Middle East

Elsewhere in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, Cameroon and Ivory coast draw 1-1, while Sudan see off Equatorial Guinea.

Mozambique have claimed a historic first victory in the Africa Cup of Nations, breathing new life into their campaign after overcoming Gabon 3-2 in Agadir, while Algeria have booked their place in the last 16 of AFCON with a narrow win over Burkina Faso.

Beaten in their tournament curtain-raiser by Ivory Coast, Mozambique scored twice before half-time in their Group F game on Sunday as Faizal Bangal headed home and Geny Catamo netted from the penalty spot.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back for Gabon before the break, but Diogo Calila restored Mozambique’s two-goal cushion. It was ultimately enough to seal a maiden win for Mozambique in this tournament at the 17th attempt, despite Gabon’s Alex Moucketou-Moussounda pulling one back.

Elsewhere in the group, defending champions Ivory Coast ‍took ‍a lead that lasted only five minutes before Cameroon equalised to secure a 1-1 ⁠draw in their heavyweight clash on Sunday.

Amad Diallo scored for a second successive game to ‍open ⁠the scoring for the Ivorians in the 51st minute, but full-back Junior Tchamadeu levelled for Cameroon with the help of a deflection ​in the 56th ‌minute at Marrakesh Stadium.

Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, who have eight AFCON titles ‌between them, now share the lead in ‌Group F with ⁠four points apiece, followed by Mozambique on three.

Gabon need to win their final group game to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams.

Algeria have secured their place in the last 16, after a Riyad Mahrez penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.

Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkina outfit.

The penalty that decided the game was awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over.

Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick as he followed his brace in the opening 3-0 defeat of Sudan to take his tally at this Cup of Nations to three goals. The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger, appearing at his sixth AFCON, now has nine goals at the tournament, an Algerian record.

Pierre Landry Kabore, the Hearts’ striker, came close to equalising for Burkina Faso with a header from a corner, before Mahrez teed up Mohamed Amoura for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Herve Koffi at the end of an Algerian breakaway in the first half of stoppage time.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza twice failed to convert good opportunities in the second half, while substitute Georgi Minoungou fired just over as Burkina Faso pushed unsuccessfully for an equaliser.

Algeria, African champions in 1990 and in 2019, have the maximum six points after two games in Group E and are yet to concede a goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s side living up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

Burkina Faso and Sudan come next on three points each, but they play each other in the final round of group games on Wednesday. This means Algeria are guaranteed a top-two finish even if they lose their final outing against the currently pointless Equatorial Guinea.

Sudan boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday after a Saul Coco own goal gave them a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.

Unlucky Torino centre-back Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute in Casablanca when his teammate Luis Asue attempted to clear a Sudan free kick.

Sudan won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970, but this is just their second victory in 18 matches across six appearances at the tournament since then.

Misrata, Libya – After days of mourning, Libya is laying to rest its army chief, General Mohammed al-Haddad, and four other prominent military figures.

Al-Haddad, his senior adviser, Mohamed al-Essawi, and his military cameraman, Mohamed al-Mahjoub, were transported to their hometown in Misrata on Saturday evening for burial.

Also killed in the aircraft crash in central Turkiye on Tuesday were the commander of army land forces, General Fetouri Ghrebil, and the head of military manufacturing, Mahmoud al-Gedewi, whose remains were moved to their respective hometowns for burial.

The five were returning to the North African country from Ankara after meetings with Turkish defence officials, just a day after the Turkish parliament voted to extend the presence of its troops in Libya, as part of efforts to bolster military cooperation between Turkiye and the internationally recognised government in Tripoli.

Turkish authorities say preliminary investigations suggest a technical failure.

A Libyan military committee went to Ankara on Wednesday to help the investigation. A committee member told Al Jazeera that both countries agreed to transfer the aircraft’s flight recorder to a neutral country for a full investigation.

‘A dreadful scene’

After visiting the site of the crash, sources from the Libyan military committee told Al Jazeera it was a “dreadful scene”, with body parts scattered everywhere.

Identification was so difficult that authorities had to perform DNA testing on the body parts to identify which of the aircraft passengers they belonged to.

It was only after the long, painstaking process was completed that the bodies were finally repatriated to Libya.

A Turkish military ceremony was held in their honour early on Saturday morning, then the bodies were put on an aeroplane for the journey to Libya, but matters became complicated at that point.

The seemingly straightforward matter of holding ceremonies for the deceased became an issue as details like where they would be held were debated hotly in the fractured country.

Is General al-Haddad replaceable?

The Tripoli government is overseen by the Presidential Council, a three-member body that serves as the supreme commander of the military, according to the Libyan Political Agreement.

However, Libya’s rival authorities in the east, controlled by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, do not recognise them, despite the eastern-based parliament signing the agreement.

Al-Haddad was seen by some as a man of peace, well-respected by people across the country, even those he fought against.

He played a crucial role in the fight against Haftar during the latter’s military campaign on Tripoli in 2019, an assault that saw Haftar’s forces on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Under al-Haddad, government forces retook western Libya and forced Haftar back to the east, and al-Haddad helped pave the way for the national ceasefire agreement signed in 2020.

Haftar released a statement saying he was “deeply saddened” by al-Haddad’s death and expressed his condolences to his family.

In May, clashes broke out around Mitiga international airport between government forces and the Special Deterrent Force, a powerful armed group that reports to the Presidential Council and opposes the interim prime minister in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Dbeibah gave the Special Deterrent Force (SDF) an ultimatum to hand over the airport, their prisons, and assimilate into the state security apparatus, or be targeted by the government.

With help and intervention by the Turkish government, a ceasefire was reached, and a truce committee, chaired by al-Haddad, was established by the Presidential Council and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

There is no doubt that finding a replacement for al-Haddad will not be an easy task. The Presidential Council appointed his deputy, General Salah al-Namroush, temporarily.

During his eulogy, al-Namroush “bid farewell to the men of the nation who carried the nation’s burdens and made discipline a way of life and leadership a responsibility”.

He said he would follow in the footsteps of al-Haddad, and pledged “to continue unifying the army”.

Although it will be difficult, political analyst Mohamed Mahfoudh told Al Jazeera: “Discussions are already under way; given the importance of the position, I expect a decision to be made within the next 10 days.”

Libya has seen widespread frustration and recent protests against the government over the economic situation, prompting officials to announce a plan to reshuffle the cabinet earlier this month.

The shuffle was scheduled to be announced on December 24, but al-Haddad’s death postponed that.

“Now, the chief of staff position will be entered into the cabinet reshuffle discussions. That means Haddad’s replacement could be a political decision to appease certain stakeholders, rather than someone who is qualified for the position.

“That’s a fear many of us have,” Mahfoudh said.

A tale of two airports

In an illustration of Libya’s split, the government in Tripoli had to receive the bodies of al-Haddad and other military officials at the city’s international airport, which was destroyed in fighting in 2014.

It is currently under renovation and now serves only government and emergency medical evacuation planes.

However, normally the bodies would have been received at Mitiga international airport, which is now Tripoli’s main commercial airport, but since it is under SDF control, PM Dbeibah could not be there.

He is not welcome.

So, Dbeibah, members of the Presidential Council, and senior government and military officials waited for the bodies at Tripoli international airport.

They were taken to an army base in southern Tripoli for a military ceremony in their honour, where Presidential Council head, Mohamed al-Menfi, declared “the promotion of each martyr to the next rank”, making al-Haddad a field marshal posthumously.

“Field Marshal Mohamed al-Haddad was a cornerstone to protecting the state and maintaining stability,” said Dbeibah at the ceremony.

He assured people that investigations into the crash “are continuing with full accuracy and credibility in coordination with Turkiye”.

Al-Haddad, al-Essawi, and al-Mahjoub’s bodies were flown to their hometowns in Misrata on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning, people came from all over the country to lay them to rest.

Thousands of people gathered in the Misrata football stadium for a farewell prayer for the departed. Misrata city officials announced the day as an official holiday to give people time off to attend the funeral.

Abdullah Allafi, a tribal leader from al-Rajban in the Nafusa Mountains of western Libya, left home at 3am to drive hundreds of kilometres to pay his respects.

When asked about al-Haddad’s death, he said: “It’s a huge loss. Mohamed al-Haddad’s death is a loss for all of us and for Libya. He was a true patriot. May Allah rest his soul.

“Our presence here is a symbol of unity. Enough divisions, it’s time to come together and build a nation and a united military.”

I am a Palestinian. And increasingly, that fact alone is treated as a provocation.

In recent months, I have watched anti-Semitism — a real, lethal form of hatred with a long and horrific history — be stripped of its meaning and weaponised to silence Palestinians, criminalise solidarity with us, and shield Israel from accountability as it carries out a genocide in Gaza. This is not about protecting Jewish people. It is about protecting power.

The pattern is now impossible to ignore.

A children’s educator, Ms Rachel, whose entire public work is built around care, learning, and empathy, is branded “Anti-Semite of the Year” — not for her engaging in any form of hate speech, but for expressing concern for Palestinian children. For acknowledging that children in Gaza are being bombed, starved, and traumatised. For expressing compassion.

As a Palestinian, I hear the message clearly: even empathy for our children is dangerous.

Then there is Palestine Action, a protest movement that targets weapons manufacturers supplying Israel’s military. Instead of being debated, challenged, or even criticised within a democratic framework, it is proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation, casually equated with ISIL (ISIS) – a group responsible for mass executions, sexual slavery, and genocidal violence.

This comparison is not just obscene. It is deliberate. It collapses the meaning of “terrorism” so completely that political dissent becomes extremism by definition. Resistance becomes pathology. Protest becomes “terror”. And Palestinians, once again, are framed not as a people under occupation, but as a permanent threat.

Language itself is now being criminalised. Phrases like “globalise the Intifada” are banned without any serious engagement with history or meaning. Intifada — a word that literally means “shaking off” — is torn from its political context as an uprising against military occupation and reduced to a slur. Palestinians are denied even the right to name their resistance.

At the same time, international law is being actively dismantled.

Staff and judges at the International Criminal Court are sanctioned and intimidated for daring to investigate Israeli war crimes. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, has not only been sanctioned, but also relentlessly smeared — because she uses the language of international law to describe occupation, apartheid, and genocide.

When international law is applied to African leaders, it is celebrated.
When it is applied to Israel, it is treated as an act of hostility.

This brings us to Australia — and to one of the most revealing moments of all.

After the horrific Bondi Beach attack, which shocked and horrified people across Australia, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Australian government of encouraging anti-Semitism. Not because of any incitement, not because of inflammatory rhetoric — but because Australia had moved towards recognising Palestine as a state.

Read that again.

The diplomatic recognition of Palestinian statehood — long framed as essential to peace and grounded in international law — is presented as a moral failing, even as a contributor to anti-Semitic violence. Palestinian existence itself is treated as the problem.

What makes this moment so disturbing is not only that Netanyahu made this claim, but that so many centres of power ran with it rather than challenged it.

Instead of forcefully rejecting the idea that recognising Palestinian rights could “encourage anti-Semitism”, governments, institutions, and commentators allowed the premise to stand. Some echoed it outright. Others stayed silent. Almost none confronted the dangerous logic at its core: that Palestinian political recognition is inherently destabilising, provocative, or threatening.

This is how moral collapse happens — not with thunder, but with acquiescence.

The result is not safety for the Jewish people, but erasure of the Palestinian people.

As a Palestinian, I find it devastating.

It means my identity is not merely contested — it is criminalised. My grief is not simply ignored — it is politicised. My demand for justice is not debated — it is pathologised as hatred.

Anti-Semitism is real. It must be confronted seriously and without hesitation. The Jewish people deserve safety, dignity, and protection — everywhere. But when anti-Semitism is stretched to include children’s educators, UN experts, international judges, protest movements, chants, words, and even the diplomatic recognition of Palestine, then the term no longer serves to protect Jewish people.

It protects a state from accountability.

Worse still, this weaponisation endangers Jews by collapsing Jewish identity into the actions of a government committing mass atrocities. It tells the world that Israel speaks for all Jews — and that anyone who objects must therefore be hostile to Jews themselves. That is not protection. It is recklessness masquerading as morality.

For Palestinians like me, the psychological toll is immense.

I am tired of having to preface every sentence with disclaimers.

I am deeply pained by watching my people starve while being lectured about tone.

I am angry that international law seems to apply only in certain politically convenient cases.

And I am grieving — not just for Gaza, but for the moral collapse unfolding around it.

Opposing genocide is not anti-Semitism.

Solidarity is not “terrorism”.

Recognising Palestine is not incitement.

Naming your suffering is not violence.

If the world insists on calling me an anti-Semite for refusing to accept the annihilation of my people, then it is not anti-Semitism that is being countered.

It is genocide that is being justified.

And history will remember who helped make that possible.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Kyrgios, who is currently 671st in men’s rankings, beat the four-time Grand Slam singles champion in straight sets.

Nick Kyrgios beat women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the “Battle of the Sexes”, in a highly-publicised showdown with modified rules that divided tennis fans.

Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match in Dubai on Sunday that bore little resemblance to the era-defining 1973 encounter between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

Back then, there was more at stake with the nascent women’s professional tour, set up by King, fighting for its legitimacy and prize money for female players still far lower than for the men.

King, one of the all-time greats of the women’s game who was at the peak of her powers, saw off the 55-year-old Riggs, a top player in his day, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Houston.

On Sunday, each player received only one serve and the dimensions of Sabalenka’s side of the court were nine percent smaller, in an attempt to restrict Kyrgios’ power and speed advantage.

Kyrgios has dropped to 671 in the rankings after playing just six ATP matches over the past three seasons, but the 30-year-old Australian still had enough to see off four-time Grand Slam singles champion Sabalenka.

The maverick Australian was drenched in sweat and appeared out of breath in the second set ‌after going 1-3 down, while his opponent danced to the music ‌during a strategic timeout, but he ⁠persevered to make it 3-3 after Belarusian Sabalenka sent a shot long.

Kyrgios, who shortened the points with cheeky drop shots ‌and used variations on his serve to good effect, pulled away to seal the win on serve ‍before sharing a warm hug with Sabalenka at the net.

“Honestly, it was a really tough match. She’s a hell of a competitor,” said Kyrgios.

“I had to strap in because she was putting the pressure on and ultimately it was a really hard-fought battle.”

Sabalenka said she would “love” a rematch.

“I felt great. I put on a great fight. He was struggling. He was getting tired. I was happy to see that,” she said.

“It was a great level [of tennis]. I made a lot of great shots. I really enjoyed the show. I feel like next time when I play him I know all his tactics and strengths.”

A Palestinian woman in Gaza has died as a winter storm threatens the lives of nearly 900,000 Palestinians living in tents across the devastated coastal enclave.

The 30-year-old, identified as Alaa Marwan Juha, died on Sunday when a wall collapsed onto her tent in the Remal neighbourhood to the west of Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The incident occurred amid heavy rain and strong winds that have battered the Gaza Strip since Saturday evening, flooding and blowing away thousands of tents sheltering the forcibly displaced Palestinians.

Al Jazeera Arabic, citing witnesses, reported that the partially destroyed wall gave way under the force of the wind, crashing down on the tent beside it. The wall collapse also injured several members of Juha’s family, the network reported.

Many Palestinian families have been living in tents since late 2023 as Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza. The enclave is imminently facing freezing temperatures, rain and strong winds, as the authorities warn the downpour could intensify into a full-blown storm.

‘Disaster area’

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO), told Al Jazeera Arabic that the severe weather conditions are exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.

“This low-pressure system will complicate matters further … and poses a danger to the lives of citizens,” Shawa said.

He said the tents offer no real protection against flooding and called for an urgent entry of mobile homes, or caravans, and equipment to repair destroyed sewage networks.

“Tents represent neither a choice nor a solution,” he said, noting that agreed humanitarian protocols stipulate the provision of adequate shelter.

Shawa urged the international community to pressure Israel to lift restrictions on life-saving aid, describing the entire Gaza Strip as a “disaster area”.

At least 15 people, including three babies, have died this month from hypothermia following the rains and plunging temperatures, according to the authorities in Gaza.

Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings, several of which have completely collapsed. But with much of the Palestinian territory reduced to rubble, there are few places to escape the rain.

Meanwhile, the healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of total collapse, and the absence of much-needed aid, including medicine and medical supplies, is exacerbating the situation.

Ceasefire violations

Separately on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Tel Aviv for the United States, as negotiators and others discuss the second stage of the ceasefire, the first phase of which took effect on October 10.

Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and block desperately needed humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged coastal enclave, even though these are stipulated in the first phase of the agreement.

A 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in September called for an initial truce followed by steps towards a wider peace. So far, as part of the first phase, there has been the exchange of captives held by Hamas in Gaza and prisoners in Israeli jails, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.

However, Israeli attacks continue. Since the truce went into effect, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded in ceasefire violations, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,266 Palestinians and wounded 171,219 since October 2023.

Israel has held Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia for an entire year without charge. His son is pleading for his release, describing his father’s mistreatment in detention and recalling his refusal to abandon his patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital.

Fighting has broken out at a demonstration in the city of Latakia in Syria, killing at least three people and injuring dozens. Hundreds of people from the Alawite minority were protesting in coastal and central parts of the country, two days after a mosque was bombed in Homs.

Months after being attacked by the United States and Israel, Iran finds itself in the crosshairs again, with Israeli officials lobbying US President Donald Trump to address Tehran’s ballistic missiles.

Veteran Iranian diplomat Javad Zarif tells host Steve Clemons that “everybody lost any faith in diplomacy” after Israel and the US attacked Iran following five rounds of reconciliation talks between Washington and Tehran.

Zarif added that Israel has historically thwarted every opportunity for reconciliation between Iran and the US, and that Trump’s style of diplomacy is disastrous, as it creates “negotiations that end up in war”.

Hundreds of people take to the streets in Tartous and Latakia to demand the release of former soldiers who served ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States to meet with President Donald Trump as regional turmoil approaches a boiling point amid Israel’s attacks in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria and mounting tensions with Iran.

Netanyahu is to hold talks with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday as Washington pushes to complete the first phase of the Gaza truce.

The visit comes as the US continues to pursue its 20-point “peace plan” in the Palestinian enclave despite near-daily Israeli violations of the truce.

Israel is also escalating attacks in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria as Israeli officials suggest that another war with Iran is possible.

What will Netanyahu discuss with Trump, and where do US-Israel ties stand?

Al Jazeera looks at the prime minister’s trip to the US and how it may play out.

When will Netanyahu arrive?

The Israeli prime minister will arrive in the US on Sunday. However, the talks will not take place at the White House. Instead, Netanyahu will meet Trump in Florida, where the US president is spending the holidays.

The meeting between the two leaders is expected to take place on Monday.

How many times has Netanyahu visited Trump?

This will be Netanyahu’s fifth visit to the US in 10 months. The Israeli prime minister has been hosted by Trump more than any other world leader.

In February, he became the first foreign leader to visit the White House after Trump returned to the presidency.

He visited again in April and July. In September, he also met with Trump in Washington, DC, after the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

What has the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu been like so far?

Netanyahu often says Trump is the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

During his first term, Trump pushed US policy further in favour of Israel’s right-wing government. He moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognised and claimed Israeli sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights and cut off funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Since returning to the White House this year, Trump has shown a greater willingness to publicly disagree with Netanyahu. Still, his administration has provided unflinching support for Israel, including the decision to renew the genocidal war on Gaza in March after a brief ceasefire.

Trump joined the Israeli attack on Iran in June to the dismay of some segments of his base. And he pushed to secure the current truce in Gaza.

The US president also opposed the Israeli attack on Doha in September. And he swiftly lifted sanctions against Syria despite some apparent Israeli reservations.

The ties between the two leaders have seen some peaks and valleys. In 2020, Trump was irked when Netanyahu rushed to congratulate Joe Biden on his election victory against Trump, who has falsely insisted the election was fraudulent.

“I haven’t spoken to him [Netanyahu] since,” Trump told the Axios news site in 2021. “F*** him.”

The strong ties between the two leaders were rekindled after Trump won the presidency again in 2024 and unleashed a crackdown on Palestinian rights activists in the US.

In November, Trump formally asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges at home.

The two leaders, however, are not in complete alignment, and cracks in their positions are showing up over issues that include Gaza, Syria and the US partnerships with Turkiye and the Gulf states.

During his US visit, Netanyahu may seek to flatter Trump and project a warm relationship with the US president to advance his agenda and signal to his political rivals in Israel that he still enjoys support from Washington.

How has Netanyahu dealt with the US since October 7, 2023?

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Netanyahu has asked for unchecked US diplomatic and military support.

Then-President Biden travelled to Israel 11 days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, and he declared that support for the US ally is “vital for America’s national security”.

His “bear hug” of Netanyahu on arrival at the airport in Tel Aviv would set the stage for the US backing of Israel as it unleashed horror and destruction on Gaza, which has translated into more than $21bn in military aid and multiple vetoes at the UN Security Council over the past two years.

Netanyahu has seized on the notion that Israel is an extension of US interests and security structure. In a speech to the US Congress last year, the prime minister argued that Israel is fighting Iran indirectly in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you,” he told US lawmakers.

Throughout the war, there have been countless reports that Biden and Trump have been displeased or angry with Netanyahu. But US weapons and political backing for Israel have continued to flow uninterrupted. And Netanyahu makes a point of always expressing gratitude to US presidents, even when there may be apparent tensions.

Where does the US stand on the Gaza truce?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the top priority for the Trump administration is to complete the first stage of the Gaza ceasefire and move from mere cessation of hostilities to long-term governance, stabilisation and reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has been violating the ceasefire in Gaza regularly, recently killing at least six Palestinians in an attack that targeted a wedding.

But Trump, who claims to have brought peace to the Middle East for the first time in 3,000 years, has focused on broadly moving the truce forward rather than on Israel’s daily conduct.

“No one is arguing that the status quo is sustainable in the long term, nor desirable, and that’s why we have a sense of urgency about bringing phase one to its full completion,” Rubio said last week.

The top US diplomat has also suggested that there could be some flexibility when it comes to disarming Hamas under the agreement, saying the “baseline” should be ensuring that the group does not pose a threat to Israel rather than removing the guns of every fighter.

But Israel appears to be operating with a different set of priorities. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that the country is looking to re-establish settlements in Gaza, which are illegal under international law.

He later walked back those comments but stressed that Israel would maintain a permanent military presence in the territory, which would violate the Trump plan.

Expect Gaza to be a key topic of discussion between Netanyahu and Trump.

Can a Syria agreement be reached?

Trump has literally and figuratively embraced Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa over the past year, lifting sanctions against the country and beginning security cooperation with his government’s security forces.

But Israel is pursuing its own agenda in Syria. Hours after the collapse of the government of former President Bashar al-Assad a year ago, Israel began expanding its occupation of Syria beyond the Golan Heights.

Although the new Syrian authorities stressed early on that they did not seek confrontation with Israel, the Israeli military launched a bombardment campaign against Syria’s state and military institutions.

Israeli forces have also been conducting raids in southern Syria and abducting and disappearing residents.

After the Israeli military killed 13 Syrians in an air raid last month, Trump issued a veiled criticism of Israel.

“It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous state,” he said.

Syria and Israel were in talks earlier this year to establish a security agreement short of full diplomatic normalisation. But the negotiations appeared to collapse after Israeli leaders insisted on holding onto the land captured after al-Assad’s fall.

With Netanyahu in town, Trump will likely renew the push for a Syria-Israel agreement.

Why is Iran back in the headlines?

Netanyahu’s visit comes amid louder alarm bells in Israel about Iran rebuilding its missile capacity after their 12-day war in June.

NBC News reported last week that the Israeli prime minister will brief the US president about more potential strikes against Iran.

The pro-Israel camp in Trump’s orbit seems to be already mobilising rhetorically against Iran’s missile programme.

US Senator Lindsey Graham visited Israel this month and called Iran’s missiles a “real threat” to Israel.

“This trip is about elevating the risk ballistic missiles pose to Israel,” Graham told The Jerusalem Post.

Trump authorised strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites during the June war, which he said “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear programme.

Although there is no evidence that Iran has been weaponising its nuclear programme, fears about a possible Iranian atomic bomb were the driving public justification for the US involvement in the conflict.

So it will be hard for Netanyahu to persuade Trump to back a war against Iran, said Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy.

The president is portraying himself as a peacemaker and prioritising a possible confrontation with Venezuela.

“It could just as well backfire on Netanyahu,” Toossi said of the push for more strikes against Iran. But he underscored that Trump is “unpredictable”, and he has surrounded himself with pro-Israel hawks, including Rubio.

What is the state of US-Israel relations?

Despite growing dissent on the left and right of the US political spectrum, Trump’s support for Israel remains unwavering.

This month, the US Congress passed a military spending bill that includes $600m in military aid to Israel.

The Trump administration has continued to avoid even verbal criticism of Israel’s aggressive behaviour in the region, including Gaza ceasefire violations and the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

At a White House Hanukkah celebration on December 16, Trump bemoaned the growing scepticism of unconditional support for Israel in Congress, falsely likening it to anti-Semitism.

“If you go back 10, 12, 15 years ago, at the most, the strongest lobby in Washington was the Jewish lobby. It was Israel. That’s no longer true,” Trump said.

“You have to be very careful. You have a Congress in particular which is becoming anti-Semitic.”

Despite Trump’s position, analysts said the gap between the strategic priorities of the US and Israel is growing.

While Washington is pushing for economic cooperation in the Middle East, Israel is seeking “total dominance” over the region, including US partners in the Gulf, Toossi said.

“Israel is pushing this uncompromising posture and strategic objective that I think is going to come to a head more with core US interests,” Toossi told Al Jazeera.

What’s next for the US-Israel alliance?

If you drive down Independence Avenue in Washington, DC, you will likely see more Israeli than American flags displayed on the windows of congressional offices.

Despite the shifting public opinion, Israel still has overwhelming support in Congress and the White House. And although criticism of Israel is growing within the Republican base, Israel’s detractors have been pushed to the margins of the movement.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is leaving Congress; commentator Tucker Carlson is facing constant attacks and accusations of anti-Semitism; and Congressman Tom Massie is facing a Trump-backed primary challenger.

Meanwhile, Trump’s inner circle is filled with staunch Israel supporters, including Rubio, megadonor Miriam Adelson and radio show host Mark Levin.

But amid the erosion of public support, especially among young people, Israel may face a reckoning in American politics in the long term.

On the Democratic side, some of Israel’s strongest supporters in Congress are facing primary challenges from progressive candidates who are centring Palestinian rights.

The most powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is increasingly becoming a toxic brand for Democrats.

On the right, the faultlines in the consensus in support of Israel are growing wider. That trend was put on display at the right-wing AmericaFest conference this month when debates raged around support for Israel, a topic that was a foregone conclusion for conservatives a few years ago.

Although the Trump administration has been pushing to codify opposition to Zionism as anti-Semitism to punish Palestinian rights supporters, Vice President JD Vance has presented a more nuanced view on the issue.

“What is actually happening is that there is a real backlash to a consensus view in American foreign policy,” Vance recently told the UnHerd website.

“I think we ought to have that conversation and not try to shut it down. Most Americans are not anti-Semitic – they’re never going to be anti-Semitic – and I think we should focus on the real debate.”

Bottom line, the currents are changing, but the US commitment to Israel remains solid – for now.

Somalia’s president calls for unity at an emergency joint session of parliament, which declares the Israeli move ‘null and void’.

Somalia’s president has condemned Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland as a “naked invasion”, warning that the move threatens to ignite separatist movements elsewhere.

Addressing an emergency joint session of parliament on Sunday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed the “greatest abuse” of Somalia’s sovereignty in the nation’s history and referred to Israel as an “enemy”.

“I am encouraging the Somali people to be calm and to defend the unity and the independence of our country, which is facing this naked invasion,” he said.

Lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution declaring Israel’s recognition as “null and void” although the measure is largely symbolic given that Somalia has not controlled Somaliland since it declared independence in 1991, which Somalia has never accepted.

The resolution warns that individuals or institutions violating Somalia’s sovereignty will face legal consequences under the country’s penal code and international law. It directed the government to take up the matter with the United Nations, African Union, Arab League and other regional bodies.

‘Existential threat’

Netanyahu on Friday announced that Israel had established full diplomatic relations with Somaliland, describing the move as being in the spirit of the United States-brokered Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and several Arab countries.

The announcement made Israel the first UN member state to formally recognise the self-declared state, which has sought international acceptance for more than three decades without success.

Mohamud accused Netanyahu of trying to import Middle Eastern conflicts into Somalia and promised his country would not allow its territory to be used as a military base to attack other nations.

He urged Somalis to set aside “tribal and regional rivalries” to confront what he described as an “existential threat” to the country’s unity.

“We need to combine our wisdom and strengths to defend our existence and sovereignty,” the president said, calling on Somaliland’s leaders to enter meaningful negotiations to preserve Somalia’s territorial integrity.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Barre told Al Jazeera Arabic that Israel was “searching for a foothold in the Horn of Africa” and called on it to recognise and accept a Palestinian state instead.

Defending the Israeli move, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known locally as Cirro, said on Friday that Somaliland’s recognition “is not a threat, not an act of hostility” to neighbouring countries.

He said his nation is “deeply rooted in Islamic values of moderation, justice and coexistence” and does not represent an alignment against any Islamic nation or community.

Meanwhile, the Israeli decision sparked immediate international backlash. 

A joint statement issued on Saturday by 21 Arab and African countries and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned the recognition as a grave violation of international law and the UN Charter.

In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed support for Somalia.

Regional leaders – including the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Djibouti – held phone calls with Mohamud to reaffirm support for Somalia’s territorial integrity. Eritrea separately called on China to take action at the UN Security Council, drawing parallels to the Taiwan issue.

The European Union issued a statement calling for respect for Somalia’s sovereignty but stopped short of condemning the move. It urged authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to engage in dialogue.

Israel’s move to recognise Somaliland came during a more than two-year genocidal war in Gaza, in which more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Israel is currently being investigated by the International Court of Justice over allegations of genocide, and Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 after a civil war under military ruler Siad Barre. The self-declared republic controls part of northwestern Somalia and has its own constitution, currency and flag. It claims the territory of the former British Somaliland protectorate, but its eastern regions remain under the control of rival administrations loyal to Somalia.

Asked by the New York Post on Friday if he would recognise Somaliland, US President Donald Trump replied “no” although he added that the matter remained under study. “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” Trump asked.

The UN Security Council is expected to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland on Monday.

In today’s conflicts, women and girls are facing escalating violence with near-total impunity. From mass rapes in Sudan to attacks on schools and shelters in Gaza and Syria, and the segregation of women in Afghanistan, protection is collapsing as wars intensify. Speaking to Talk to Al Jazeera, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warns that violence against women is not a side issue but a front-line threat to peace and development. With funding shrinking and the political will faltering, she confronts hard questions about the world’s failure to protect those most at risk.

From displaced Palestinian families struggling in the cold winter in makeshift tents in Gaza, Christmas celebrations in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, to the historic gathering of more than one million people in Dhaka welcoming home Bangladesh’s opposition leader Tarique Rahman after his 17-year self-imposed exile, here is a look at the week in photos.

On December 13, a joint US-Syrian patrol was ambushed by a member of Syria’s own security forces near Palmyra, a city in central Syria once controlled by the ISIL (ISIS) group.

Two US soldiers and an interpreter were shot dead, and four people were wounded, before Syrian forces killed the gunman.

In the aftermath of the attack, US and Syrian officials linked the attacker to ISIL, which once controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq, and promised to retaliate.

The incident highlights the growing cooperation between the United States and Syria against ISIL, particularly after Damascus joined the US-backed coalition against the group in November.

While it is still unclear if the attacker was a member of ISIL or another group opposed to US-Syrian relations, analysts say that cooperation between the two countries is strong and growing stronger.

“The Syrian government is responding very robustly to fighting ISIL following US requests to do so, and it is worth noting that HTS [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham], before it was in government, had a long-term policy of fighting ISIL,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a scholar of international security at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera, referring to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s former group.

“It [HTS] did it in Idlib, and cracked down on insurgents and cells, and this is more a continuation of that policy.”

Syria’s Minister of Interior spokesman, Noureddine al-Baba, told Syria’s Al-Ikhbariah TV that there was no direct chain of command to the gunman within Syria’s internal security forces, and that he was not part of the force tasked with escorting the US forces. Investigations are under way, he added, to determine whether he had direct ties to ISIL or adopted violent ideology.

ISIL attacks down

In May 2015, ISIL took over the city of Palmyra from the former Syrian government.

Famous for its Greco-Roman ruins, the city bounced back and forth between regime forces and ISIL until the group was expelled in 2017.

In May 2017, the US-led coalition also forced the group out of Raqqa, which ISIL had declared the capital of its so-called caliphate three years earlier.

Many surviving ISIL fighters were imprisoned in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria, controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Others escaped into the Syrian desert around Palmyra, from where they have occasionally launched attacks.

When the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fell on December 8, 2024, analysts said ISIL fighters used the ensuing chaos to go into various cities across the country. In June, the group launched an attack on a church in Damascus that killed at least 25 people.

Samy Akil, a fellow at the Tahrir Institute, said recent estimates put ISIL’s manpower in Iraq and Syria at between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters.

But experts told Al Jazeera that the coordination between Damascus and Washington has improved over the last year, and pointed to the fact that Syria’s security forces have thwarted several ISIL attacks due to US-provided intelligence.

“Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government is committed to fighting the group and, in contrast to the Assad era, al-Sharaa’s government gets regular tip-offs from US intelligence, and probably other forms of US support as well. That’s a pretty powerful combination,” Aron Lund, a research fellow at Century International, focusing on Syria, told Al Jazeera.

This collaboration has seen a decrease in ISIL attacks in Syria, according to a report by consulting firm Karam Shaar Advisory. ISIL launched an average of 63 attacks a month in 2024, while in 2025, that number dropped to 10, according to the report.

“Since HTS arrived in Damascus, collaboration [with the US] has become much easier,” Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

Structural flaws

After the fall of the Assad regime, there were questions over how security would be enforced. The few thousand HTS members who had previously only controlled Idlib in northwest Syria would not be enough to enforce security across the country.

Syria’s security forces undertook a serious recruitment drive, bringing in tens of thousands of new recruits to add to many of the existing former opposition battalions that were incorporated under the state’s new security apparatus.

With such a huge recruitment campaign, analysts said, vetting was a difficult task.

“The Palmyra attack points to structural flaws rather than a mere one-off event. Integration of former faction fighters and rapid new recruitment have produced uneven vetting and oversight, compounded by a permissive environment for radical views, allowing infiltration to persist,” Nanar Hawash, International Crisis Group’s senior Syria analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“Together, these factors blur early warning signs and create space for hidden threats, raising the risk of repeat attacks.”

Analysts said they expect Syrian security forces to improve the vetting process with time. Meanwhile, another attack like December 13’s was possible and could dent the US’s faith that al-Sharaa’s government can provide security in Syria.

“It could happen again due to the sheer numbers [of new recruits], but over time, the government will improve its game and be more thorough to prevent that from happening again, because it will have consequences,” Drevon said.

“We should be careful over generalising based on one attack, which can be a one-off. But if it happens again, it might change the perception of the Syrian government.”

What does ISIL want?

As for ISIL, analysts said the group’s priorities have changed since the fall of al-Assad.

“What we’re seeing now is ISIL is trying to test boundaries and conduct attacks knowing it cannot gain territorial control,” Akil said.

“It aims at destabilising and staying relevant.”

“ISIS cannot hold cities or topple governments. But it doesn’t need to. Its strength lies in destabilisation,” Hawach said. “The Palmyra attack showed that one operative with the right access can kill three US personnel and shake a bilateral relationship.”

Analysts said ISIL could destabilise Syria by targeting state security forces, religious minorities – like it did in the Damascus church attack in June – or any foreigner on Syrian soil, from US soldiers to humanitarian or United Nations workers. The group could also look to capitalise on tensions between the SDF and Damascus over disagreements on how to integrate the former into the state’s security apparatus.

The SDF also manages the al-Hol and Roj prison camps in northeast Syria, where many of ISIL’s most battle-hardened fighters and commanders are held. This could prove to be a key target for ISIL in Syria.

“ISIL thrives in those vacuums,” Hawach said.

“It’s a guerrilla insurgency, not a caliphate, but in a fragile state, that’s enough to cause serious damage.”

If Israel and the US were to attack Iran again, they would ‘face a more decisive response’, Pezeshkian warns.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that the United States, Israel and Europe are waging a “full-fledged war” against his country.

“In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel and Europe. They do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian told the official site of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an interview on Saturday.

The president’s remarks come ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump. They also come six months after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, and after France, Germany and the United Kingdom reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran in September over its nuclear programme.

“Our dear military forces are doing their jobs with strength, and now, in terms of equipment and manpower, despite all the problems we have, they are stronger than when they [Israel and the US] attacked,” Pezeshkian said.

“So, if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response.”

The president said that “this war” is unlike past ones.

“This war is worse than Iraq’s war against us. If one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war,” Pezeshkian said, referring to the 1980-1988 conflict between the neighbouring countries in which thousands were killed.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.

Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in June, triggered by an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as civilian areas.

The strikes caused more than 1,000 casualties, according to Iranian authorities.

The US later joined the Israeli operation, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites.

Washington’s involvement brought a halt to negotiations with Tehran, which began in April, over its nuclear programme.

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has revived his so-called “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, initiated during his first term.

That has included additional sanctions designed to economically cripple the country and dry up its oil revenues from sales on the global market.

According to recent reports, when Netanyahu visits Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this weekend, he will be pushing for more military actions against Iran, this time focusing on Tehran’s missile programme.

Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria became the second qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage after Egypt by surviving a late Tunisia onslaught to win 3-2 in Fes.

The Super Eagles were cruising to victory on Saturday, leading 3-0 through goals from Osimhen, captain Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.

But Tunisia refused to surrender in the top-of-the-table Group C clash, and Montassar Talbi and Ali Abdi scored to set up a tense finish.

Tunisia had two chances to level during seven minutes of added time, but a header from captain Ferjani Sassi and a shot by substitute Ismael Gharbi were just off target.

Nigeria have six points, Tunisia three, and Tanzania and Uganda one each, with the final round of group matches set for Tuesday.

The showdown was the seventh time the Super Eagles and the Carthage Eagles had faced each other at an AFCON.

Nigeria won three times, and Tunisia once. Another two meetings went to penalty shootouts, with each nation winning one.

After performing well below par when edging Tanzania in the opening round, Nigeria were a transformed team against Tunisia, dominating the first 30 minutes in the northern city.

Osimhen was outstanding, particularly in aerial duels, while Tunisia were forced to constantly defend against the three-time champions.

The Galatasaray striker, wearing his trademark mask, headed just over after nine minutes, and came close again soon after as he rose to meet a corner kick.

Osimhen had the ball in the net after 17 minutes, but was rightly ruled offside. Big-screen replays showed the 2023 African player of the year timing his run too early.

Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was lucky to escape a yellow card for dissent after reacting angrily when a Nigerian took a foul throw, flinging the ball into the ground.

Osimhen was wide with another headed goal attempt, then left the pitch temporarily so that the medical staff could apply a spray to his leg.

Tunisia finally broke out of a defensive shell on 32 minutes and forced a corner. The set-piece ended with the ball coming back to Abdi, whose shot flew well over.

Several Tunisian raids reaped no reward, and on 44 minutes, the goalless deadlock was broken, with Osimhen, predictably, the scorer.

The goal involved two former African players of the year, with 2024 winner Lookman crossing the ball and Osimhen rising between Abdi and Talbi to head powerfully into the net.

Just five minutes into the second half, Nigeria stretched their lead to two goals, as they once again exposed the aerial weaknesses of the Tunisian defence.

Atalanta striker Lookman was the architect again, floating a corner into the heart of the goalmouth, where Ndidi soared to beat goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen and score his first international goal.

After creating the first two goals, Lookman scored the third on 67 minutes, after being set up by Osimhen. He had time to control the ball in the box before slamming it into the net off the post.

Tunisia pulled one goal back with 16 minutes remaining. The North Africans finally got the better of an aerial duel, and Talbi nodded a Mejbri free-kick into the net.

The goal had a dramatic effect as Tunisia took control and scored again with three minutes left, when Abdi converted a penalty awarded after a VAR review showed Bright Samuel handled.

Uganda spurn penalty chance to beat Tanzania

Uganda’s Allan Okello missed a late penalty as his side had to settle for a 1-1 draw against East African neighbours Tanzania at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier on Saturday.

Okello’s failure to convert from the spot denied Uganda a precious victory in the Group C clash after Uche Ikpeazu had scored a late equaliser for the Cranes in front of 10,540 fans at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat.

Before that, it looked like Tanzania, winless in 10 previous matches across four AFCON tournaments, might finally break their duck when Simon Msuva put them in front from the penalty spot.

But Ikpeazu, who plays in the Scottish second tier for St Johnstone, headed in a cross by fellow substitute Denis Omedi to level the scores with 10 minutes remaining.

“I have a very bad feeling, because I think we didn’t deserve this draw. I think we had more opportunities,” said Uganda coach Paul Put.

Of the missed penalty, he said, “That is very, very painful, but that is also football.”

The deadlock between the regional rivals, who will co-host the 2027 Cup of Nations with Kenya, does little to help their chances of progressing to the last 16 from Group C.

Both have one point from two matches and trail Nigeria and Tunisia, with the two former champions facing off later on Saturday in Fes.

“It is not in our hands, but we have to believe,” said Put, whose team play Nigeria next.

Uganda, who have just one AFCON win of their own across three tournament appearances since losing the 1978 final, came closest to scoring in the first half.

An Aziz Kayondo cross from the left was met by the head of Rogers Mato, whose effort came back off the underside of the crossbar.

Tanzania were awarded a spot-kick just before the hour mark, when a shot by Alphonce Msanga struck the arm of Uganda’s Baba Alhassan.

The experienced Msuva, who plays club football in Iraq, made no mistake from the spot and has now scored goals at three different AFCON tournaments.

However, a dramatic finish to the game amid a torrential downpour saw Tanzania squander the lead and then breathe a big sigh of relief as Uganda missed the opportunity to claim victory.

Ikpeazu made it 1-1, and Uganda won a penalty when James Bogere went down as his shirt was pulled by Tanzania defender Haji Mnoga of Salford City.

With the game in the 90th minute, Okello stepped up and was perhaps put off by a huge clap of thunder just before he took his kick, which went over the bar.

“I am a little bit disappointed with the result, because we tried to win the game, but we also could have lost it in the last five minutes,” said Tanzania coach Miguel Angel Gamondi.

“We wanted our first win at the Africa Cup of Nations, and I am very sorry for all the Tanzanian people.”

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, surrounded by tents and debris, are suffering through more winter rains after two years of Israeli bombardment destroyed much of the Strip.

A polar low-pressure system accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds swept across the Gaza Strip on Saturday. It is the third polar low to affect the Palestinian territory this winter, with a fourth low-pressure system forecast to hit the area starting on Monday, meteorologist Laith al-Allami told the Anadolu news agency.

Many families have been living in tents since late 2023, for most of the duration of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The enclave is imminently facing freezing temperatures, rain and strong winds, as the authorities warn the downpour could intensify into a full-blown storm.

Mohammed Maslah, a displaced Palestinian now in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera in his rugged tent that he did not have a choice but to stay there.

“I could not find anywhere to live in Gaza, except Gaza Port,” he told Al Jazeera. “I’m forced to stay here because my home is under Israeli control. After just a few hours of rain, we were soaked.”

In Deir al-Balah, Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children who was displaced from Jabaliya in the north, spoke to the Associated Press. “We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” she said. “With how expensive everything has become, and without any income, we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.”

The heavy rains earlier this month flooded tents and makeshift shelters across Gaza, where most of the buildings have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli attacks.

So far in December, at least 15 people, including three babies, died from hypothermia following rains and plunging temperatures, with several buildings collapsing, according to the authorities in Gaza. Aid organisations have called for Israel to allow more shelters and other humanitarian aid into the territory.

Ibrahim Abu al-Reesh, head of field operations for the Civil Defence in the Gaza Port area, said that his teams responded to various distress calls as weather conditions got harsher in places where displaced people set up fragile tents.

“We worked hard to cover some of these damaged tents with plastic sheets after they were flooded by rainwater,” he told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili, reporting from Gaza City, said that winter has been adding to the suffering of tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who do not have safe shelters.

“The same misery repeats as each rain fills neighbourhoods with muddy water,” he said.

Ceasefire talks

As Palestinians face dire conditions in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington, DC, in the coming days while negotiators and others discuss the second stage of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10.

The progress in the peace process has been slow. Challenges in phase two of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilisation force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the proposed disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

So far, the agreement has partially held despite Israel’s repeated violations.

Since the ceasefire went into effect, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

It also said the bodies of 679 people were pulled from the rubble during the same period, as the truce makes it safer to search for the remains of people killed earlier.

The ministry on Saturday said that 29 bodies, including 25 recovered from under the rubble, had been brought to local hospitals over the past 48 hours.

The overall Palestinian death toll from Israel’s war has risen to at least 71,266, the ministry said, and another 171,219 have been wounded.

Regional blocs join nations in condemning Israel’s move to formally recognise breakaway Somali region as independent.

The Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the African Union (AU) have joined numerous countries decrying Israel’s formal recognition of the northern Somali breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state.

Somaliland, a region in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi making it a top priority since taking office last year.

Israel announced on Friday that it viewed Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state”, becoming the first country to make such a declaration.

The announcement prompted Somalia to call the decision a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine regional peace.

In a statement on Friday, the AU continental bloc rejected Israel’s move and warned that it risked “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent”.

The AU Commission chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said the institution “firmly rejects any initiative or action aimed at recognising Somaliland as an independent entity, recalling that Somaliland remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia”.

‘Dangerous precedent’

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called Israel’s action “a clear violation of international law and a flagrant infringement of the principle of the unity and sovereignty of states”.

“Any attempt to impose unilateral recognitions constitutes an unacceptable interference in Somalia’s internal affairs and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international security and stability,” he warned.

The GCC called the development “a grave violation of the principles of international law and a blatant infringement” of Somalia’s sovereignty.

“This recognition represents a dangerous precedent that will undermine the foundations of stability in the Horn of Africa region and open the door to further tensions and conflicts, contradicting regional and international efforts aimed at strengthening international peace and security in the region,” GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said in a statement.

The European Union said it respected Somalia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, calling for dialogue between the Somali national government and Somaliland.

The foreign ministers of Somalia, Egypt, Turkiye and Djibouti also condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, saying: “The ministers affirmed their total rejection and condemnation of Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland region, stressing their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the statement following a phone call between the countries’ top diplomats on Friday.

Somalia demands reversal of recognition

Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and China were among the other countries that condemned Israel’s move.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas also rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.

On Friday, Somalia demanded Israel reverse its recognition of Somaliland as independent, condemning the move as an act of “aggression that will never be tolerated”.

However, Somaliland leader Abdullahi hailed Israel’s decision as a “historic moment” and said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership”.

As world leaders weighed in, Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab pledged on Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel “to claim or use parts of Somaliland”.

“We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” the group that has waged a decades-long armed rebellion in the region said in a statement.

United States President Donald Trump also commented on the issue.

Asked by the New York Post newspaper whether Washington planned to also recognise Somaliland, Trump said “no”.

“Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” he added on Friday.

Follow our live build-up, with team news coverage, before our text commentary stream of the Africa Cup of Nations tie.

Saudi defence minister urges Yemen’s STC to withdraw “peacefully” from seized provinces, Hadramout and al-Mahra.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says it will respond to any separatist military movements that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region, as Riyadh doubles down on calls for the group to “peacefully” withdraw from recently seized eastern provinces.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said on X on Saturday that “it’s time” for troops from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to “let reason prevail by withdrawing from the two provinces and doing so peacefully”.

Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said “any military movements that violate these [de-escalation] efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately in order to protect civilian lives and ensure the success of restoring calm,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Al-Maliki also accused the STC separatists of “serious and horrific human rights violations against civilians”, without providing evidence.

The statements came a day after the STC accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on separatist positions in Yemen’s Hadramout province, and after Washington called for restraint in the rapidly escalating conflict.

Earlier this month, forces aligned to the STC took over large chunks from the Saudi-backed government in the provinces of Hadramout and al-Mahra. The STC and the government have been allies for years in the fight against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

Abdullah al-Alimi, a member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, the governing body of the internationally recognised government, welcomed the Saudi defence minister’s remarks, considering them to “clearly reflect the kingdom’s steadfast stance and sincere concern for Yemen’s security and stability”, he said on X.

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, said after an emergency meeting late on Friday that STC movements posed “serious violations against civilians”.

The STC, which has previously received military and financial backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is seeking to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen. The group warned on Friday that they were undeterred after strikes it blamed on Saudi Arabia hit their positions.

Diplomacy, de-escalation?

In Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We urge restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to reaching a lasting solution.”

Azerbaijan, meanwhile, said it welcomed efforts led by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to de-escalate ongoing tensions in Yemen.

Following Friday’s raids, Yemen’s government urged the Saudi-led coalition to support its forces in Hadramout, after separatists seized most of the country’s largest province.

The government asked the coalition to “take all necessary military measures to protect innocent Yemeni civilians in Hadramout province and support the armed forces”, the official Yemeni news agency said.

A Yemeni military official said on Friday that about 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border but had not been given orders to advance on separatist-held territory. The areas where they were deployed are at the edges of territory seized in recent weeks by the STC.

Separatist advances have added pressure on ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, close allies who support rival groups within Yemen’s government.

On Friday, the UAE welcomed Saudi efforts to support security in Yemen, as the two Gulf allies sought to present a united front.

Yemen’s government is a patchwork of groups that includes the separatists, and is held together by shared opposition to the Houthis.

The Houthis pushed the government out of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, and secured control over most of the north.

Incursion follows Israeli defence minister’s order for military to ‘act forcefully’ against the Palestinian town.

Israeli forces have carried out mass arrests and forced dozens of families from their homes in the town of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank, on the second day of a sweeping military operation ordered by Israel’s defence minister.

Israeli forces sealed off entrances to Qabatiya while rounding up and interrogating dozens of residents on Saturday, local sources told Al Jazeera. They converted several homes into military interrogation centres, displacing their occupants, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Israel’s Army Radio reported that the town is subject to a “full curfew”.

The crackdown follows an order by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ​to “act forcefully … against the village of Qabatiya”, where he claims a Palestinian alleged of carrying out a stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel hails from.

In a statement on Friday, Israel’s military said it had deployed troops from multiple divisions, along with border police and members of the Shin Bet security service, into Qabatiya. It said forces had raided the attack suspect’s home and were preparing to demolish it.

Rights groups have long condemned Israel’s practice of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis, describing it as an illegal form of collective punishment.

Israel’s military claimed its forces would “scan additional locations in the village” and “work to arrest wanted individuals and locate weapons”.

“There is a sense of fear among people in town,” one resident told Al Jazeera. “There are Israeli threats and Israeli incitement.”

The Israeli military raids on Saturday also extended elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, including to several villages surrounding Ramallah and Hebron, Wafa reported. Israeli forces assaulted and arrested eight people from the towns of Dura, Abda and Imreish near Hebron, according to the news agency.

Israeli military incursions and attacks across the occupied West Bank have been a near-daily occurrence during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have arrested nearly 21,000 Palestinians. As of December 1, some 9,300 Palestinian prisoners were in Israeli jails, more than a third of them detained without charges.

Palestinian prisoners have been tortured, sexually abused and even killed in custody.