Despite Donald Trump’s accommodating words: “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and genuine dialogue with Syria. The United States is very pleased with the results achieved through hard work and determination in Syria. Al Sharaa is working to ensure that Syria and Israel enjoy a long and prosperous relationship,” Israel has a different opinion. The Israeli publication Yedioth Ahronoth: “An agreement between Israel and Syria is currently impossible.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid appealed to President Herzog: “Netanyahu cannot be forgiven without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and immediate withdrawal from political life.”
On December 1, a commission was created in Israel to adopt a law to control free media. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian An-124-100 transport aircraft delivered a large shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
And still on the subject of weapons, it has been learned that Israel’s high-power laser interception system, called Iron Beam, will be delivered to the army on December 30, according to a source in the Ministry of Defense’s Research and Development Directorate. Dani Gold, director of the Directorate, stated that “with the completion of development and a comprehensive test program that has confirmed the system’s capabilities, we are ready to deliver initial operational capability to the IDF on December 30, 2025.” “The Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the rules of engagement on the battlefield. At the same time, we are already developing next-generation systems,” he stated. The Iron Beam system has been under development for over ten years. During the ongoing war, a weaker version of the system was used by the IDF to shoot down Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon.
A German government spokesperson confirms that Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit Israel from December 6 to 7.
Israel recently lodged a complaint with the United States regarding the Lebanese army’s actions aimed at disarming Hezbollah. Israel conveyed a message to the Lebanese government through the Americans: “If the Lebanese army does not act effectively against Hezbollah, the Air Force will significantly increase the scope of its strikes on Lebanon and expand into areas that Israel has so far avoided attacking due to the Trump administration’s demands.” Israel wanted to set a deadline for the Lebanese government; it is now awaiting a decision from the Americans. This week, Trump’s envoy to Lebanon, Morgan Ortagus, will visit Israel and then Lebanon. The Israeli threat and US dissatisfaction with the Lebanese army’s actions led to an unprecedented event over the weekend: the Lebanese army allowed journalists into Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon to demonstrate their efforts against Hezbollah to the outside world.
On November 29, Iranian television published images of the attack on an Iranian air defense post during the first strike of the “12-Day War” for intimidation purposes. Iran also reported that nearly a year and a half after its sinking in July 2024, Iran announced the completion of repairs and restoration work on the destroyer Sahand and its return to the fleet.
Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan stated after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: “We also believe that Israel’s regional expansion represents the most serious threat to security in our region.” Israel believes the country is facing the “reality of repeated military actions” against Iran.
And now a look at the military scenario in the region, updated at 5:30 PM on December 1. The situation in Yemen is worsening. Significant military contingents from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), an Abu Dhabi-funded group in southern Yemen, have been deployed in recent days to the strategic port of Al-Mukalla and along the Hadhramaut coast. This deployment, captured by satellite imagery, comes as the rival militia, the Hadhramaut Protection Forces (HPF), the armed wing of the Riyadh-backed Hadhrami Tribal Alliance (HTA) led by Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, has begun gathering forces on the Hadhramaut plateau, near the oil wells. Both forces appear ready for combat.
Recently, clashes between the two factions broke out in the Al-Ulayb area, between the the coast and valley resulted in two deaths and several injuries, sparking unprecedented tensions. According to a source within the movement, STC leader Aidarus al-Zubaidi returned from the Emirates to Aden on November 27 for an emergency meeting. The STC considers the APKH’s initiative unacceptable. This year, the APKH has repeatedly cut off electricity in government- and STC-controlled areas to protest the latter’s advance in the region. This is perceived as Emirati-led foreign interference.
APKH forces, based in their stronghold of Gail bin Yameen in the highlands of central Hadhramaut, are currently blocking any STC military advance northward, towards the important cities of Tarim and Seiyun. In addition to the STC, Emirati auxiliary forces in the coastal strip and at the port of Al-Mukalla consist of two other units: the elite Hadhrami Forces, or Nuhba, and a sort of private military company (PMC) for operations abroad.
The Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance accuses the STC and the Emirates of wanting to replace the elite Hadhrami forces, composed of local fighters, with forces from outside the province, more loyal to Abu Dhabi’s interests. Concerned about an impending clash, some Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance leaders have criticized Amr bin Habrish, accusing him in particular of provoking the STC and inciting conflict. Verbal clashes and threats between the sheikh and the rival group have intensified since September.
Envoys from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are expected to discuss the issue in the near future. The two Gulf powers, each supporting one of the two movements, appear to be trying to prevent a fratricidal war between these two government forces. Amid this chaos, the Houthis are reorganizing.
On December 1, Israeli helicopters flew low over Suwaida Governorate, dropping thermal balloons on Daraa Governorate. This coincided with their incursions into Quneitra Governorate. For about a week, the Israeli Air Force’s 122nd Squadron conducted extensive sorties using Nahshon Shavit 679 and 684 AWACS aircraft, specialized in SIGINT (signals intelligence), electronic surveillance, and electronic warfare, as well as Nahshon Eitam 537, the Air Force’s Operations Command, which conducted a detailed survey of the Syrian and Lebanese coasts.
For over a week, southern Syria and Lebanon have been experiencing intense communications and radar jamming, coinciding with the continuous overflight of a Nahshon Shavit 684 aircraft in regional airspace.
According to local Lebanese sources: “These intelligence operations are part of a clear Israeli escalation, supported by the United States and Great Britain, and ongoing Israeli incursions into southern Syria. Reconnaissance, intelligence, and intelligence-gathering operations have focused on the Syrian and Lebanese coasts, from Latakia and Tartus to Beirut and as far as Naqoura in Lebanon. Israel is preparing for a wave of large-scale attacks against targets in southern Syria and Lebanon.”
Syrian sources say that two tanks and four armored vehicles belonging to the Israeli army advanced to Tell al-Hamriya, in the northern Quneitra countryside.
The Israeli 88th Armored Brigade, Barak, delivered a message to Iraq warning of an imminent Israeli operation against Hezbollah. It spoke of a “heavy Israeli attack if the factions intervened alongside Hezbollah.”
An Israeli plane dropped a bomb on the outskirts of the city of Rmeish, in the central sector. The Shehab correspondent reported that “More than ten Israeli warplanes are flying low over the Gaza Strip, heading towards southern Lebanon.” And as recently as December, local accounts reported that “the new Israeli site on the Markaba-Houla road is firing volleys of fire toward the outskirts of the two cities.”
The Palestinian Information Center, Ma’ta, reported on November 28 that “26 resistance operations against the IDF have been recorded in the West Bank in the last 48 hours.” Meanwhile, the IDF has removed Palestinian flags from At-Tabqa, in the Jenin region.
On December 1, a field commander of the Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank stated in a statement: “Our mujahideen from the Beit Amr Company in Hebron and the Nablus Battalion managed to forestall Israel’s planned action and ambush it with booby-traps and explosive devices, which shocked the enemy officers and soldiers, who admitted that many of them were injured.” It also reads: “From the moment Israel announced the launch of its failed operation, dubbed ‘The Five Stones,’ our mujahideen were ready.” They managed to neutralize a D9 military bulldozer that had infiltrated the Wadi Al-Taysir axis after being targeted by a “Torfan”-type landmine, and neutralized a military jeep by detonating a “Sejil”-type guided explosive device in the city of Tamoun. Five soldiers were reportedly evacuated and injured in the ambush.
The IDF raided shops in the village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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