southern Africa instead. “As we speak today, we cannot say it’s almost completely gone, and it’s a go-ahead for all the fleet to go inside the Red Sea. As I said, there is a people side to it, so we cannot risk our people going there while there may be a fragile ceasefire now,” said ADNOC Logistics & Services CEO Abdulkareem Al-Masabi. Danish shipping company Maersk said on Friday it would continue to reroute around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope until safe passage through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area was ensured for the longer term. The Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented.However, they have conditioned their halt in attacks on US or UK-linked shipping with various provisos, which has added to caution on any return, shipping and insurance sources say. The Houthis on Wednesday freed the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vessel that the militia seized more than a year ago. In another development, the UN has suspended all travel into areas held by Houthis after the militia detained more of their staff. The Houthis have already detained UN staffers, as well as individuals associated with the once-open US Embassy in Sanaa and aid groups. “Yesterday, the de facto authorities in Sanaa detained additional UN personnel working in areas under their control,” the UN statement read. “To ensure the security and safety of all its staff, the United Nations has suspended all official movements into and within areas under the de facto authorities’ control.” Before Friday, the UN had a total of 16 Yemeni staff in Houthi detention.
Staffers were trying to get a headcount across the UN agencies working in the country and had halted their work, which provides food, medicine, and other aid to the impoverished nation. In June, the UN acknowledged the Houthis detained 11 Yemeni employees under unclear circumstances as the militia increasingly cracked down on areas under their control.Several dozen others from aid agencies and other organizations are also held. The UN added that it was “actively engaging with senior representatives” of the Houthis.

Davos 2025 concludes with regular WEF meeting in Riyadh announced starting spring 2026
TAREK ALI AHMAD/Arab News/January 24/2025
DAVOS: As the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting came to a close, the announcement of a new, regular meeting in Saudi Arabia from spring 2026 ushered in applause from a full congress hall. Building on the success of the WEF Special Meeting in April last year, “Saudi Arabia and the World Economic Forum are happy to announce that we will host a regular World Economic Forum global meeting in the Kingdom,” said the country’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim in Davos on Friday. “This is a testament to the global platform for dialogue, collaboration and innovation that Saudi Arabia has become and the World Economic Forum continued to be,” he added. “This meeting continues to be an opportunity to further unite the world in capturing the immense potential that lies ahead.”Saudi Arabia hosted its first two-day WEF special meeting in late April last year, which focused on global collaboration, growth and energy. Responding to US President Donald Trump’s comments yesterday asking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to increase the Kingdom’s investments from $600 billion to $1 trillion, Alibrahim said this figure would also include procurement from the public and private sectors. “What we’ll spend in the economy from the start of Vision 2030 to 2030 is 12 times that number,” Alibrahim said. Alongside Alibrahim on the final panel of the conference were Singapore’s president, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. “There is too much pessimism around Europe, and it could be time to be investing back in the region,” Fink said, adding there was still progress to be made in areas such as capital markets union.

Trump immigration enforcement memo targets migrants who entered legally under Biden
Reuters/January 24, 2025
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is empowering federal immigration officers to consider whether to strip temporary legal status from migrants who entered through former President Joe Biden’s signature “parole” programs in an effort to ramp up deportations to record levels, according to a memo issued on Thursday. The US Department of Homeland Security memo provides guidance for the use of a fast-track deportation process that the Trump administration reinstated earlier this week, suggesting officers focus on migrants who failed to request asylum within a one-year deadline after arriving in the US. The process, known as “expedited removal,” had been applied only to people apprehended within 14 days of entering the country and within 100 miles (160 km) of the border under Biden. On Tuesday, it was expanded nationwide and applied to all those who entered within two years.
President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders after returning to the White House on Monday intended to deter illegal immigration and position the US to deport millions of immigrants without legal status. The Republican president says the moves are necessary after millions of immigrants entered the US under Biden, both crossing illegally and through Biden’s legal entry programs. Some Democrats and advocates counter that Trump’s aggressive enforcement could target non-criminals, disrupt businesses and split apart families. Immigrant rights group Make the Road New York sued on Wednesday to block Trump’s expansion of the fast-track deportation process. Some 1.5 million migrants entered the US from 2022 to 2024 through two Biden legal entry “parole” programs aimed at reducing illegal crossings, according to US government statistics. One program allowed migrants waiting in Mexico to schedule an appointment to request asylum at a legal border crossing. Another allowed Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans outside the US to enter by air if they had US sponsors and underwent vetting. Trump ended those programs on Monday, leaving some migrants in Mexico. stranded and unsure of next steps. Migrants who might have entered legally could face riskier routes if they cross illegally and higher prices from smugglers. The latest guidance allowing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider stripping active parole from people who entered in the past two years could face legal challenges, one former Biden official said. ICE made some 500 arrests on Thursday, Fox News reported, about a third of which were people without criminal records. The agency’s daily average for arrests was 311 in fiscal year 2024 and 467 in fiscal year 2023.
Ras Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, criticized ICE last night. for an enforcement action in his city that involved detaining US citizens and a military veteran.

Syria cancels port management contract with Russian firm, sources say
Reuters/January 24, 2025
DAMSASCUS (Reuters) - Syria's new ruling administration has cancelled a contract with a Russian firm to manage and operate the country's Tartous port that was signed under former President Bashar al-Assad, according to three Syrian businessmen and media reports. Syrian government spokespeople either said they could not confirm the reports, or did not respond to requests for comment. Semi-official Syrian newspaper Al-Watan on Thursday quoted the head of Tartous customs, Riad Joudy, as saying that the investment contract had been annulled after the Russian firm, STG Stroytransgaz, failed to fulfil the terms of the 2019 deal, which included investments in infrastructure. The report was confirmed by three Syrian businessmen, including one with work at Tartous port. STG Stroytransgaz is a major construction company whose mandate was to invest and develop the commercial port, Syria's second-largest after Latakia.
The contract is separate from the Russian naval base in Tartous, built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and part of a decades-old military agreement between Moscow and Damascus on the use of the Mediterranean port. Russia and Syria's new ruling administration have said they are in talks over the future of Russia's military presence in Syria after Islamist rebels ousted Russia's ally Assad on Dec. 8, 2024.

Saudi FM in Syria for first visit since Assad's ouster
Agence France Presse/January 24, 2025
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat landed in Syria on Friday, an AFP correspondent reported, in his first visit to Damascus since Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad last month. Syrian authorities said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is set to meet with new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is eyeing investments from wealthy Gulf states to rebuild the war-torn country. The last time bin Farhan was in Damascus, in April 2023, he met Assad in a landmark visit that ended more than a decade of strained relations. Riyadh was key to returning Assad's Syria to the Arab League, after severing ties in 2012 over the government's crackdown on pro-democracy protests that sparked civil war. Now, Syria's new leadership is eager for Saudi investment to help rebuild the country's war-shattered infrastructure and boost its economy. The Islamist authorities' first foreign visit since seizing power was to Saudi Arabia, which has begun sending humanitarian aid to the country. Last month, Sharaa told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that Riyadh "will certainly have a large role in Syria's future", pointing to "a big investment opportunity for all neighboring countries".

Saudi Foreign Minister: Riyadh is engaged in negotiations to lift sanctions on Syria and we are receiving positive signals in this regard
National/January 24, 2025
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan confirmed from Damascus, where he met with the leader of the new administration in Syria, that "Riyadh is engaged in negotiations to lift sanctions on Syria and we are receiving positive signals in this regard."

Al-Shara: We will not allow the division of Syria or the threat of Kurdish militants to Turkey and efforts to reactivate the free trade agreement between Ankara and Damascus
Ankara: Saeed Abdul Razek/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24, 2025
The commander-in-chief of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Shara, confirmed that his administration will not accept the division of Syria or the presence of armed groups outside the control of the state. He also called on the international community to lift the sanctions imposed on the country, and revealed that his first foreign visit will be to Saudi Arabia or Turkey. Al-Shara said that his administration will not allow the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which represent the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to have any armed groups outside the control of the state, or the presence of "groups of foreign fighters" in Syria. In an interview with the pro-Turkish government channel A Haber, broadcast on Thursday night, al-Sharaa stressed that the Syrian administration will not allow the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to carry out terrorist attacks against Turkey, and will do its utmost to ensure the security of the Turkish border.
A message to Kurdish militants
In this regard, al-Sharaa said: "We do not want foreign armed groups, and it is impossible for us in particular to accept groups that threaten Turkey. The bombings in Istanbul and Ankara were carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (YPG) and we cannot accept that. The Arab and Kurdish tribes in Syria do not want the Kurdistan Workers' Party or the Democratic Union Party." He added that there is room for negotiation with the SDF, and the Syrian administration has the right to use all means to restore its territorial integrity. There are elements of non-Syrian origin within the Kurdish Units - SDF, who must leave the country. He continued: "We do not want bloodshed. We said let us meet, but on the condition that those who left their countries and came to Syria return to their countries, and that all weapons must be in the hands of the state." Sharaa met with a delegation from the "SDF" late last month, but the Minister of Defense in the Syrian administration, Marhaf Abu Qasra, stated last Wednesday that the "SDF" was stalling regarding joining the unified Syrian army, and that the door is now open for negotiations, but force may be resorted to if necessary. Turkey threatens to crush the Kurdish units in northern and eastern Syria if its foreign fighters do not leave Syria, and if its Syrian elements do not give up their weapons and join the unified Syrian army, noting that the new Syrian administration is capable of taking steps in this regard. The Kurdish units enjoy strong support from the United States and Western countries that are members of the international coalition against "ISIS", claiming that they are a close ally in the war on the terrorist organization in Syria.

Syrian security forces confront an attack by elements of the former regime in Jableh, and were able to neutralize the attackers
Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24, 2025
The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported on Friday evening that the General Security Forces stationed at the Military College checkpoint in the city of Jableh confronted a “terrorist” attack carried out by elements of the former regime, and were able to neutralize the attackers. The newspaper did not immediately provide further details about the casualties on both sides. “Syria TV” said last Wednesday that two members of the Military Operations Department were killed in an attack launched by elements of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in the northwestern Latakia Governorate. The channel added that the attack, launched by elements of the former regime on the Al-Sina’a checkpoint in the city of Jableh, also resulted in the injury of three others from the Military Operations Department, without providing further details. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the General Security Forces brought in military reinforcements to the site, and imposed a security cordon, in parallel with conducting a search campaign in the vicinity of Al-Hajj.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 24-25/2025
Question: “Is it acceptable to repeatedly pray for the same thing?”
GotQuestions.org?/January 24/2025
Answer: In Luke 18:1-7, Jesus uses a parable to illustrate the importance of persevering in prayer. He tells the story of a widow who came to an unjust judge seeking justice against her adversary. Because of her persistence in prayer, the judge relented. Jesus’ point is that if an unjust judge will grant the petition of someone who perseveres in a request for justice, how much more will the God who loves us—“his chosen ones” (v. 7)—answer our prayer when we keep praying? The parable does not teach, as is mistakenly thought, that if we pray for something over and over, God is obligated to give it to us. Rather, God promises to avenge His own, to vindicate them, right their wrongs, do them justice, and deliver them from their adversaries. He does this because of His justice, His holiness, and His hatred of sin; in answering prayer, He keeps His promises and displays His power. Jesus gives another illustration of prayer in Luke 11:5-12. Similar to the parable of the unjust judge, Jesus’ message in this passage is that if a man will inconvenience himself to provide for a needy friend, God will provide for our needs far more, since no request is an inconvenience to Him. Here again, the promise is not that we will receive whatever we ask if we just keep asking. God’s promise to His children is a promise to meet our needs, not our wants. And He knows our needs better than we do. The same promise is reiterated in Matthew 7:7-11 and in Luke 11:13, where the “good gift” is further explained to be the Holy Spirit.
Both of these passages encourage us to pray and to keep praying. There is nothing wrong with repeatedly asking for the same thing. As long as what you are praying for is within the will of God (James 4:3; 1 John 5:14-15), keep asking until God grants your request or removes the desire from your heart. Sometimes God forces us to wait for an answer to our prayers in order to teach us patience and perseverance. Sometimes we ask for something when granting it is not yet in God’s timing for our lives. Sometimes we ask for something that is not God’s will for us, and He says “no.” Prayer is not only our presenting requests to God; it is God’s presenting His will to our hearts. Keep on asking, keep on knocking, and keep on seeking until God grants your request or convinces you that your request is not His will for you.

Azerbaijan Continues to Illegally Hold, Torture Armenian Hostages
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/January 24, 2025
On January 17, Azerbaijan began trials of 16 Armenian captives... in military courtrooms, to which international media and observers have been denied access.
The next court hearings are slated for January 27, during which court decisions are expected to be announced. As of now, the trials are open only to Azerbaijani state media.
Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing against the Armenian people of Artsakh has been proceeding for the past four years.... Azeri soldiers posted videos and photos of themselves beheading and mutilating Armenians.
"A court hearing of my case is scheduled for January 27 at 3:00 PM. I have been informed that I am facing 42 charges, some of which carry sentences up to life imprisonment. However, I have not been granted the opportunity to fully review the official indictment. My lawyer and I were merely allowed to skim through 422 volumes of the case files, all written solely in the Azerbaijani language, which I do not understand.... Moreover, pressure has been exerted on me, my lawyer, and my interpreter to force us to backdate and sign documents, including falsified protocols and records of interrogations that never took place.... Let me reiterate: all protocols bearing my signature are falsifications." — Ruben Vardanyan, former State Minister of Artsakh, January 16, 2025.
One of the Armenian hostages tortured in an Azeri prison is Vicken Euljekjian... [detained] 10 hours after the ceasefire had gone into effect.... A court sentenced Euljekjian to 20 years imprisonment after a short trial without adequate legal representation.... Liparit Drmeyan, an aide to Armenia's representative to the European Court of Human Rights, said that Euljekjian did not have access to lawyers that were chosen by him.... [His wife said he] has requested a retrial and a lawyer, but the Azeri authorities refuse to meet these requests.
The Trump administration needs to make Azerbaijan release these hostages. US President Donald Trump needs to sanction Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other Azeri officials for carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Nagorno-Karabakh that continues to threaten the territorial integrity of Armenia while refusing to release the Armenian POWs and hostages.
Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing against the Armenian people of Artsakh has been proceeding for the past four years. Pictured: The Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on October 13, 2020, after it was bombed by Azerbaijani forces. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)
Azerbaijan's government authorities refuse to release the Armenian hostages whom they have illegally held and abused since they captured them in 2020 and 2023.
On January 17, Azerbaijan began trials of 16 Armenian captives -- including the former leaders of Artsakh (Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh) -- in military courtrooms, to which international media and observers have been denied access.
In a press release, the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ) requested that Azerbaijan allow international legal experts to observe the trials. The request remains unanswered. The next court hearings are slated for January 27, during which court decisions are expected to be announced. As of now, the trials are open only to Azerbaijani state media.
Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing against the Armenian people of Artsakh has been proceeding for the past four years. Azerbaijan – with the help of Turkey -- launched an aggressive war against Artsakh that lasted 44 days -- between September 27 and November 9, 2020. The aggressors committed countless crimes and indiscriminately shelled the indigenous lands of Armenians, where around 120,000 Armenians resided in the South Caucasus. Azeri soldiers posted videos and photos of themselves beheading and mutilating Armenians.
The trilateral ceasefire agreement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020 was supposed to halt the war. The agreement mandates the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs), hostages and detainees, as well as the repatriation of the remains of deceased individuals. Armenia has honored the agreement, but Azerbaijan has still not.
After the Azeri bombardment of Artsakh in September 2023, Azerbaijan took even more Armenians hostage. As of now, according to official Armenian data, Azerbaijan is holding 23 prisoners of war and political prisoners. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) says that the true figure may be as high as 100, and calls for all Armenian hostages to be released without delay.
Some of the detained individuals include Davit Babayan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, Arkady Ghukasyan, former president of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, former president of Artsakh, Davit Ishkhanyan, chairman of the National Assembly of Artsakh, Davit Manukyan, former deputy commander of the Artsakh Armed Forces, Levon Mnatsakanyan, former commander of the Armed Forces, Bako Sahakyan, former president of Artsakh, and Ruben Vardanyan, former State Minister of Artsakh.
Vardanyan, who has been detained by Azerbaijan since September 27, 2023, issued a statement posted on social media by his family on January 16. He is being tried separately from the other 15 Armenians. He said that he had not been given enough time to prepare his defense on 42 charges, including terrorism:
"A court hearing of my case is scheduled for January 17 at 3:00 PM. I have been informed that I am facing 42 charges, some of which carry sentences up to life imprisonment. However, I have not been granted the opportunity to fully review the official indictment. My lawyer and I were merely allowed to skim through 422 volumes of the case files, all written solely in the Azerbaijani language, which I do not understand, within a very short timeframe – from December 9, 2024, to January 8, 2025. I only received the list of charges in Russian on January 8, 2025.
"Moreover pressure has been exerted on me, my lawyer, and my interpreter to force us to backdate and sign documents, include] ng falsified protocols and records of interrogations that never took place.
"I officially declare: I have given no testimony since the day of my arrest, except during the first interrogation, where I only stated my name and surname. Let me reiterate: all protocols bearing my signature are falsifications. These documents do not exist in reality. My lawyer and interpreter were coerced into signing these documents.
"I once again reiterate and state my complete innocence and the innocence of my Armenian compatriots also being held as political prisoners and demand an immediate end to this politically motivated case against us."
The court denied Vardanyan's request to merge his case with those of the others. His trial is set to resume on January 27.
The people of Artsakh democratically elected their representatives through a direct vote. The term "elected representatives of Nagorno Karabakh" is recorded in several documents of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The former leaders of Artsakh are not the only Armenian hostages held by Azerbaijan. Since 2020, Azerbaijan has taken many Armenian civilians and soldiers hostage during and in the aftermath of Azeri military attacks. Azerbaijan tortured and murdered many of them.
One of the Armenian hostages tortured in an Azeri prison is Vicken Euljekjian, a dual citizen of Armenia and Lebanon. Azeri soldiers detained him on November 10, 2020, near the Armenian city of Shushi in Artsakh, currently occupied by Azerbaijan. The detention reportedly took place 10 hours after the ceasefire had gone into effect. Soon after, he was transferred, along with other Armenian hostages, to a prison in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. A court sentenced Euljekjian to 20 years imprisonment after a short trial without adequate legal representation.
Armenia's government and human rights groups condemned the trial as a travesty of justice. Liparit Drmeyan, an aide to Armenia's representative to the European Court of Human Rights, said that Euljekjian did not have access to lawyers that were chosen by him.
Euljekjian's wife, Linda Euljekjian, told Gatestone Institute that he is suffering from serious physical and mental health problems in prison, and has requested a retrial and a lawyer, but the Azeri authorities refuse to meet these requests.
Luciana Minassian, a lawyer and specialist on international law who monitors the cases of the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan, told Gatestone:
"Trials that lack transparency and fail to meet the standards of due process transform the judicial system into a tool for political retribution. This not only violates the Geneva Conventions but also damages the credibility of the prosecuting state, inviting international condemnation and setting a dangerous precedent for future conflicts. Releasing POWs immediately is not just a legal obligation—it is a moral imperative. Compliance with the Geneva Conventions preserves the integrity of international law, reinforces mutual respect among warring parties, and ensures that states remain accountable to their commitments.
"However, Azerbaijan continues to ill-treat and even torture the Armenian hostages it illegally holds."
Despite the November 9, 2020 ceasefire agreement, the Azeri aggression or threats against Armenia have never ended. On September 12, 2022, Azerbaijan launched a deadly attack across several regions of Armenia's eastern border, killing more than 200 Armenian soldiers and capturing parts of southern Armenia. During that military offensive, Azeri soldiers raped, slaughtered, and mutilated an Armenian female soldier. They then posted on social media images of her abused and tortured body.
In December 2022, Azerbaijan started its starvation siege targeting Artsakh. For nine months, Armenians in Artsakh were blockaded by Azeri forces and deprived of sufficient food, medication and their right to freely travel. And on September 19 and 20, 2023, Azerbaijan bombed Artsakh and forcibly displaced the entire Armenian population – around 120,000 people.
Kathryn Hemmer, a human rights scholar and Genocide Studies Program student fellow at Yale University, wrote of Artsakh:
"The territory, which declared independence in 1991, was home to a predominantly ethnic Armenian population until Azerbaijan launched a 10-month blockade and military assault in 2023. Now, the continued imprisonment of many of Nagorno-Karabakh's leaders has further victimized a population that just experienced what is arguably one of the most overlooked episodes of ethnic cleansing in recent history."
The Trump administration needs to make Azerbaijan release these hostages. US President Donald Trump needs to sanction Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other Azeri officials for carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Nagorno-Karabakh that continues to threaten the territorial integrity of Armenia while refusing to release the Armenian POWs and hostages.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Turkey is more dangerous to Israel than Iran
Amine Ayoub/Ynetnews/January 24/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/139399/
Opinion: Turkey’s influence is more widespread, ideological, and interconnected with a larger regional power struggle, its ambitions, support for Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, threatens to destabilize the Middle East order
In recent years, the Middle East has witnessed shifting geopolitical alliances, with Turkey emerging as a major force in the region. While Iran has long been considered Israel's most dangerous adversary due to its nuclear ambitions, military support for proxy groups, and anti-Israel rhetoric, a closer examination reveals that Turkey poses an even greater threat to Israel’s security. This threat is not only shaped by Turkey's regional ambitions but also by its ideological alignment with groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, which directly challenges Israel's stability.
Historically, Israel and Turkey shared a pragmatic relationship, especially during the 1990s and early 2000s, based on mutual security concerns and common interests. However, this alliance began to deteriorate under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose foreign policy has significantly shifted toward an aggressive stance in the Middle East. Erdogan’s Turkey has increasingly positioned itself as a challenger to the existing regional order, adopting policies that frequently clash with Israel's interests.
One of the most significant factors contributing to Turkey's potential threat to Israel is its close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), a Sunni Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928. The Muslim Brotherhood advocates for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, based on the interpretation of Islamic law, and has historically been hostile to Israel’s existence.
Over the past decade, Turkey under Erdogan has forged an alliance with the MB, offering political, military, and financial support to the group and its affiliates across the Arab world. In countries like Egypt, Libya, and Syria, Turkey has supported Islamist factions linked to the MB, a move that directly undermines Israeli interests. The Brotherhood’s ideology is fundamentally opposed to the Jewish state, viewing Israel as an occupier of Muslim lands, and has historically called for its destruction. While Iran’s threat to Israel is largely military and focused on the nuclear issue, Turkey’s connection with the Muslim Brotherhood represents a deeper, ideological challenge. This is particularly concerning as Turkey uses its political and military clout to spread MB-affiliated ideologies throughout the Arab world, which could destabilize the region further and create more hostile environments for Israel.
Beyond ideological support, Turkey’s growing military presence in key conflict zones like Syria poses a direct security threat to Israel. Erdogan’s intervention in Syria, where Turkey has backed rebel groups, including some with links to extremist factions, has had significant implications for Israel.
While the Syrian civil war initially seemed distant from Israeli interests, the increasing presence of Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria, coupled with Erdogan’s repeated threats to attack Kurdish forces (who are key allies of the West and the U.S.), has created a volatile environment on Israel’s northeastern border. Israel is already concerned about Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, where Iran has established bases and provided weapons to Hezbollah and other militias that pose a direct threat. However, Turkey’s expanding role in Syria presents a different kind of challenge. While Iranian forces are generally viewed as adversaries, Turkish forces might be seen as a more unpredictable threat, particularly given their support for Sunni Islamist factions and the potential for these groups to become proxies for Turkish interests.
If these forces, which may include MB-affiliated groups, gain power in Syria, they could target Israeli interests, either through direct military action or by encouraging anti-Israel sentiment in the region.
Moreover, Turkey’s military presence in Libya, where it backs the Government of National Unity (GNA) in the ongoing civil war, has raised concerns in Israel. The possibility of Turkey establishing a permanent military foothold in North Africa would create a new front against Israel, given the proximity of North Africa to Europe and Israel’s own borders. This could enable Turkey to destabilize the broader Mediterranean region, where Israel has critical economic and military interests, including gas exploration and maritime security.
Given Turkey’s growing role in Syria and its close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Israel faces a complex challenge in the region. The ideological underpinnings of Turkey's foreign policy make it a potentially more dangerous adversary than Iran. Iran’s threat is primarily centered around nuclear weapons and military support for Hezbollah and other groups, but Turkey’s influence is more widespread, ideological, and interconnected with larger regional power struggles. Turkey’s ambitions in the Middle East, coupled with its support for Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, threaten to reshape the regional order in ways that undermine Israel's security.
Given the growing threat from Turkey, Israel must reconsider its strategic posture in the region. While Iran remains a primary focus due to its nuclear program and military entrenchment, Israel must also account for the ideological challenge posed by Turkey’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood. Strengthening alliances with Arab nations that are wary of Turkish expansion—such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—could help counterbalance Turkey’s regional influence. Additionally, Israel must continue to build up its military capabilities, particularly in air defense and intelligence gathering, to counter Turkey’s growing military footprint in Syria and Libya. Israel should also increase its diplomatic efforts to expose Turkey’s destabilizing role in the region, while reinforcing its own relationships with Kurdish groups and other non-Islamist factions in Syria. By doing so, Israel can maintain a flexible and comprehensive approach to the multi-dimensional threat posed by Turkey, ensuring its long-term security in an increasingly unstable Middle East. While Iran has long been considered Israel’s greatest threat, the rise of Turkey as a regional power with a close ideological connection to the Muslim Brotherhood represents a potentially more dangerous challenge. Turkey’s military interventions, its support for Sunni Islamist groups, and its ambitions to restore Ottoman-era influence place it in direct opposition to Israeli interests. As such, Israel must adopt a multi-pronged strategy that addresses both the military and ideological aspects of the Turkish threat. In doing so, Israel can safeguard its security and navigate the increasingly complex dynamics of the Middle East.
Amine Ayoub, a Middle East Forum fellow, is a policy analyst and writer.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1gtc1z00kg

How Dearborn became symbol of pro-Iranian influence in America
Eran Lahav/Ynetnews/January 24/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/139395/
Opinion: Majority-Muslim cities Dearborn and Dearborn Heights allegedly foster quiet jihad in America, with deep ties to Iran, Hezbollah, and anti-Western agendas.
Dearborn, a city with a predominantly Arab and Muslim population, recently made headlines when most of its residents voted for Trump. It has long been known as "America's Jihad capital". This Detroit suburb is infamous for its widespread support for the Palestinians and Iran's proxy organizations, which are designated as terrorist groups by the United States. However, Dearborn has a twin city right next to it, just as extreme: Meet Dearborn Heights. Dearborn Heights, a newer Detroit suburb, also has a significant Muslim population, primarily Shiite, which supports Iran and Hezbollah. In July, Shiite ceremonies were held at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights. During these events, local Islamic scholar Hussein Al-Nashed praised Iran and Hezbollah. Al-Nashed stated: "It is only with the Islamic Revolution that our lot has changed." He went on to praise Ayatollah Khomeini, the architect of the revolution, saying, "(Khomeini) taught you dignity... and honored your religion (as a Shiite)." Al-Nashed further claimed that in America, there is no freedom of thought. "If I want to think for myself… and I say 'you know what, Hezbollah is actually not bad, Hezbollah is a very good thing', next thing I know, the FBI is at my doorstep. Is that freedom of thought?" Al-Nashed argues that the problem lies with the United States itself, which opposes states and entities like Iran and Hezbollah. This is just one example of the rhetoric within Muslim communities that encourages resistance to democratic regimes in Western countries while supporting extremist, anti-Western Islamic elements like Iran and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s stronghold in the US
The situation is similar in Dearborn, its twin Jihad Capital. Here too, an agenda is being promoted that opposes the United States or any other Western entity for that matter, while glorifying extremist elements. In the case of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, these are individuals who were directly responsible for harming American civilians and soldiers. In July, a large gathering commemorated the memory of Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent Lebanese Shiite scholar, regarded as a spiritual leader of Hezbollah. His writings were instrumental in shaping the ideological foundations of the Lebanese terrorist organization. Fadlallah issued a fatwa (religious decree) authorizing the suicide bombing of the multinational force barracks in Beirut in October 1983. That attack killed 241 American Marines, 58 French soldiers, and six civilians. Despite his pivotal role in authorizing this horrific attack by issuing the fatwa, Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah is now honored with memorials on American soil. Annual memorial services for Fadlallah have been held since his death in 2010. These ceremonies are organized by a local charity associated with Hezbollah, known as Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization. In 2006, Al-Mabarrat was accused of being part of a global fundraising infrastructure for Hezbollah, including operations in the United States and Canada.
Further evidence of Al-Mabarrat's deep ties to Hezbollah lies in the fact that Fadlallah personally managed the organization until his death in 2010. Today, his son, Ja'far Fadlallah, leads the charity and also serves as its "General Religious Supervisor."
Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are majority-Muslim cities that promote a quiet jihad within America. Both cities have significant ties and deep connections to Iran and Hezbollah. Numerous charitable organizations in these communities have been advancing an anti-American, anti-Western agenda for many years.
President Donald Trump garnered significant support from Muslim voters, who were protesting President Biden’s administration's backing of Israel during the war in Gaza. Trump thus became the first Republican candidate since 2000 to win a majority of votes in Dearborn. It is no coincidence that the person scheduled to speak at Trump's inauguration was the extremist Shiite imam, Husham al-Husseini, a Hezbollah supporter from the Karbala Shiite Islamic Center in Dearborn who holds strongly anti-Israel views. It should be noted that in the end, it was decided that in light of al-Husseini's factional views and his support for the terrorist organization Hezbollah, he would not speak at Trump's inauguration.
After Trump appointed a strongly pro-Israel cabinet, Muslims referred to it as a "cabinet that supports extreme Israel." These reactions reveal the interests of the Muslim community in the United States and its efforts to influence American policy in favor of Arab interests. The new administration must be attentive to the motives of Islamic entities, like those in America’s jihad capitals, whose goals conflict with American interests. This marks another phase in the process of silent jihad, as America’s two jihad capitals—strongholds of Iran and Hezbollah—lead a direct anti-American agenda.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1dzimw00jg

Video/Text/Arabic & English/Gaza Ceasefire: Implications for Israel, Hamas, and U.S. Policy
Dennis Ross, Matthew Levitt, Neomi Neumann/The Washington Institute./January 25/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/139389/
Former Israeli and U.S. officials discuss the deal’s timing, provisions, and near-term prospects, outlining the Trump administration’s practical options for advancing peace in Gaza and beyond.
On January 17, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with Dennis Ross, Matthew Levitt, and Neomi Neumann. Ross is the Institute’s Davidson Distinguished Fellow and a former U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, with service in four administrations. Levitt is the Institute’s Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow, director of its Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department. Neumann is a visiting fellow at the Institute, former head of the research unit at the Israel Security Agency, and coauthor (with Ghaith al-Omari) of the 2024 report “Reforming the Palestinian Authority: A Roadmap for Change.” The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks.
Dennis Ross
The terms of the new Gaza ceasefire are virtually identical to the ones that Israel presented to President Biden in late May; what seems to have pushed the agreement over the finish line is the “Trump effect.” The remarkable coordination between the outgoing and incoming administrations signaled to Egypt, Qatar, and Israel that concluding the agreement was a priority for Washington despite the change in office. Incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s participation in the late stages of the negotiations suggests that the Trump administration is prepared to remain engaged on the agreement’s subsequent phases.
For its part, Hamas seems desperate for a reprieve and presently has little incentive to violate the ceasefire. This will make it all the more difficult for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to break the agreement himself, especially if Trump presses Israel to honor its terms. Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is a top regional priority for Trump, and this is impossible with Israeli troops still in Gaza.
As the ceasefire continues, several key challenges must be addressed:
Preventing the smuggling of weapons and other materiel to Hamas, especially across the Egypt-Gaza border.
Choking off funding to the group.
Closely monitoring how materials meant for reconstruction are used.
Establishing an interim administration that can provide civil order to Gaza and prevent Hamas from reasserting power.
The terms of the agreement bring immediate gains for Israelis and Palestinians alike: namely, the return of hostages, and a halt to the bombardments that have produced a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In the longer term, however, the deal does not address the looming questions that will determine the conflict’s outcome. If the Trump administration uses the agreement as a launching point for intensive diplomatic engagement on this issue, there is great potential for major progress. Yet regardless of the administration’s willingness to engage, a fraught implementation process lies ahead.
Matthew Levitt
Many analysts have pointed to the severe damage inflicted on Iran’s “axis of resistance”—Hamas’s military capabilities in particular—as proof of the group’s strategic failure. Yet the truth is that Hamas was willing to suffer losses in carrying out a spectacular attack against Israelis so long as it remains part of Gaza’s political fabric once the dust settles. Apparently, its true strategy is to relinquish its governance role in Gaza and refocus attention and resources on its doctrinal mandate of jihad against Israel. For all its losses in personnel, equipment, infrastructure, and leadership since October 7, Hamas can now wave its flags in Gaza and claim victory simply by virtue of surviving. The loss of civilian lives was another cost it was willing to pay—as Hamas leaders repeatedly stated, the group aimed to win the battle for international public opinion by forcing Israel to inflict heavy damage that resulted in civilian casualties.
Of course, rolling out a few hundred fighters to celebrate the ceasefire and swarm the Red Cross vehicles transferring hostages back to Israel does not mean that Hamas is capable of running Gaza—nor does it want to. Again, the group is eager to give up the burdens of governance in favor of a Hezbollah-style model in which it retains influence over local politics but is not burdened by bureaucracy. This is why forming an alternative governance structure in Gaza is of paramount importance. Without another entity exercising authority over the civil administration, Hamas will simply exert itself over select government functions that serve its interests best, furthering its strategy of weaponizing Gaza’s state apparatus without expending substantial resources of its own.
In terms of personnel, some observers claim that the group has recruited as many fighters as it has lost in the past fifteen months, but this seems unlikely. Even if numerically true, it would not account for the difference in quality of fighters lost compared to new recruits. Israel has killed huge numbers of militants with many years of experience, while most of the new recruits seem to be vulnerable children with no combat experience who join Hamas for pennies a day.
Regarding the ceasefire, it is important to recognize that for Israel, the agreement will only ever be a temporary cessation of hostilities. Israeli forces will likely transition from full-scale war in Gaza to night raids and targeted counterterrorism operations, complicating the question of who is willing and able to fill the governance vacuum. As the Trump administration takes the helm, it must ensure that the ceasefire does not set up conditions that advance Hamas’s strategy or undermine the peace that the agreement seeks to bring about.
Neomi Neumann
The signing of the ceasefire agreement raises two key questions: Why did the deal materialize now after sitting on the table since May? And what are its implications for both sides?
For Hamas, anything that enables it to survive is considered an achievement at this point. The timing of the deal was therefore tied to the perception that the “hostages card” was losing its value for Hamas over time as more of the captives died. Moreover, local conditions have become more difficult for Gazans in the months since winter arrived, likely spurring even Hamas’s supporters to ask the group to stop the war and ease the losses, destruction, and disease.
For Israel’s part, Prime Minister Netanyahu was convinced to sign the agreement due to pressure from the incoming Trump administration. Now that he has obtained a temporary reprieve from U.S. and domestic pressure, Netanyahu will likely have greater leeway to confront other regional challenges—especially Iran, but also potential threats from Syria and Turkey.
It is unclear if the ceasefire deal will reach its third and final stage, which is supposed to include major tasks such as implementing a five-year reconstruction plan, enshrining the military disarmament of Hamas, and lifting the Israeli blockade on Gaza. This progress will mainly depend on the extent of Trump’s commitment to advancing the deal and his willingness to fully shut down the fighting in Gaza. If Washington and its partners do not foster an alternative to Hamas governance, the group will eventually recover, reassert its rule in Gaza, and increase its malign influence in the West Bank, essentially returning to the pre-October 7 reality.
To prevent this scenario, the best solution at present is to let the Palestinian Authority return to Gaza and take over. This is hardly an ideal option, but it is less bad than the available alternatives of Hamas rule, chaos, or global jihad.
This summary was prepared by Cleary Waldo. The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
About the Authors
Ambassador Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Neomi Neumann
Neomi Neumann is a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, focusing on Palestinian affairs. She formerly served as head of the research unit at the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Neumann recently began her doctoral studies at Tel Aviv University.

Iran Makes Second Effort to Recover IRGC Officer from Iraqi Custody
Michael Knights/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025
Iran wants Iraq to hand over the IRGC officer who orchestrated the 2021 kidnap-murder of U.S. citizen Stephen Troell: this is not the first time Iran has leveraged Iraqi militia factions to seek his release.
Open imageiconIRGCQF captain Mohammad Reza Nouri with Qassem Soleimani
Figure 1: IRGCQF captain Mohammad Reza Nouri with Qassem Soleimani inna photograph provided in the U.S. government deposition.
On December 20, 2024, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) unsealed its criminal case against Iranian national Mohammad Reza Nouri (also known as Muhammad Rida Husayn, Ali Asghar Nuri, and Abu Abbas) in connection with Nouri’s alleged role in orchestrating the November 7, 2022 murder of American Stephen Troell in Baghdad. In the case, the U.S. describes Nouri as a captain in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and an “advisor to armed militia groups in Iraq”. The 28-page unsealed deposition by a FBI special agent provides extensive detail on Nouri’s command of the nine-man Iraqi cell (drawn from unnamed multiple “militias”, plural) that sought to kidnap at least three persons and intended to murder at least seven others (including U.S. citizens) in a campaign intended to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani and build leverage over the U.S. through hostage-taking.
With strong U.S. urging, Iraqi authorities seized four Iraqi suspects (from the nine-man cell) and one Iranian (Nouri) between the November 2022 killing and the March 26, 2023 arrest of Nouri in Iraq. It was in late March 2023, between Nouri’s arrest and the commencement of investigative proceedings on March 29, that the first effort was made by Iran to release the Iranian. At that time, three persons approached the Iraqi judiciary to seek Nouri’s release: namely Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, an Iranian IRGC-QF colonel known as Hajji Jawad (the direct commander of Nouri), and Asaib Ahl al-Haq’s deputy head, Jawad al-Talibawi. At the time, these officials made the argument that the four (of nine) Iraqis in detention for the Troell slaying would be enough to satisfy the Americans but that the Iranian should be released.
Instead, the Iraqi judiciary (with strong U.S. urging) held on to Nouri and the four Iraqis (Haydar Yousef Akab Hachem, Muhammad Qasim Salih Mahdi, Ali Malik Hamid Majid, and Ali Jamil Ajeel Saghi). All five (at the time unnamed in public) were found guilty of acts of terrorism and sentenced by the Karkh Criminal Court on August 31, 2023 to life imprisonment – itself a notable compromise as their actions were legally punishable by death penalty. In October 2023, the five names were leaked and became public, though identifying photographs of the men were not made available and, uncommonly again, no confessions were televised.
IRGCQF captain Mohammad Reza Nouri and Akram Kaabi
Figure 2: Mohammad Reza Nouri with Nujaba head Akram al-Kaabi.
In June 2024, the case took another turn. Iran International stated that the IRGC-QF, Iran’s judiciary and Iran’s foreign ministry all sought to recover Nouri. According to Iran International, Kazem Gharibabadi, the assistant to the head of the judiciary for international affairs in Iran, claimed that Iran had successfully fought U.S. efforts to get Nouri (who they refer to as a “media advisor”) extradited to the United States, and Sharqiya News reported Gharibabadi as saying that Iran had successfully shifted Nouri’s charges from Iraq’s anti-terrorism law to criminal law instead. Iran International connected Nouri to U.S.-designated terrorist organization Harakat al-Nujaba at the time. Iran’s Tasnim news agency published pictures of Mohammad Reza Nouri next to Akram al-Kaabi, the Nujaba secretary-general (Figure 2).
Now Iran appears to be seeking Nouri’s release again, this time as one of over a hundred Iranians that have been listed to take part in a prisoner swap between the two countries. Iran and Iraq have a mechanism to exchange sentenced prisoners to allow them to serve their sentences in their home country. Mohammad Reza Nouri is among the 100-plus names recently submitted to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice by Iran to be included in a prisoner swap. Pressure is now being felt by Iraqi judges, brought in particular by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani after he returned from his mid-January trip to Iran, where Sudani met Nouri’s relatives.
U.S. pressure has thus far prevented Sudani from achieving Nouri’s release, and maintenance of this U.S. pressure is vital if the Iran-backed Coordination Framework is to be prevented from removing Nouri before he can be extradited to the United States to be tried for crimes that carry multiple life sentences. The four convicted Iraqis should be identified by image, in order to aid surveillance that they have not been quietly released, and future amnesties in Iraq should be carefully monitored for signs of their release. The remaining five attackers at large – including Ali Abdal-Ridha Salih Alwan al-Batbuti (also known as Ali Farfona), the man who actually shot Troell, a son-in-law of AAH’s Jawad al-Talibawi – should also be vigorously pursued if they reappear in Iraq. The Stephen Troell case should become a visible bellwether for whether this and future Iraqi governments are serious about being a friend and partner of the United States.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/iran-makes-second-effort-recover-irgc-officer-iraqi-custody

Opening the Floodgates: The Gaza Deal and Trump’s Presidency
Assaf Orion/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/opening-floodgates-gaza-deal-and-trumps-presidency
The ceasefire is already shaking up Israel’s politics and high command; prompt, well-coordinated action with Washington could help counter threats on several external fronts as well.
Two events in the past week—the Gaza ceasefire agreement and President Trump’s inauguration—may herald a flood that removes logjams and catalyzes a strategic reset in Israel and the Middle East. To realize this potential, U.S. and Israel officials will need to collaborate on proactive policy initiatives regarding Gaza, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If the ceasefire holds, it could end the bloody chapter that began on October 7 and usher in a new phase pregnant with opportunities, disappointments, and risks. Joy over the release of hostages awaits, alongside mourning over the dead and anger over the implications of releasing terrorists as part of the prisoner exchange.
Yet significant challenges—especially in Israeli politics—may undermine the ceasefire and impede its next phases, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attempts to balance between ending the war and ensuring the survival of his coalition government. Trump’s pressure is what tipped Netanyahu toward signing the agreement, and continued U.S. pressure will be needed if the deal is to advance vital interests shared by Washington, Jerusalem, and other regional partners.
Cascading Effects on Seven Fronts
Since the October 7 attack, Israel has fought a war on seven fronts, achieving significant military gains. The ceasefire may mark the end of that war, though remaining threats on each front—as well as complications on the domestic “front”—demand follow-on efforts to transform these gains into sustainable strategic achievements.
Gaza. The ceasefire immediately reduced the fighting in Gaza and will soon decrease the Israeli troop presence there as well. Despite losing much of its fighting force and military capabilities, however, Hamas retains significant guerrilla, rocket, and tunnel capabilities. It has also leveraged control over local distribution of humanitarian aid to continue ruling much of the Strip, recruiting new fighters, and rebuilding itself in preparation for the future conflicts that Hamas leaders swore to wage mere hours after signing the deal. Hence, Israel’s war objective of destroying the group’s governance capabilities remains unfulfilled.
Negotiations are soon expected to unfold regarding the terms of the ceasefire’s second phase, including the exchange of all remaining hostages for more—and worse—Palestinian prisoners and a wider Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrawal. The deal will also compel the Israeli government to finally explore alternatives to Hamas governance that do not involve Israeli control, and that go beyond just curbing the group’s rearmament through the Egyptian border and other crossings. This entails shaping international plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and demilitarization while formulating security arrangements following IDF withdrawals.
As these efforts unfold, the war’s devastation will dominate Gaza’s landscape for years, and the high Palestinian death toll will likely fuel further legal and diplomatic actions against Israel. Increased media access to Gaza and recovery of bodies in the rubble will only increase these pressures.
The West Bank. A combination of a weakening Palestinian Authority, increasing Palestinian terrorism, aggressive Israeli countermeasures, and lenient law enforcement against violent crimes by Jewish extremists has created a highly combustible situation in the West Bank. Hamas will no doubt seek to worsen this situation in the near term, exploiting the release of its prisoners to further undermine PA rule and escalate attacks against Israel. The continued flow of arms and funds through Jordan exacerbates these threats.
Even as it approved the ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli government added a new war goal: to severely degrade terrorist organizations in the West Bank. Toward this end, it reinforced the IDF presence on that front after units completed their missions in Gaza. On January 21, the IDF began a new offensive in Jenin—“Operation Iron Wall”—and erected massive roadblocks across the West Bank. Concurrently, groups of Israeli civilians conducted violent rampages in the Palestinian villages of al-Funduq, Sinjil, and Turmus Aya, setting fire to cars and houses and attacking locals. Some of these attackers were shot by Israeli police.
Lebanon. Hezbollah has suffered major losses, accepted a humiliating ceasefire, and now faces a new president and prime minister who may threaten its interests. Despite these positive developments, however, formidable challenges remain, from disarming the group and demilitarizing southern Lebanon to ensuring the safe return of residents in northern Israel.
Syria. The collapse of the Assad regime is a blow to Iran’s “axis of resistance” and Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts. Yet it also carries the risk of chaos, an Islamic State resurgence, and/or the creation of an Islamist regime backed by Turkey. Moreover, Iran’s efforts to reassert its influence and other threats will intensify if the Trump administration decides to withdraw U.S. troops.
Iran. The regime has been weakened by direct strikes inside Iran and the loss of strategic depth in Syria and Lebanon. Tehran now stands at a crucial crossroads—between pursuing nuclear weapons or accepting a new deal, and between rethinking its proxy enterprise or doubling down on restoring its sway in the Fertile Crescent.
Iraq. Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq have ceased attacks on Israel for fear of retaliation, amid ongoing discussions about (and threats against) the U.S. presence there.
Yemen. When the Gaza deal was signed, the Houthis announced that they would stop attacking non-Israeli vessels in the Red Sea area immediately and halt attacks on Israeli ships more gradually, “upon the full implementation of all phases of the agreement.” Yet their willingness to make good on this pledge is uncertain, and they reserved the option to widen their campaign again if fighting resumes in Gaza or the West Bank. (These developments will be discussed in greater detail in a forthcoming PolicyWatch.) More broadly, the group has been emboldened by the international attention and revenue it has received over the past year and a half and remains a significant threat to Israel, U.S. forces, regional stability, and maritime security.
The Eighth Front Is Domestic
For over a year, the October 7 crisis held up a slew of vital political and legal processes inside Israel. The government repeatedly used the state of war to justify suppressing protests, ignoring public demands for a commission of inquiry, and dismissing calls for early elections and the resignation of those responsible for the catastrophe. The war was also used as a pretext to delay Netanyahu’s criminal trial, potentially giving the prime minister a personal interest in perpetuating the conflict.
When the ceasefire terms were announced last week—reportedly identical to President Biden’s proposal from May—pressure from Trump was the wild card that made Netanyahu willing to brave secession threats from his coalition partners and accept the deal. Predictably, the removal of the wartime logjam opened the floodgates of domestic action.
Immediately after the ceasefire, the party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned from the government, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to step down if the deal’s second phase is approved. Because the departure of far-right parties could bring down Netanyahu’s coalition, the prime minister will have strong incentive to take actions that appease his partners but potentially threaten the ceasefire. For example, his quick approval of more aggressive military operations in the West Bank—Smotrich’s top priority—was a timely response to rising threats there.
Elsewhere, IDF chief of staff Gen. Herzi Halevi announced his resignation on January 21, two days after the ceasefire. He was followed by the head of Southern Command, and more generals will surely look for the exit door soon. The government is also expected to press the head of the Israel Security Agency to resign, centralizing more powers under Netanyahu’s hand and potentially increasing public calls for similar moves at the political level.
Meanwhile, Israeli sentiment is already shifting amid the return of hostages and bodies, the cessation of hostilities, and images of released terrorists. This could ignite protests for and against the deal, as well as louder demands for a state inquiry and calls for early elections.
Policy Implications
Coming at the start of Trump’s presidency, the Gaza ceasefire could serve as the first success of his “peace through strength” doctrine and appeal to his aspirations as a peacemaker. In particular, the decline in fighting may enable Washington and Jerusalem to focus on larger strategic issues such as countering Iran’s nuclear program and expanding the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia. Progress on these issues could bring a dramatic shift in the strategic landscape—though they require changes in Israel’s Palestinian policy, which seem improbable under the current government.
In any case, officials should focus on the following steps in the near term:
Free all hostages and end the war. Israel should work with the United States and other partners to fully implement the ceasefire’s first phase and quickly negotiate the terms of subsequent phases to expedite the release of all hostages and fully end the war. At the same time, they should prepare alternative plans in case the fragile ceasefire collapses and fighting resumes—though Washington would be wise to do whatever it can to ensure that Israel’s domestic politics are not the cause of this collapse.
End Hamas rule in Gaza. Israel and its partners should take steps to curtail Hamas control on the ground and prevent the group from resurging and rearming. This entails a combination of military, diplomatic, economic, and informational efforts. Effective, moderate governance should be promoted, and reconstruction must be conditioned on demilitarization.
Prevent Iran from going nuclear and defeat its axis. Israel should work with the United States to craft a joint strategy on ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. This effort should combine the following: a renewed “maximum pressure” economic campaign; credible military options (Israeli, American, or joint), which may well be employed; and a strong agreement that rolls Iran back from the nuclear threshold. Israel and the United States should also partner with neighboring states to prevent the recovery of Iran’s “axis of resistance” and neutralize any continuing threats posed by proxies in Yemen and Iraq.
Expand Arab-Israel peace. Officials should seek new diplomatic breakthroughs in the region, from establishing formal relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia to announcing a political horizon for the Palestinians and advancing the conditions needed for a successful peace process in the future.
Stabilize the Levant. Joint efforts are needed to prevent Hezbollah’s recovery, stabilize the Lebanon ceasefire, address emerging threats from Syria and Turkey, and safeguard Jordan’s stability.
Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (Res.) is The Washington Institute’s Rueven International Fellow and former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division.

Expect the Unexpected with Trump and the Gulf
Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute,/January 24/2025
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/expect-unexpected-trump-and-gulf
Whatever the new administration decides on major regional issues—from Gulf involvement in postwar Gaza to next steps on Iran—local leaders should be prepared to wait awhile and brace for surprises.
Greetings from Washington, where we have a ringside seat to watch the first days of the second Trump administration. Lots of the action is taking place a couple of miles from my home. Motorcades can disrupt simple errands. Friends are getting jobs—or not. Biden-supporting Democrats are in deep depression.
Perhaps perversely, the subject dominating conversation is not President Trump but rather the weather. It has been record-breakingly cold, hence Monday’s ceremony taking place inside Congress rather than in the open overlooking the Mall. Piles of snow and icy sidewalks are judged the greater imminent peril for many. Apart from keeping warm, people are trying to make sense of what is happening. But this is mainly for themselves and America domestically: the US can be very parochial. The wider world is left trying to interpret what a few foreign policy phrases, either in formal speeches or in throwaway lines to journalists, may mean. For the Gulf, “drill, baby, drill” in Trump’s inauguration speech is likely to have prompted groans of disappointment. Oil prices have held up in the past few days, but the longer-term trend can now be predicted to be downwards, faster.
The comment may well have prompted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to call Trump late on Wednesday to promise $600 billion of Saudi investment in the next four years. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund has the money, but an immediate impact may well be slower investment at home on Vision 2030. A further groan probably followed Trump’s comment that he may make his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, as he did in 2017, if Riyadh promised to buy another $450 billion of “our product,” presumably military equipment. He added that “$500 billion” would be preferred, to allow “for all the inflation.”
On Biden’s first day in office back in 2021, the ex-president had announced the climate crisis and quickly put climate change at the centre of US foreign policy. But Trump has flipped, announcing that high energy prices are a threat to the American people, and he has withdrawn the US from the Paris climate accord.
Offshore wind farm projects are likely to be completed but do not expect any more (at least for four years). Solar seems also to have a doubtful immediate future.
The word “Iran” was not in his inauguration speech, prompting the immediate judgment that he favours diplomacy rather than military action. His Monday midnight firing of Brian Hook, the hawk who had been leading his Iran transition team, added weight to this point of view.
The “Mar-a-Lago effect” was blamed by some for this surprise decision—a reference to informal policy discussions being impacted by personality differences with factional rivals who, perhaps crucially, hung out with Trump at his Florida residence.
Gaza formed a backdrop for Trump’s speech at the indoor Capital One sports and entertainment arena, a second cold weather replacement for what should have been a march in front of the White House. A group of yellow-scarved Israeli relatives of the hostages, plus one hostage released earlier, were given pride of place behind the President, although his message of support was then horrifically muddled by him referring to the January 6 (2021) insurrectionists who stormed Congress also as hostages.
The notion of a post-Hamas Gaza, and a Gulf, specifically a UAE, role in its administration, mediated by Trump, seems far-fetched, at least this week. Sunday’s release of three Israeli hostages, amid chaotic scenes of Hamas fighters in Gaza City, suggests the limits of Israel’s victory in the Strip so far. Trump has been quick to take credit for the hostages’ release, at least in part by pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The next two parts of the deal have yet to play out, as well as any arrangement for the release of the rest of those held captive.
Qatar’s role as a mediator appears to have been crucial. It prompted a meeting at this week’s Davos conference in Switzerland between the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatari prime minister (and foreign minister).
Both men had spoken to separate audiences but met afterwards. To the surprise of many familiar with public Israeli antagonism towards Qatar, it was acknowledged on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
US-supported normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia still seems possible, although quite how and when is a matter of speculation. It is hardly a low-hanging fruit.
China and Russia seem to be the bigger issues in Washington. Beijing may be anxious for new diplomacy. A vice-president attended the inauguration in what was interpreted as a significant goodwill gesture.
But do not expect anything too quickly, short of a surprise event in the US or somewhere in the world. The new administration may want to give the impression of hitting the ground running, but appointments and Senate confirmations take time.
In Gulf terms, the crucial indicator perhaps should be who comes to Washington first rather than where Trump makes his first foreign trip. The answer, at least at the moment, seems likely to be Netanyahu in February, who may be pushing a breakthrough with Saudi Arabia or support for Israel’s position in Gaza. Patience is necessary and, especially with Trump, expect the unexpected.
**Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy. This article was originally published on the Arabian Gulf Business Insight website.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/expect-unexpected-trump-and-gulf
About the Authors
Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.