Israeli army confirms detention of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital Director, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya: LIVE

In Gaza: 

The Israeli army confirmed today that the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, is detained, after saying on Thursday that "there is no indication" for this.

The Israeli army claimed that the previous statement was a "human error." On Saturday, an army spokesperson had said that Abu Safiya was among the detainees transferred for interrogation, after the army and Shin Bet raid on the hospital in northern Gaza.

CNN reported that detainees who were released since then said that the hospital director was held at the Sde Teiman detention facility, and a video of him walking alone toward Israeli forces during the raid was shared on social media.

According to the military, Abu Safiya is allegedly suspected of being a Hamas operative.

(Credit: Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

In Yemen

Brigadier Yahya Saree Qasim, spokesman for the Yemen Houthi rebels, spoke at a rally denouncing Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinians in Sana'a today.

The Israeli military earlier today said it shot down a missile and a drone launched from Yemen, the latest in a series of attacks from the country targeting Israel in recent weeks. Yemen's Huthis have been firing missiles and drones at Israel -- as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden -- in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza. The Israeli army has also carried out multiple attacks against Yemen in the past week.

Also in Lebanon

The Biden administration will continue to make efforts to ensure that the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel is maintained, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said at his press conference, as relayed by local and regional media.

He also stressed the importance of the Lebanese people being able to express themselves and vote for their future, so that their aspirations for peace and stability can be fulfilled in the best way, in the run-up to the parliamentary session on Jan. 9, which should make it possible to unblock the presidential election after more than two years of presidential vacuum.

In Lebanon

In an interview with al-Arabiya, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that the Lebanese Army had arrested some Syrians who entered illegally before sending them back to Syria and that his ministry was working to "resolve the problem that occurred [on Thursday] on the border between Lebanon and Syria."

A clash, which was "quickly settled" according to a security source contacted by L'Orient Today, took place on Thursday between Lebanese soldiers and members of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that leads the coalition that overthrew the Assad regime in Syria last December, on the border of Masnaa in the Bekaa. Some observers believe that this incident could be the reason for the closure of the border crossings between Lebanon and Syria for Lebanese nationals this morning. Earlier in the day, the minister told AFP that Beirut was working to find a solution with Syria following the restrictions.

Commenting on Thursday's search at Beirut International Airport, after which cash was discovered in two suitcases belonging to Iranian diplomats, Mawlawi said: "We are searching everyone who passes through Beirut airport, even diplomats, and we found operational funds and documents from the Iranian embassy in yesterday's luggage."

⚡ In Gaza

Hamas announced that talks to secure a truce in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement would resume on Friday in Qatar.

"Indirect negotiations will resume today, Friday, in the Qatari capital Doha," Hamas said in a statement, adding that the talks will focus on "ensuring that the agreement leads to a complete cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip."

In the occupied West Bank:

The Palestinian Authority announced on Friday that a father and son had been killed in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the scene of violent clashes between its police and armed factions for several weeks.

Mahmoud al-Hajj and his son Qassem died, while his daughter Asmaa was wounded in "an incident" at the Jenin camp, Palestinian security forces spokesman Anwar Rajab said, accusing "outlaws" of being responsible.

"The place where the incident occurred is outside the current perimeter of intervention of the security forces within the camp," he said.

On the Gaza cease-fire: 

The Biden administration is urging Hamas to sign on to a new cease-fire deal that would ensure the release of hostages, AFP reported citing White House National Security spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby said the White House welcomed Israel's decision to send another team to Doha to continue negotiations. The Biden administration is making a final push to help broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas in its final weeks, to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Hamas-held hostages there.

⚡ Also in Lebanon's Maaraboun-Baalbek region, the Lebanese Army is targeting positions held by armed individuals on the Syrian side of the border with mortar fire. According to security sources contacted by our Bekaa correspondent, the army also destroyed a vehicle equipped with six machine guns, resulting in casualties among its occupants.

In southern Lebanon: 

On the fifth day of the third week of continued search and field surveying operations at the site of the Israeli assault on the town of Khiam (Marjayoun), specialized search and rescue teams from the Civil Defense Directorate, and in coordination with the Lebanese Army, managed to recover the bodies of two people killed from the Eastern neighborhood and another body from the Souk neighborhood in the town of Khiam. The bodies were transferred to the Marjayoun Governmental Hospital.

The search and field survey operations are set to resume tomorrow morning at the mentioned location until all the missing persons are found. The exact number remains unclear, as the army has retrieved an unknown number of bodies, and the Civil Defense has also recovered additional victims. It is likely that the total number may exceed 30, according to our correspondent in the south.

⚡ Clashes between the Lebanese Army in the locality of Maaraboun and armed individuals from the Syrian locality of Serghaya were renewed in the late afternoon on the Lebanese-Syrian border, reported our correspondent in the Bekaa.

The clashes had broken out earlier between an army unit closing an illegal crossing in the Maaraboun-Baalbeck area and Syrians attempting to reopen the crossing with a bulldozer.

After medical teams at the north Gazan Indonesian hospital said that the Israeli army ordered the complete evacuation of the building, the military denied it had given such an order, according to Haaretz.

A staff member had alleged the Israeli army used human shields when ordering the evacuation. Last week, the hospital, which is the last remaining hospital in northern Gaza, was attacked and partially destroyed, but remained operational. Members of a UN delegation last week reported that the situation there is dire, citing a lack of electricity, running water, and sanitation systems.

The hospital has elderly, disabled and sick patients who cannot evacuate without assistance.

The head of German diplomacy warned Syria's new leaders, drawn from radical Islamist rebel groups, that Europe would not fund the establishment of Islamist institutions in the country.

"Europe will provide support, but it will not finance new Islamist structures," said Annalena Baerbock, on a visit to Damascus with her French counterpart, where she met Syria's new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, at the presidential palace in Damascus.

⚡ Caretaker Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Bassam Mawlawi told AFP that Beirut was working to find a solution with Syria, after two security officials claimed Damascus had imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens.

"Work is underway to resolve the issue," the minister said.

In Lebanon, the Amal Movement announced the death of one of its members; Rida Thaliji, born in 1972.

According to our correspondent in the South, Thaliji was killed in an Israeli attack that targeted the village of Khiam (Marjeyoun district) before the November 27 ceasefire. His body was retrieved from under the rubble today.

U.N. officials told The New York Times they are preparing to cease operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli lawmakers behind this legislation aim to ban UNRWA's activities in these areas, with the law set to take effect by the end of January. This decision seeks to enable other aid groups to replace UNRWA’s presence.

In October, Israel's Parliament prohibited UNRWA from operating in East Jerusalem and coordinating with Israeli authorities, a ban set to commence in late January.

Médecins Sans Frontières reported that staff at the Indonesian Hospital, the last functional medical facility in northern Gaza, received evacuation orders from the Israeli military, as noted by Haaretz.

The Israeli military also stated that two projectiles were fired from northern Gaza into Israel. One landed near Nir Am kibbutz, while the other struck an uninhabited area, causing no injuries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, at the presidential palace in Damascus, according to AFPTV footage.

This marks the first high-level meeting between Western officials and Syria’s new leader, who assumed power on Dec. 8 after Bashar Assad’s fall.

Reports indicate that clashes between the Lebanese Army and Syrian individuals in the Maaraboun border area have ceased, with the combatants retreating after several sustained injuries.

The Lebanese Army has yet to provide an update on X.

Earlier, at least one Lebanese soldier was reported injured during the confrontation, while a security source cited three fatalities.

Separately, a General Security source confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that Syria has closed its border to Lebanese citizens. However, a Syrian official denied new entry restrictions for Lebanese nationals.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking from Damascus, urged Syria's new leadership to pursue a "political solution" with the Kurds, who control much of the country's northeast.

"A political solution must be found with France's allies, the Kurds, to ensure they are fully integrated into the political process now underway," Barrot said during a meeting with civil society representatives.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking from Damascus, urged Syria's new leadership to pursue a "political solution" with the Kurds, who control much of the country's northeast.

"A political solution must be found with France's allies, the Kurds, to ensure they are fully integrated into the political process now underway," Barrot said during a meeting with civil society representatives.

Israel claimed on Friday that it was targeted by three projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian rescuers reported 12 killed in Israeli airstrikes.

"This is a harsh day for the people of Gaza due to Israel's ongoing bombardment," Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

According to Bassal, rescuers recovered the bodies of 12 Palestinians, "including several children," after airstrikes on Gaza City in the north, as well as in central and southern parts of the territory.

The Israeli military stated that it had targeted "around 40 Hamas terrorist gathering sites" across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, along with "command centers" of the Palestinian Islamist movement.

It noted that several targets were located in buildings "previously used as schools."

This claim was dismissed by Bassal, who accused the Israeli military of "committing massacres under the pretext of the presence of Hamas militants."

A series of Israeli airstrikes targeted areas in Jabal al-Rihan (Jezzine) and Iqlim al-Touffah (Nabatieh) last night, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. Two strikes hit the latter region, including one near the village of Jbaa.

Israeli warplanes also carried out a raid on an area between the villages of Sejoud and Rihan.

Shortly after, the Israeli army claimed, via its Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, to have targeted "medium-range rocket launchers" belonging to Hezbollah, including one "inside a military position" in Nabatieh.

The Israeli army stated the strikes were conducted "in line with the cease-fire agreement" following a request sent to the Lebanese army to neutralize the launchers, a request that "went unanswered."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot expressed hope for "a sovereign, stable, and peaceful Syria" during his first visit to Damascus.

"Less than a month ago, new hope emerged through the mobilization of Syrians," Barrot said from the French Embassy in Damascus. "The hope for a sovereign, stable, and peaceful Syria." However, he cautioned, "It is a real hope, but it is fragile."

Barrot reiterated France's support for Syrians in realizing this hope, stating, "France stands more than ever alongside Syrians to make this hope a reality."

The embassy had been closed in 2012 due to the "bloody repression by Bashar Assad's criminal regime," he noted. "In the coming weeks, depending on security conditions, we will gradually prepare to restore France's presence here in Damascus," Barrot announced.

French and German foreign ministers visited Saydnaya Prison near Damascus, a symbol of mass repression under Bashar Assad's regime, AFP journalists reported.

The Czech Republic, serving as the protecting power for U.S. interests in Syria, reopened its embassy in Damascus in late December after it was closed following the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky confirmed the reopening.

"We resumed the activities of our embassy during the Christmas period," Lipavsky said yesterday on Czech public television.

Prague had shut and evacuated its embassy in Damascus after the December coup that toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

At least 24 fighters, mostly from Turkish-backed armed factions, were killed in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported last night.

SOHR stated that 23 members of pro-Turkish groups and one member of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council were killed in the fighting, which erupted after pro-Turkish factions attacked two villages south of Manbij. The city, previously held by Kurdish forces for years, recently fell to pro-Turkish armed groups.

French and German foreign ministers are set to meet Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus today, marking the first high-level visit by Western powers to Syria's new authorities. Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Damascus this morning, according to AFP journalists on the ground, while his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, is expected to join him.

The visit, conducted "under the mandate of the European Union," will include a joint meeting with Sharaa, head of a coalition led by the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which ousted President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8.

Israel carried out airstrikes targeting Syrian military positions south of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and local residents.

Residents reported massive explosions in the area, with SOHR stating the strikes targeted defense and research facilities. The group added, "At least seven massive explosions were heard, resulting from an Israeli airstrike on defense factories south of Aleppo." No immediate information was available regarding casualties.

The Israeli military announced it had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen before it entered Israeli airspace. The interception comes amid a series of recent attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels against Israel.

"A drone launched from Yemen was intercepted moments ago by the air force before entering Israeli territory," the military said in a statement, following an earlier announcement that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen overnight.

Earlier, the Israeli army said it detected a missile launched from Yemen and activated its interception system.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the events in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and the region. Make sure to read today's Morning Brief to get caught up.