Middle East

South Sudan’s military has moved into the Heglig oilfield under an unprecedented agreement between the country and neighbouring Sudan’s warring parties to safeguard critical energy infrastructure from the country’s civil war.

The deployment on Wednesday came after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the strategic site on December 8, compelling the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) units to retreat across the border into South Sudan, where they reportedly surrendered their weapons.

The agreement aims to neutralise the facility from combat operations as fighting intensifies across Sudan’s Kordofan region, threatening both countries’ primary revenue source.

Official Sudanese government sources revealed to Al Jazeera that high-level contacts have taken place between the Sudanese and South Sudanese leaderships since the beginning of this week, after the RSF mobilized to attack the “Heglig” area. Understandings were reached to secure the evacuation of workers in the field and avoid military confrontations to ensure that the oil field and its facilities are not subjected to sabotage and destruction, and tribal leaders also played a role in that.

The deployment of South Sudan forces was based on a previous oil and security cooperation agreement signed between Khartoum and Juba, which stipulates the protection of oil fields, pipelines and central pumping stations for South Sudan’s oil, in addition to the electricity interconnection project and strengthening cooperation in the energy sector.

The new factor is the involvement of the RSF.

South Sudan People’s Defence Forces Chief of Staff Paul Nang said at Heglig that troops entered under a “tripartite agreement” involving President Salva Kiir, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, according to state broadcaster SSBC News.

The pact requires both Sudanese forces to withdraw from the area.

Nang stressed that South Sudanese forces would maintain strict neutrality.

“The primary goal is to completely neutralise the Heglig field from any combat operations”, he said, because it “represents an economic lifeline not only for South Sudan but for Sudan as well”.

The deployment followed a deadly drone attack on Tuesday evening that killed dozens, including three South Sudanese soldiers.

SAF confirmed using a drone to target RSF fighters at the facility, though the exact death toll remains unclear. Local media reported that seven tribal leaders and numerous RSF personnel died in the attack.

Approximately 3,900 Sudanese soldiers crossed into South Sudan’s Rubkona County after evacuating Heglig, handing over tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery to South Sudanese authorities, according to Unity State officials in South Sudan.

Thousands of civilians have also fled across the border since Sunday.

Heglig houses a central processing facility able to handle up to 130,000 barrels per day of South Sudanese crude destined for export through Sudanese pipelines. The site also includes Block 6, Sudan’s largest producing field.

Jan Pospisil, a South Sudan expert at Coventry University, explained the strategic calculus behind the unusual arrangement.

“From the SAF’s perspective, they don’t want the RSF to find another possible revenue stream, and it is better from their perspective for South Sudan to take control of the area,” he told Al Jazeera.

He added that the RSF “can’t really defend against air attacks by the SAF, as we saw with this drone strike, and they don’t need money right now”.

The seizure of Heglig marks the latest RSF advance as the conflict’s centre of gravity shifts from Darfur to the vast Kordofan region. The paramilitary force secured complete control of Darfur in October with the fall of el-Fasher, prompting international alarm over mass atrocities.

Activists at the Tawila camp told Al Jazeera that refugees continue arriving, with some forced to sleep outdoors due to insufficient resources.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk repeated a warning he issued last week that he was “extremely worried that we might see in Kordofan a repeat of the atrocities that have been committed in el-Fasher”, amid RSF advances in the region.

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect echoed his warning, with Executive Director Savita Pawnday stressing that Sudan faces “one of the world’s gravest atrocity crises”, where civilians are enduring “unimaginable harm while the international community fails to respond”.

The fighting has triggered displacement, with the International Organization for Migration reporting more than 1,000 people fled South Kordofan province in just two days this week as combat intensified around the state capital, Kadugli.

In el-Fasher, the Sudan Doctors Network reported this week that the RSF is holding more than 19,000 detainees across Darfur prisons, including 73 medical personnel.

The medical advocacy group said cholera outbreaks are killing people due to overcrowding and the absence of adequate healthcare, with more than four deaths recorded weekly from medical neglect.

Storm threatens hundreds of thousands of displaced people left homeless in Gaza due to Israel’s war on territory.

The US has rolled back a series of restrictive economic sanctions put in place during the rule of Bashar al-Assad.

The United States House of Representatives has voted forward a bill that would end the restrictive Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, originally imposed during the rule of former leader Bashar al-Assad.

The bid to repeal the sanctions was passed on Wednesday as part of a larger defence spending package, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

“With this NDAA, as many know, we are repealing sanctions on Syria that were placed there because of Bashar al-Assad and the torture of his people,” Representative Brian Mast of Florida said. “We’re giving Syria a chance to chart a post-Assad future.”

Mast had previously been opposed to dropping the sanctions. In his statement on the House floor on Wednesday, he warned that, under the bill, the White House could “reimpose sanctions if the president views it necessary”.

The bill now heads to the Senate and is expected to be voted on before the end of the year.

If passed, the NDAA would repeal the 2019 Caesar Act, which sanctioned the Syrian government for war crimes during the country’s 13-year-long civil war.

It would also require the White House to issue frequent reports confirming that Syria’s new government is combating Islamist fighters and upholding the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

Human rights advocates have welcomed the easing of heavy sanctions that the US and other Western countries imposed on Syria during the war.

They argue that lifting those economic restrictions will aid Syria’s path towards economic recovery after years of devastation.

The Caesar Act was signed into law during President Donald Trump’s first term.

But in December 2024, shortly before Trump returned to office for a second term, rebel forces toppled al-Assad’s government, sending the former leader fleeing to Russia.

Trump has since removed many sanctions on Syria and met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the push that ousted al-Assad.

But some sanctions can only be removed by Congress, a step that Trump has encouraged lawmakers to take.

This month, Syrians celebrated the one-year anniversary of al-Assad’s overthrow with fireworks, prayer and public displays of pride. But the country continues to face challenges as it recovers from the destruction and damage wrought by the war.

Syrian officials have urged the repeal of remaining sanctions, saying that it is necessary to give the country a fighting chance at economic stability and improvement.

Syrian central bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh called US sanctions relief a “miracle” in an interview with the news service Reuters last week.

The United Nations Security Council also voted to remove sanctions on al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who were previously on a list of individuals linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda.

Storm Byron is threatening to heap new miseries on Palestinians in Gaza, with families making distress calls from flooded tents and hundreds of others fleeing their shelters in search of dry ground as the fierce winter storm lashes heavy rains on the besieged territory.

Officials warned Wednesday that the storm was forecast to bring flash floods, strong winds and hail until Friday, conditions expected to wreak havoc in a territory in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in tents, temporary structures, or damaged buildings after two years of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Humanitarian workers said Israeli restrictions on the entry of tents, tools to repair water and sewage systems have left Gaza poorly equipped to respond to the storm, and called on the international community to pressure the Netanyahu government to urgently allow in supplies.

In the southern city of Rafah, the Palestinian Civil Defence said its teams had already received distress calls from displacement camps, with families reporting “flooded tents and families trapped inside by heavy rains”.

“Despite limited resources and a lack of necessary equipment, our teams are working tirelessly to reach those in need and provide assistance,” the rescue agency said on Telegram.

Footage posted on social media and verified by Al Jazeera showed Palestinians shovelling a ditch around tents in a desperate attempt to create barriers that would prevent them from flooding.

Displacement camps at risk

Nearly 850,000 people sheltering in 761 displacement sites face the highest risk of flooding, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Flooding has previously been recorded at more than 200 of the highest-risk sites, affecting more than 140,000 people, the office said.

Previous storms had contaminated displacement sites with sewage and solid waste, swept away families’ tents and driven them out of makeshift shelters.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said that UN  agencies and local authorities were warning that any significant rainfall could have devastating consequences for Gaza’s population, with the displacement camps built on barren, open terrain that would be highly susceptible to flooding.

The tents available to people were typically flimsy, unreinforced and often torn, he said, offering negligible protection from heavy rains, which were likely to seriously damage whatever possessions families had left.

Risk of water contamination, disease

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs network, said Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and equipment had left Gaza ill-equipped to deal with the storm.

He said only 40,000 tents, out of a needed 300,000, had been allowed in, while tools that would likely be needed to repair sewage systems and water networks were also restricted.

Flooding would bring a serious risk of sewage and solid waste contaminating drinking water or food supplies, raising the risk of diseases in the densely populated Strip, where 2.2 million people are crammed into just 43 percent of the territory, while the remaining 57 percent remains under Israeli military control.

“If Israel were to allow the entrance of supplies, things would be different. But for now, it has done all it can to make life more complicated for Palestinians,” Shawa said.

Oxfam humanitarian response adviser Chris McIntosh agreed, telling Al Jazeera that the people of Gaza were bracing for a “very tragic situation”.

“Persistent bureaucracy prevented us from bringing in adequate dwellings for people in Gaza,” McIntosh said. “The Israelis have not permitted tents to enter Gaza for many months. The only thing they’re allowing at this point is some tarpaulin, which isn’t going to do much for people who need proper shelter.”

He said Palestinians were being forced to live in “deplorable conditions”, with well more than 50 percent of the population living in tents.

He anticipated many would attempt to find dry ground inside bombed-out buildings that were at heightened risk of collapse amid the forecast heavy rains and winds.

Families flee flooding risk

Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warned that vulnerable groups, including newborn children, are at particular risk from the incoming winter storm.

About 200 families were expected to arrive at a new displacement site in eastern Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, fleeing a heightened risk of flooding in their present location, he said.

“These households made the decision to move given the impact of the frequent rains and the risk of flooding,” he said.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera that about 288,000 Palestinian families were without shelter as Storm Byron bore down on the enclave, and issued a call to the international community to pressure Israel to allow in supplies to help respond to the storm.

“We are issuing an urgent appeal to the world, [United States] President Trump and the [United Nations] Security Council to pressure the Israeli occupation,” he said.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, condemned global inaction as families in Gaza braced for the storm.

“Palestinians in Gaza are literally left alone, freezing and starving in the winter storm,” she posted on X.

“I keep asking how we became such monsters, [i]ncapable of stopping this nightmare.”

Almost two dozen people are confirmed dead after two buildings collapsed in the Moroccan city of Fez, angering residents who said the structures had clear problems before the deadly incident.

After finishing on top of their group in the opening round of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, Palestine will look to continue their historic run when they face Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on Thursday.

The Palestinian side also defied the odds to reach the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time earlier this year.

Having already beaten hosts and favourites Qatar, who were subsequently eliminated at the group stage, Palestine must now overcome a Saudi Arabia side that produced a shock at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup when they defeated the eventual champions, Argentina.

Syria is seeing major political changes, but security on the ground is still unstable. Israeli attacks continue in the south, while armed groups and internal tensions remain uncertain elements to Syria’s security. Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid breaks it down.

The military gains made by forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in southern Yemen mark a significant turning point in the country’s political and military conflicts.

The latest fighting is between the STC and internationally recognised Yemeni government, known as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), and led by Rashad al-Alimi. The irony here is that the STC, led by Aidarus al-Zubaidi, is also a member of the Yemeni PLC. But the relationship between the two groups is shaky and at times, turbulent.

Yemen’s government condemned the STC’s latest military advance and land grab across the south and labelled the group separatists – calling their action a “unilateral and a blatant violation of the transitional phase’s framework”.

On the ground, STC forces have completed their control over the remaining southern governorates, furthering the group’s efforts to revive its decades-old aspiration of establishing an independent state in the south of Yemen.

The battle of Hadramout

The latest and rapid developments are redrawing the map of control in Yemen, and it could have further implications on the future of a strong, coherent and unified country.

The fall of Hadramout last week was sudden, and it was seen as a shocking development – although it came after a long period of tension in the oil-rich province. The Yemeni government remained more of a bystander – maintaining some military brigades stationed in its camps in the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra. While local and tribal proxies affiliated with regional countries, they were competing for control and influence.

Taking advantage of its superior military equipment and massive forces, the STC advanced nearly unchallenged to overtake Hadramout and al-Mahra.

The government forces lacked modern weapons, sufficient manpower and perhaps the willingness to fight.

The fall of Hadramout was pivotal and posed greater importance in the eyes of many Yemeni politicians, given the special status of this governorate locally and regionally. It dealt a final blow to what remained of the components of Yemeni unity and the government’s legitimacy, and it thwarted all the bets that considered Hadramout to be immune from falling to STC forces.

Both the incoming STC forces and government and local tribal fighters had their own alliances and allegiances to competing regional powers – with connections and loyalties with tribal leaders, politicians and local actors in Hadramout.

Why does Hadramout matter?

Hadramout is a crucial and essential governorate in Yemen, occupying more than a third of the country’s area, approximately 200,000 square kilometres (77,000 square miles), with a population of nearly two million.

It is home to the largest share of Yemen’s oil wealth, containing the most important oil fields and export terminals. Furthermore, it is a stronghold of Yemeni and Arab Gulf businessmen and a cradle of cultural and historical wealth. In short, Hadramout is the Yemeni governorate that possesses the elements of a fully fledged state, and its inhabitants had hoped to establish a Hadrami state that would restore their past glories, far removed from the political and military conflict that engulfed the rest of Yemen’s governorates.

Hadramout governorate has always had a unique political and administrative character throughout all eras and political systems, especially during the socialist regime that ruled the South from the early 1970s until 1990, when the two Yemeni parts, North and South, unified.

This unique character continued under the unified state, as Hadramout remained governed by its own people and refused to accept officials from outside its geographical boundaries. Consequently, the people of Hadramout consider the STC’s control over it an unprecedented occupation, given that most of the STC’s leaders come from the Lahj and Dhale governorates, which are marginal areas – and that would be unacceptable for them. Therefore, the stability and continuity of the STC’s authority in the governorate are doubtful because the group lacks local and popular support.

‘Divorce without return’

These repercussions will undoubtedly cast a shadow over the eight-member PLC in Yemen, headed by Rashad al-Alimi, who, along with his cabinet members and his guards, was expelled from the presidential palace in the al-Maashiq district of Aden.

Many considered this a “divorce without return” and a disastrous end to all previous understandings and agreements aimed at maintaining a political order based on shared principles that would not harm any party.

In light of these developments, the legitimate government now only controls modest areas of land in the governorates of Taiz and Marib.

But Marib is already besieged by Houthi forces from the north, and by the STC forces from the south. The Houthis are a group backed by Iran and control the capital and the north and northwestern parts of Yemen. Taiz is besieged by the Houthis from the north and from the east by the forces of Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, the son of the ousted Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

It is not unlikely that these areas will fall into the hands of either of these two powerful parties at any moment. If that happens, the legitimate Yemeni government will become just a piece of paper, even though it practically lacks any influence on the ground since the rise of the STC forces and the growing power of the Houthis.

The unattainable southern aspiration for secession

As political sociology researcher Fayrouz al-Wali says, the STC does not have the authority to declare southern independence, despite its military control on the ground, because this decision rests not with it but with external regional powers that have deep interests in southern Yemen.

She noted that the path to statehood in the south does not lead through the gates of the Ma’ashiq Palace in Aden, but rather through the United Nations Security Council, where regional powers could play a pivotal role.

There is also a realisation that it would be difficult for the STC to declare independence in the foreseeable future, at least, because of the lack of essential resources to fund the budget of a nascent state without even the most basic elements of sustainability. Such a state would inherit an empty treasury from a country exhausted by more than a decade of war.

In addition to the economic, security and military challenges, and the lack of public services, the southern state envisioned by the STC would face discord with neighbouring powerful countries and other nations that do not wish to see Yemen fragmented into warring mini-states. This would create an unstable security situation with dire consequences for the entire region.

The catastrophic violence in Gaza has unfolded within an international system that was never designed to restrain the geopolitical ambitions of powerful states. Understanding why the United Nations has proved so limited in responding to what many regard as a genocidal assault requires returning to the foundations of the post–World War II order and examining how its structure has long enabled impunity rather than accountability.

After World War II, the architecture for a new international order based on respect for the UN Charter and international law was agreed upon as the normative foundation of a peaceful future. Above all, it was intended to prevent a third world war. These commitments emerged from the carnage of global conflict, the debasement of human dignity through the Nazi Holocaust, and public anxieties about nuclear weaponry.

Yet, the political imperative to accommodate the victorious states compromised these arrangements from the outset. Tensions over priorities for world order were papered over by granting the Security Council exclusive decisional authority and further limiting UN autonomy. Five states were made permanent members, each with veto power: the United States, the Soviet Union, France, the United Kingdom, and China.

In practice, this left global security largely in the hands of these states, preserving their dominance. It meant removing the strategic interests of geopolitical actors from any obligatory respect for legal constraints, with a corresponding weakening of UN capability. The Soviet Union had some justification for defending itself against a West-dominated voting majority, yet it too used the veto pragmatically and displayed a dismissive approach to international law and human rights, as did the three liberal democracies.

In 1945, these governments were understood as simply retaining the traditional freedoms of manoeuvre exercised by the so-called Great Powers. The UK and France, leading NATO members in a Euro-American alliance, interpreted the future through the lens of an emerging rivalry with the Soviet Union. China, meanwhile, was preoccupied with a civil war that continued until 1949.

Three aspects of this post-war arrangement shape our present understanding.

First, the historical aspect: Learning from the failures of the League of Nations, where the absence of influential states undermined the organisation’s relevance to questions of war and peace. In 1945, it was deemed better to acknowledge power differentials within the UN than to construct a global body based on democratic equality among sovereign states or population size.

Second, the ideological aspect: Political leaders of the more affluent and powerful states placed far greater trust in hard-power militarism than in soft-power legalism. Even nuclear weaponry was absorbed into the logic of deterrence rather than compliance with Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which required good-faith pursuit of disarmament. International law was set aside whenever it conflicted with geopolitical interests.

Third, the economistic aspect: The profitability of arms races and wars reinforced a pre–World War II pattern of lawless global politics, sustained by an alliance of geopolitical realism, corporate media, and private-sector militarism.

Why the UN could not protect Gaza

Against this background, it is unsurprising that the UN performed in a disappointing manner during the two-plus years of genocidal assault on Gaza.

In many respects, the UN did what it was designed to do in the turmoil after October 7, and only fundamental reforms driven by the Global South and transnational civil society can alter this structural limitation. What makes these events so disturbing is the extremes of Israeli disregard for international law, the Charter, and even basic morality.

At the same time, the UN did act more constructively than is often acknowledged in exposing Israel’s flagrant violations of international law and human rights. Yet, it fell short of what was legally possible, particularly when the General Assembly failed to explore its potential self-empowerment through the Uniting for Peace resolution or the Responsibility to Protect norm.

Among the UN’s strongest contributions were the near-unanimous judicial outcomes at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on genocide and occupation. On genocide, the ICJ granted South Africa’s request for provisional measures concerning genocidal violence and the obstruction of humanitarian aid in Gaza. A final decision is expected after further arguments in 2026.

On occupation, responding to a General Assembly request for clarification, the Court issued a historic advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, finding Israel in severe violation of its duties under international humanitarian law in administering Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. It ordered Israel’s withdrawal within a year. The General Assembly affirmed the opinion by a large majority.

Israel responded by repudiating or ignoring the Court’s authority, backed by the US government’s extraordinary claim that recourse to the ICJ lacked legal merit.

The UN also provided far more reliable coverage of the Gaza genocide than was available in corporate media, which tended to amplify Israeli rationalisations and suppress Palestinian perspectives. For those seeking a credible analysis of genocide allegations, the Human Rights Council offered the most convincing counter to pro-Israeli distortions. A Moon Will Arise from this Darkness: Reports on Genocide in Palestine, containing the publicly submitted reports of the special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, documents and strongly supports the genocide findings.

A further unheralded contribution came from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, whose services were essential to a civilian population facing acute insecurity, devastation, starvation, disease, and cruel combat tactics. Some 281 staff members were killed while providing shelter, education, healthcare, and psychological support to beleaguered Palestinians during the course of Israel’s actions over the past two years.

UNRWA, instead of receiving deserved praise, was irresponsibly condemned by Israel and accused, without credible evidence, of allowing staff participation in the October 7 attack. Liberal democracies compounded this by cutting funding, while Israel barred international staff from entering Gaza. Nevertheless, UNRWA has sought to continue its relief work to the best of its ability and with great courage.

In light of these institutional shortcomings and partial successes, the implications for global governance become even more stark, setting the stage for a broader assessment of legitimacy and accountability.

The moral and political costs of UN paralysis

The foregoing needs to be read in light of the continuing Palestinian ordeal, which persists despite numerous Israeli violations, resulting in more than 350 Palestinian deaths since the ceasefire was agreed upon on October 10, 2025.

International law seems to have no direct impact on the behaviour of the main governmental actors, but it does influence perceptions of legitimacy. In this sense, the ICJ outcomes and the reports of the special rapporteur that take the international law dimensions seriously have the indirect effect of legitimising various forms of civil society activism in support of true and just peace, which presupposes the realisation of Palestinian basic rights – above all, the inalienable right of self-determination.

The exclusion of Palestinian participation in the US-imposed Trump Plan for shaping Gaza’s political future is a sign that liberal democracies stubbornly adhere to their unsupportable positions of complicity with Israel.

Finally, the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 2803 in unacceptably endorsing the Trump Plan aligns the UN fully with the US and Israel, a demoralising evasion and repudiation of its own truth-telling procedures. It also establishes a most unfortunate precedent for the enforcement of international law and the accountability of perpetrators of international crimes.

In doing so, it deepens the crisis of confidence in global governance and underscores the urgent need for meaningful UN reform if genuine peace and justice are ever to be realised.

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

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire has killed at least 377 people.

Hamas has said the ceasefire cannot move forward while Israel continues its violations of the agreement, with Gaza authorities saying the truce has been breached at least 738 times since taking effect in October.

Husam Badran, a Hamas official, called on mediators to increase pressure on Israel to fully implement its existing commitments.

“The next phase cannot begin as long as the [Israeli] occupation continues its violations of the agreement and evades its commitments,” Badran said.

“Hamas has asked the mediators to pressure the occupation to complete the implementation of the first phase,” he added.

The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, focused on the exchange of captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

But details of the next phase, including Gaza’s future governance, the potential deployment of an international stabilisation force, and the establishment of what has been termed a “board of peace”, remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, anger continues to rise among Palestinians and the international community as Israeli attacks persist. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks since the start of the ceasefire have killed at least 377 people and wounded 987.

Talks progressing, but major challenges remain

A United States official told Al Jazeera Arabic that negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire are advancing, but key obstacles still need to be overcome.

The official said Washington expects the first deployment of an international stabilisation force to begin in early 2026.

Talks are currently focused on which countries would contribute to such a force, how it would be commanded and what its rules of engagement would be.

It comes as former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair has reportedly been dropped by the “board of peace”, a panel envisioned by the US to oversee redevelopment in Gaza.

The official said the US-backed ceasefire plan, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, clearly stipulates Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas’s disarmament.

They added that discussions are under way to form a police force drawn from the local population in Gaza.

The US is also aware of the increasing demands for humanitarian access, the official said, and is working to remove barriers to aid delivery.

Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric responded to a claim by Israeli Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir that the so-called “yellow line”, currently marking Israeli-held territory inside Gaza, constitutes a “new border”.

Israeli forces have remained in about 58 percent of Gaza since a partial withdrawal to the yellow line. Under the ceasefire plan, Israeli forces are meant to withdraw fully from the territory, although there is no timeframe for a withdrawal in the agreement.

More Israeli strikes reported

The Israeli military has launched an air strike and artillery attacks on areas of Khan Younis still under its control. There have been no reports of casualties.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli army has continued building demolitions in Beit Lahiya.

“These actions constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a deliberate undermining of the essence of the ceasefire and the provisions of its attached humanitarian protocol,” Gaza authorities said in a statement.

Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza has killed at least 70,366 Palestinians and wounded 171,064 since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities.

At least of 1,139 people were killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli statistics, and more than 200 others were seized as captives.

Blair was the only figure named for the board when Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza.

Tony Blair has been dropped from consideration for a role on a proposed US-led “board of peace” for Gaza after objections from Arab and Muslim governments, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper has reported.

Blair was the only figure named for the board when Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza in September, with the US president describing the former UK prime minister as a “very good man”.

Blair praised the plan as “bold and intelligent” and signalled he was willing to serve on the board, which would be chaired by Trump himself.

But diplomats from several Arab and Muslim states objected to Blair’s involvement, the FT reported on Monday.

As British Prime Minister, Blair strongly supported the US-led so-called “war on terror” and sent tens of thousands of British troops to join the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which was launched based on false claims that Iraq’s then leader, Saddam Hussein, had developed weapons of mass destruction.

In the Middle East region, Blair remains widely viewed as partially responsible for the war’s devastation.

Since leaving office in 2007, he has set up the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), which has worked with governments accused of repression to help improve their image.

His institute was also involved with a project, led by Israeli business figures, developing “day-after” plans for Gaza alongside Israeli business figures.

The project included proposals for a coastal resort dubbed the “Trump Riviera” and a manufacturing hub named after Elon Musk – ideas critics said ignore human rights and threaten Palestinians with displacement.

There was no immediate comment from Blair’s office. An ally quoted by the FT rejected claims that opposition from regional governments had forced him out of Trump’s planned “peace board”, insisting discussions were ongoing.

Another source said Blair could still return in “a different capacity”, noting he is favoured by both Washington and Tel Aviv.

Trump’s Gaza plan led to a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Israeli forces continuing attacks across the besieged territory. At least 377 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect in October, according to Gaza authorities. More than 70,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza in October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities.

Egypt international Mohamed Salah is attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League amid doubt about Liverpool future.

Saudi Arabia says it will do “whatever it can” to recruit unsettled Liverpool star Mohamed Salah during the winter transfer window, a source at the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has revealed.

“We follow Salah’s position thoroughly and believe there can be a move either by loan or buying his contract,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, referring to the standoff between the Egyptian and Liverpool.

“There is still no direct negotiations or talks with the club at the moment but there will be a move at the right moment.”

The PIF source said the wealthy Gulf monarchy wanted to sign the Egyptian winger in January, during the next transfer window, to join stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

PIF holds a 75 percent share in Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, but the source said it was not alone in wanting the Arab world’s biggest football star.

“There is a competition inside the Saudi league who will bring Salah,” the source said, adding that a club affiliated with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil and gas company was also interested.

“Aramco’s Al Qadsiah has shown an interest, too. So it’s not only the PIF-affiliated clubs.”

Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr, Salah’s former Liverpool teammate, Darwin Nunez, is at Al-Hillal, another former Premier League player of the season, N’Golo Kante, is at Al-Ittihad, but Salah is the biggest football star from an Arab country.

Salah said, after he was an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw with Leeds on Sunday, that he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and no longer had a relationship with manager Arne Slot.

The 33-year-old Egypt forward was then left out of Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League tie at Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Salah has played a key role in Liverpool’s two Premier League titles and one Champions League triumph during his iconic spell on Merseyside. He signed a contract extension in April as he led Liverpool to the title.

Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations after next weekend’s home match against Brighton in the Premier League.

He hinted that the Brighton game could be his last with the Reds before leaving during the winter transfer window.

In 2024-25, Salah scored 29 goals and provided 18 assists last season, but he has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the title-holders are 10th in the table — with just four goals in 13 top-flight appearances.

“All players have their ups and downs. Salah is just 33 and has a lot to do here,” said the PIF source.

“Salah is a beloved footballer around the globe and will have a massive impact on the Saudi League both on and off the pitch.”

Yemen’s Southern Transition Council has declared itself in control of the country’s south, raising fears they will declare independence. Members of the internationally-backed government have fled. So what is the STC? Soraya Lennie explains.

Al Jazeera speaks to Syrians as they celebrate one year since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Damascus, Syria – Syrians have marked the first anniversary of the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad with fireworks and jubilant celebrations in major cities, amid renewed optimism for long-lasting freedom and safety after 14 years of war.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa told large crowds in Damascus on Monday that the country had turned the page from a “dark chapter” in its history and now “looks towards a promising future”.

Over the past year, al-Sharaa’s government has taken steps to provide basic services to citizens, as millions of refugees weigh the decision to return home.

Al-Sharaa promised to bring justice to the families of the victims of the al-Assad regime and build an inclusive Syria, amid ongoing efforts to bring all armed forces under Damascus’s authority. His government also managed to reshape foreign ties and obtain the lifting of international sanctions.

Despite bouts of sectarian violence, recurring Israeli attacks and deep economic challenges, Syrians remain largely confident that the end of the al-Assad family’s decades-long tyrannical rule has ushered in a new era of stability.

Al Jazeera spoke to Syrians celebrating in public squares on Monday about what they expect from the new government and their hopes for the future.

Lina al-Masri

Today truly feels like a celebration. Syria is free. We are living in safety. This is a happiness we haven’t seen among Syrians in ages.

We fully support [al-Sharaa’s] administration, wholeheartedly and sincerely. For now, the state has done everything well. Most importantly, it has provided us with security. It has ensured that our youth can go out safely, and that’s the greatest achievement so far.

We were worried, sitting in fear for our young men and boys, anxious that they might be taken and not return, or die. But now, the streets are filled with our youth walking safely. Our men walk freely and safely without any fear.

Khaled Jaboush

Injustice and oppression have been lifted off the shoulders of Syrian citizens. Now they can express their feelings, their liberty, and their beliefs.

You see the crowds out here – they came out of their own free will. In the past, people used to march out of obligation. Today, the people came out willingly, joyful and happy with their [newfound] freedom.

We are delighted with the wise leadership we have. We are happy with the development and progress which, God willing, will prevail in our country. Today, God willing, the economy has begun to grow, and the wheel is starting to turn.

It’s an indescribable feeling. After decades of injustice and oppression, we got our freedom back. The freedom we were denied for 50 years.

Yehya and Hussein

Everyone is chanting, everyone is together, all in harmony. I feel the security forces and the army are now part of us. You pass by, and they greet you without hesitation. You don’t feel scared, like someone’s out to get you.

We used to dream of charging our phones. Now we have electricity, we have lights, we have comfort.

I’ve lived abroad my whole life because of al-Assad’s oppressive regime. When I came back here, I felt like I’m living in my country for the first time.

There were times when I visited Syria, but I felt like an outsider. Now, no – now I feel like I belong in my own country.

I hope today continues to be a lasting symbol of peace for us and for our entire country.

Rima al-Omari

Everything is evolving. There are some nice initiatives and beautiful partnerships with other countries. So hopefully, our country will flourish.

Work opportunities in ministries have become easier; they care about the country and the people’s circumstances.

Services are improving step by step. Of course, everything starts small, but we’re lacking nothing. Everything is available, thank God.

The Syrian people have improved, too. They’ve become warmer, more passionate, and found something to rebuild this country on. They’ve got a life now.

In the last year, Israel averaged nearly two daily attacks on Syria and grabbed more land in the occupied Golan Heights.

It has been one year since a lightning offensive by allied rebel groups led to the fall of Damascus, ending the al-Assad dynasty’s 54-year reign.

Yet, as the regime collapsed, Israel seized on the instability by significantly escalating its military campaign in Syria, targeting much of its neighbour’s military infrastructure, including major airports, air defence systems, fighter jets, and other strategic facilities.

Over the past year, Israel has launched more than 600 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria, averaging nearly two attacks a day, according to a tally by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

The map below shows the ACLED-recorded Israeli attacks between December 8, 2024 and November 28, 2025.

The bulk of the Israeli attacks have been concentrated in the southern Syrian governorates of Quneitra, Deraa, and Damascus, which account for nearly 80 percent of all recorded Israeli attacks.

• Quneitra, adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, was attacked at least 232 times.
• Deraa was the second most targeted governorate, with 167 recorded attacks focusing on former regime military sites and suspected arms convoys.
• Damascus governorate, which hosts key military highways and logistics hubs, was attacked at least 77 times. Damascus city, the capital, was attacked at least 20 times.

Why is Israel attacking Syria?

While Israel’s air attacks have escalated this past year, it has been attacking Syria for years, justifying its actions by claiming to eliminate Iranian military installations.

Since the fall of the al-Assad government, Israel claims it is trying to prevent weapons from landing in the hands of “extremists” – a term it has applied to a rotating list of actors, most recently including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the primary Syrian opposition group that led the operation to overthrow al-Assad.

Just four days after the fall of al-Assad, Israel announced it had achieved total air superiority by destroying more than 80 percent of Syria’s air defence systems, in order to prevent the new Syrian state from posing any military threat.

Since taking power following the overthrow of al-Assad, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has consistently stated that his government seeks no conflict with Israel and will not permit Syria to be used by foreign actors to launch attacks.

Israel grabs more Syrian land

In the days following the fall of al-Assad, Israeli troops crossed into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967, violating the 1974 UN-brokered ceasefire agreement with Syria.

The Israeli military has established several military outposts, including at Jabal al-Sheikh, in nearby villages, and within other areas of the United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone, where it has carried out frequent air raids and ground incursions.

Israel’s invasion of Syrian land has drawn widespread international criticism. The UN, along with several Arab nations, condemned Israel’s actions as breaches of international law and violations of Syria’s sovereignty.

Despite these condemnations, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in February that Israeli forces would remain in the area indefinitely to “protect Israeli citizens” and “prevent hostile entities from gaining a foothold” near the border.

To visualise the scale, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights spans 1,200sq km (463sq miles), an area roughly the size of New York City or Greater Manchester. The UN buffer zone covers another 235sq km (91sq miles), comparable to the size of the city of Baltimore. Additionally, Israel has seized an estimated 420sq km (162sq miles) of Syrian land beyond the buffer zone, a territory roughly the size of Denver.

The slider below details the areas Israel has occupied over the past year.

Israel says it targeted Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, adding pressure to a US-brokered ceasefire.

Israel’s military has carried out waves of air attacks in southern Lebanon, causing damage to several homes, according to Lebanese state media, as anger mounts over repeated Israeli violations of a ceasefire with Hezbollah agreed upon last year.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported late on Monday that Israeli jets targeted Mount Safi, the town of Jbaa, the Zefta Valley, and the area between Azza and Rumin Arki in “several waves”.

There was no immediate report of casualties.

The Israeli military, in a post on X, said it struck several sites linked to Hezbollah, including a special operations training compound used by its elite Radwan Force.

The military said several buildings and a rocket-launching site were also hit.

The attacks come days after Israel and Lebanon dispatched civilian envoys to a military committee tasked with overseeing their ceasefire, a step towards a months-old demand by the United States, which has been urging the two countries to broaden their talks.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that his country “has adopted the option of negotiations with Israel”, and that the talks were aimed at stopping Israel’s continued attacks on his country.

The current ceasefire, brokered by Washington in 2024, ended more than a year of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.

But Israel has continued to strike Lebanon on a near-daily basis.

A United Nations report released in November said that at least 127 civilians, including children, have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect. UN officials have warned that the strikes amount to “war crimes”.

Tensions spiked further last week when Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing Hezbollah’s top military commander, Haytham Ali Tabtabai.

The group, still weakened after last year’s conflict, has yet to respond.

Israel has accused Lebanon of not doing enough to compel Hezbollah to relinquish its arsenal across the country, a claim the Lebanese government denies.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said last week that Lebanon wanted to see the ceasefire monitoring mechanism play a more robust role in verifying Israel’s claims that Hezbollah is rearming, as well as the work of the Lebanese army in dismantling the armed group’s infrastructure.

Asked whether that meant Lebanon would accept US and French troops on the ground as part of a verification mechanism, Salam said, “Of course”.

The continued Israeli strikes have raised fears in Lebanon that the Israeli military could expand its air campaign further.

Hezbollah has said it is unwilling to let go of its arms as long as Israel continues its strikes on Lebanese territory and its occupation of five points in the country’s south.