According to Reuters: Benjamin Netanyahu is going to Cairo for ceasefire talks, the agreement should be signed in the coming days. Social media sources say that the Iranian Foreign Minister is also going to Cairo.
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas confirms that, in light of the positive discussions that took place on December 17 in Doha under the auspices of the “brother mediators of Qatar and Egypt,” a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops creating new conditions.
Ben Gvir on Israeli Channel 14: “The agreement that is being talked about is irresponsible and I do not support it, but we must wait for the final details.” According to reports, the agreement ends with a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes, and 6 points that the army will maintain during the first and second phases, after which the reconstruction process will begin.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth: “Minister Bezalel Smotrich, is currently working to annex the West Bank.” The newspaper highlighted a significant increase in demolitions of Palestinian buildings under the pretext of “illegal construction,” as 642 demolition operations have been carried out since the beginning of 2024, compared to 306 operations in 2023.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have condemned the decision of the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu to expand settlements in the Syrian Golan.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, during a visit with Netanyahu to the summit of Mount Hermon, said: “The summit of Mount Hermon is Israel’s eye for monitoring threats near and far. From here we look to the right at Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to the left at Damascus – and in front of us we see Israel – the IDF is here to protect the Golan and the citizens of Israel from any threat and from the most important place from which this can be done.
IDF Brigadier General Daniel Hagari is nominated for two positions on the General Staff: Chief of Strategy and Iran (replacing Eliezer Toledano, who has announced his departure from the IDF) and IDF Attaché in Washington (replacing Hedy Silberman, also a former IDF representative). If there are no changes, the chief of staff is expected to make a decision on Hagari’s future and promotion in the coming months.
The IDF has acknowledged the battle death in the southern Gaza Strip of a company commander of the 7107th Engineer Battalion of the Nahal Brigade with the rank of major. The Israel Defense Forces also officially announces the creation of a new reserve: “David Division”.
Approximately nine months after the start of the process of creating a new division, the IDF will soon begin a mass recruitment campaign for the Volunteer Reserve Division, which will be based primarily on released reservists between the ages of 38 and 58 who will re-volunteer for service. It is expected that 80 percent of the division’s representatives will be volunteers.
Despite the ambitious goal of recruiting around 15,000 fighters for the division, the IDF has so far only managed to recruit a few thousand, and is therefore trying to speed up the recruitment process and attract additional personnel. The Division is also looking for women to join its ranks, and if there is a large response, some of the Division’s units will be considered to have both men and women.
European Union’s Kaya Kallas said extremism, Iran and Russia should have no place in Syria’s future. Many EU foreign ministers believe Syria should rid itself of Russian influence.
And now a look at Israel’s fronts as of 18:00 on December 17.
Since the morning of December 17, Israeli drones and reconnaissance planes have been flying low over Tyre and the surrounding areas. They will then bomb in the afternoon. Two people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting a Rapid vehicle in Majdal Zoun, Tyre district in southern Lebanon. Israeli explosions in Yaroun, southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Army begins recovering the bodies of the dead from the town of Addayseh in southern Lebanon, with the assistance of the Lebanese Red Cross. The army is also expected to begin recovering the bodies of martyrs from the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon today, with the assistance of the Lebanese Civil Defense.
In the afternoon, Israeli forces approached the UNIFIL headquarters along the coast of Naqoura, stopped briefly, then retreated eastward and took up positions on the hill overlooking the headquarters and the port of Naqoura.
The IDF said the elite 98th Division is preparing to return to combat in the Gaza Strip after completing a mission in southern Lebanon. The Qassam Brigades claimed to have destroyed a troop transport with a “Shawaz” explosive device in the middle of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The Qassam Brigades also claimed to have used booby-trapped homes in Jabalia to kill Israeli soldiers.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades bombed an Israeli command and control headquarters in the Netzarim axis with two rockets.
Israeli airstrikes were reported in the Qalamoun region of Syria. The Qalamoun mountain region is part of the mountain range on the border between Lebanon and Syria. The Lebanese Islamic Resistance saw much action there during the Syrian civil war, due to its difficult terrain and strategic importance for the security of the Lebanese border.
The IDF carried out an airstrike against the outskirts of the city of Hodeidah in western Yemen. There are military concentrations and equipment in Mokha heading towards the Hodeidah and Taiz fronts, and thousands of Southern Giants Brigades led by the nephew of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, supported by the UAE, have been pouring into the western coast for more than a week without stopping, and the situation is likely to explode militarily within hours.
Ansar Allah movement political council member Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi: “We have no red line and the enemies must stop the aggression against Yemen and the Gaza Strip. The American-British aggression or any aggression in the next phase will not be able to divert Yemen from its duty towards Gaza. Any nonsense committed by the Israeli enemy against Yemen will not stop our operations and we will not care about its threats. If the Americans want us to stop supporting the people of Gaza, they must stop the aggression and lift the siege.”
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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