US President Trump has informed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that the “Day After” plan for Gaza will come into effect on January 15, 2026. This plan includes the establishment of an international monitoring body, which Trump is expected to chair personally, in preparation for Hamas taking control in the coming weeks.
Trump and Netanyahu celebrated New Year’s Eve together at Mar-a-Lago. Trump said that he and Netanyahu discussed Gaza and five other key issues during their talks. He also highlighted constructive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on international forces in the region and relations with Syria.
Netanyahu and Trump agreed to give Hamas two months to disarm. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said: “Israel emerged from the seven-front war that was imposed on us as the strongest country in the Middle East. Hamas still has about 20,000 armed men with tens of thousands of Kalashnikov rifles. We will recover the remains of the last hostage in Gaza by any means necessary. We do not want an escalation with Iran, but if it dares to target us, the consequences will be catastrophic for it.”
The US Treasury Department announced that the United States will impose additional sanctions against Iran. “Iran may soon be able to strike US cities with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu warned during his trip to the United States. In Iran, meanwhile, appointments within the Pasdaran continue to replace those who have died or been dismissed: Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by Ayatollah Khamenei.
According to Israel Hayom, former senior officials from Assad’s Syrian regime visited Israel earlier this month, meeting with Israeli intelligence officials. Among Assad’s officials were former Syrian military intelligence chief Kamal al-Hasan and Abu Ali Khadr, a wealthy businessman close to Assad. They asked Israel to support an Alawite separatist project and to “protect” the Alawite population on the Syrian coast. They argue that Russia’s influence in the region is declining and have therefore turned to Tel Aviv.
Israel has banned more than two dozen humanitarian organizations from operating in Gaza for failing to meet Israeli screening requirements, including the world-renowned organization Doctors Without Borders. Israel has accused these groups of potential cooperation or collaboration with Hamas.
Finally, Netanyahu and Trump agreed that reconstruction will begin first in Rafah. Trump’s advisers are pressuring Netanyahu to reopen the Rafah crossing in both directions. Discussions on moving to Phase Two of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel will begin after the return of the body of the last deceased Israeli hostage, Israel’s Channel 12 reports.
The pro-Iranian hacker group Handala announced on December 28 that it had hacked the phone of Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hackers said they would publish new information linking Braverman to Qatargate. The scandal revolves around two of Netanyahu’s advisers who allegedly worked on behalf of Qatar for the public relations agency Perception, led by Yisrael Einhorn, the prime minister’s former campaign manager. An investigation into the matter began in Israel earlier this year.
The group then leaked photos and videos, as well as files from Braverman’s address book, allegedly containing the phone numbers of senior officials and other members of Netanyahu’s inner circle, including the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu.
And now a look at the military scenarios. Throughout December 30, reports continued to emerge of disruptions to various internet networks in Israel. A cyberattack targeted Israeli telecommunications providers Partner and Cellcom, causing widespread disruptions in transmission and internet services in Israel, affecting approximately 90% of network coverage.
Ansar Allah leader warns Somaliland officials: Israeli presence will be treated as a military target. Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, issued a statement on recent developments in Somalia and Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, describing the initiative as an attempt to divide Somalia and destabilize African states and the Red Sea region. Al-Houthi stressed that the Islamic Ummah must respond to such actions, warning that negligence would allow Israeli plans to succeed.
He also warned that any Israeli presence in Somalia poses a threat to Somalia itself, Yemen, and regional security. Consequently, he stated that Israeli forces in Somaliland or Puntland would be considered legitimate military targets for the Yemeni armed forces. The message is a direct warning to both the Somaliland authorities and Israel, signaling that in any future conflict, Israeli forces in the region could become targets of Yemeni missile and drone strikes.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition in southern Yemen released footage of the nighttime attack on the port of Mukalla. On December 30, clashes continued between the Saudi-backed tribal coalition and the Hadrami Elite Forces backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Fighting persists in the Khurd Valley in southern Hadramaut, where tribal coalition fighters aligned with Saudi Arabia are surrounded by southern forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates. According to some sources, at least four members of the Hadrami Elite Forces were killed in the clashes.
Saudi warplanes conducted airstrikes on open and uninhabited areas as a warning to forces aligned with the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of deterring further attacks and advances in Hadramaut.
On December 31, the UAE agreed to voluntarily withdraw from Yemen. The UAE Ministry of Defense, in a statement responding to the Yemeni government’s announcement to end cooperation, announced the voluntary withdrawal of its remaining counterterrorism teams from Yemen.
The Ministry confirmed that Emirati forces had been active since 2015 as part of the Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s ousted government. It noted that the UAE formally ended its military presence in 2019 after fulfilling its agreed tasks, with only a limited number of specialized teams remaining.
Although the declaration formally marks the end of the UAE’s military role in Yemen, Abu Dhabi continues to exert influence over developments in the south and east of the country. Leaders of the Southern Transitional Council have strongly criticized Rashad al-Alimi’s decision, calling it illegitimate. Efforts to pave the way for southern Yemen’s declaration of secession are still ongoing, with the UAE awaiting broader international support before resuming more direct dialogue on the Yemeni issue.
Hadramawt Governor Salem Al-Khanbashi: “Emirati forces have begun to withdraw from all their positions, both in the governorates of Hadramawt and Shabwa.”
Due to large-scale clashes this week with pro-Assad Alawites, Syrian government forces have imposed a curfew in the city of Latakia.
After a pause in flights, an unusual British Royal Air Force flight deep into Lebanon reached the outskirts of Homs and the Damascus countryside, using the latest aircraft systems: a long-range aircraft designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, the General Atomics MQ-9 Protector RG Mk 1, a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). Advanced intelligence monitoring operations are concentrated deep inside Lebanon and central Syria. From the Baalbek/Hermel governorate in Lebanon to western Syria Bekaa. From the southern countryside of Homs and Qalamoun to the countryside of Damascus.
Israeli forces advance in the countryside areas of Quneitra, in southern Syria.
On December 30, deployment of the Lebanese army around the site of the Palestinian weapons handover on the outskirts of Ain al-Hilweh and heightened security measures. Three Lebanese army trucks entered the Ain al-Hilweh camp, signaling the start of the weapons handover procedure. A statement by a Fatah official is expected at the end of the procedure. The shipment of weapons that Fatah handed over to the army in Ain al-Hilweh included a missile launcher with 16 missiles, 10 DShK machine guns, and a quantity of ammunition.
A statement from the Lebanese Army reads: “Continuing the process of receiving weapons from Palestinian camps in various regions of Lebanon, the army received a quantity of Palestinian weapons from the Ain al-Hilweh camp, in coordination with the relevant Palestinian authorities. This operation involved various types of weapons and ammunition, which were received by specialized military units for inspection and further action.”
A UNIFIL force is currently present in Tell al-Miyazin, overlooking the Litani River. On the outskirts of the town of Deir Sian, equipped with binoculars, a reconnaissance and monitoring operation is underway in the area surrounding the hill.
On December 30 and 31, Israeli warplanes strike southern Lebanon, Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley. Israeli artillery bombardments target the area between the towns of Rmeish and Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon.
Intensive overflights with EVO MAX 4N helicopters over Adissa, Houla, Markaba, Rabaa al-Thalathin, Blida, Khiam, Kfarkela, Qantara, Deir Mimas, Burj al-Muluk, Shebaa, Habbarieh, Kfar Shuba, southern Lebanon
An Israeli force penetrated 1,600 meters from the nearest border crossing and 1,400 meters from the new position, and blew up a house in the town of Houla, in southern Lebanon. An Israeli aircraft dropped a bomb on an excavator in the town of Aita al-Shaab.
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is preparing the Israeli army for an imminent war. During a meeting with IDF leaders, he revealed plans to improve readiness, train units, restore weapon readiness, and restore discipline and professional leadership, according to Ma’ariv.
Five vehicles set on fire in the Negev. According to a senior police official, the incident was an act of revenge carried out by Bedouins in response to the activities of extremist minister Ben-Gvir in the Tarabin region.
Israeli military raid in southern Jenin. Israeli forces raided the town of Jaba, located south of Jenin in the West Bank, arresting several Palestinian residents. The troops turned one of the houses into a temporary base, where they transferred the detainees and began interrogation procedures.
Israeli escalation in Gaza: intense artillery, air, and helicopter bombardment. On December 31, Israeli forces launched artillery bombardments accompanied by heavy gunfire from military vehicles east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
At the same time, the air force carried out an air strike on Rafah, while vehicles opened fire on the south-eastern areas of the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip, in a continuing escalation on several fronts. Israeli helicopters also intensified their attacks on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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