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Arrest of former regime official responsible for Sednaya prison

Syrian authorities have announced the arrest of a former military official accused of executing detainees in the notorious Sednaya prison under the now-deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the counterterrorism unit in the Damascus province had arrested Major General Akram Salloum al-Abdallah, without disclosing the date, location, or circumstances of the arrest, according to AFP.

The ministry noted that Abdallah had held “several positions, including that of commander of the military police at the Ministry of Defense between 2014 and 2015, under the former president,” during the height of Syria’s civil war.

He was “involved in serious violations committed against detainees at Sednaya prison,” located north of Damascus, and was “directly responsible for executing detainees while serving as commander of the military police,” the statement added.

UN's Albanese warns truce falls short in adressing ‘genocide’

U.N. rights expert Francesca Albanese has called the U.S.-brokered Gaza cease-fire plan “absolutely inadequate,” saying it fails to stop what she describes as a genocide by Israel and the U.S. Speaking from South Africa, she urged an end to Israel’s occupation and exploitation of Palestinian land, and warned that continued international support for Israel makes states complicit in its actions.

Albanese, under U.S. sanctions for her criticism of Israel, said recent talks of a two-state solution are a distraction from the urgent need to halt the violence in Gaza.

Read more👉here.

UNIFIL stresses that every violation of Resolution 1701 threatens stability

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reminded in a statement that “every violation counts – large or small – as each threatens progress toward lasting stability.”

“The peacekeepers monitor and report violations of Resolution 1701 and work in coordination with the Lebanese Army,” the statement added.

It emphasized that “supporting Lebanon in extending state authority in the South is a key step toward the resolution’s long-term goal: a permanent cease-fire and lasting stability.”

Israel expels 32 foreign activists from West Bank olive harvest

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the expulsion of 32 foreign activists who had come to help Palestinians with the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

The expulsion order followed a complaint from Yossi Dagan, head of the northern West Bank settlers’ council, accusing the activists of being “anarchists” engaging in “provocations.”

This year’s harvest season has seen increased violence, including vandalism and attacks by Israeli settlers. Activists say their presence helps deter such incidents, AFP reports.

Twelve UN staff leave Yemen after Houthi detention

Twelve international U.N. staff members who were detained by the Houthis have left Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, by air, the U.N. said Wednesday.

They were among 15 foreign U.N. workers held for several days after Houthi forces stormed the U.N. compound on Saturday.

The remaining three are now “free to move and travel,” according to the UN. Five Yemeni U.N. employees had already been released shortly after the incident.

UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, was among those detained.

FPA urges Israel to allow Gaza access

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has urged Israel to allow foreign journalists into Gaza, ahead of a top court hearing on their petition.

“It is high time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues,” said FPA chair Tania Kraemer.

Israel has barred foreign media from Gaza for over two years, significantly hindering independent coverage. More than 270 journalists, including 10 from Al Jazeera, have been killed in Gaza since the war began, Al Jazeera reports.

Jordan condemns Israeli annexation plans

Jordan has strongly condemned Israel’s preliminary approval of two draft laws to annex the occupied West Bank and legitimize an illegal settlement, Al Jazeera reports.

The foreign ministry called the move a “blatant violation of international law” and a threat to the two-state solution, urging the international community to act.

Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow as the third senior U.S. official to visit Tel Aviv this week to affirm the cease-fire deal.

According to Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian, Rubio is expected to meet Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

ICJ orders Israel allow UN aid in Gaza, rejects claims against UNRWA

The International Court of Justice says Israel must facilitate U.N. aid schemes in Gaza, including UNRWA’s, and must ensure “basic needs” of Gaza population.

The panel of 11 judges have added Israel has not substantiated its claims that a significant part of UNRWA employees are "members of Hamas", the judges said.

Israeli parliament passes bill declaring Israeli sovereignty over occupied West Bank in preliminary reading

Right-wing Israeli MPs have passed a preliminary bill to apply Israeli sovereignty to the occupied West Bank — despite opposition from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud, in what The Times of Israel called an “embarrassment” during JD Vance’s visit.

All Likud members, with the exception of one, boycotted the vote. Yuli Edelstein broke ranks and voted in favor of the bill, casting a decisive vote that allowed the proposal to narrowly pass by 25 votes to 24.

The adoption of the bill comes as the Trump administration has recently spoken out against annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, warning that it could jeopardize the long-term sustainability of the Abraham Accords signed with several Arab countries.

The bill must still pass three additional readings before it can become law. It has now been referred to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.

ICJ begins ruling on Israel's obligations toward aid agencies in Gaza

The top United Nations court has begun its ruling on Israel's obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up assistance following a cease-fire.

Israel continues to prevent aid from entering Gaza, where famine and malnutrition has already killed more than 400 people, the result of Israel's ongoing blockade.

International Court of Justice President Yuji Iwasawa opened the public hearing to deliver its "advisory opinion" laying out Israel's duty to facilitate aid in Gaza.

The U.N. asked the ICJ to clarify Israel's obligations, as an occupying power, towards U.N. and other bodies "including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival" of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding but the court believes it carries "great legal weight and moral authority".

Israel's Knesset passes first reading of law declaring Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank

Right-wing Israeli lawmakers have voted to pass, in its preliminary reading, a bill that would apply Israeli sovereignty to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, despite opposition from Netanyahu and his Likud party, Times of Israel reports, describing the move as "an embarrassment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

All but one Likud Knesset member boycotted the vote, according to the outlet. Yuli Edelstein broke ranks to vote in favor, casting a decisive vote and helping the bill scrape by 25-24.

The passage of the bill comes as U.S. Vice President JD Vance is still in Israel, and could potentially lead to a crisis with the Trump administration, which has opposed annexation.

The bill would still need to pass three additional readings to become law. It will now go to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.

No Turkish troops in Gaza, Netanyahu's office says

There will be no Turkish troops in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office insisted after reports emerged of a disagreement on the issue during yesterday’s meeting between Netanyahu and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.

“There is no disagreement,” a representative of the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel. “There will be no Turkish involvement.”

Sky News Arabia reported yesterday that in the meeting, Netanyahu had rejected Turkish participation in Trump's "International Stabilization Force" in the Gaza Strip, citing a Palestinian source.

He also “completely rejected” Palestinian Authority security forces trained by Egypt and Jordan in Gaza, the source told the UK-Emirati outlet.

“Netanyahu insists that the second-phase conditions be implemented first, namely the disarmament of Hamas and its relinquishment of control over Gaza, before any discussion of local administration or security forces operating in Gaza,” the source told Sky News.

Israel returns the bodies of 30 Palestinians taken during ground invasion

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defence stand beside the remains of unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were returned by Israel under a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 22,

The Gaza Health Ministry announced that the remains of 30 unidentified Palestinians were returned to the Strip after being taken by the Israeli army during its ground invasion. Israel handed the remains over to the Red Cross, which in turn delivered them the the Palestinian Civil Defense, bringing the total number of bodies returned since Oct. 10 to 195, AFP reports.

The cease-fire agreement mandates that Israel must hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every dead Israeli returned. The Israeli army announced in the morning that it had identified two bodies of hostages recovered the previous day in Gaza as those of Tamir Adar and Aryeh Zalmanovich.

The bodies of 13 deceased hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas and the U.S. have both stated that delays in their return are due to the difficulty in locating and retrieving their remains amid the devastation left by Israeli bombardment.

Iran ratifies law to join UN convention against terror financing

Iran ratified a law joining a United Nations convention against terror financing, AFP reported, citing local media. The move was done in hopes it will lead to access to global banking, an easing of trade and relieving pressure on its sanctions-hit economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was elected last year on a promise to ease relations with the West and secure the lifting of sanctions that are hurting the economy.

His administration is trying to bring the country into line with the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors money laundering and terrorist financing.

Tehran has for years provided support to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, which are all designated as "terrorist" groups by the United States, along with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Hamas says dealt 'severe blow' to group it says collaborated with Israel

Hamas announced yesterday that its so-called Radea security force had "dealt a severe blow" to an armed group in Gaza it accuses of collaborating with Israel, AFP reported.

In a statement, Hamas said its Radea security force carried out an "operation early Tuesday morning in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting the militia of fugitive Yasser Abu Shabab."

Hamas added that it arrested "a number of members" of Abu Shabab's Popular Forces group during the operation and confiscated "military equipment and tools used in their subversive activities."

The statement added that the operation was carried out "as part of the ongoing deterrence operation against dens of treason."

Hamas recently established the Radea unit, whose name translates to "deterrence" and whose purpose it says is to "enforce order."

This morning, WSJ reported, citing Arab officials, that Hamas had told mediators that it would halt public executions of rival gang members.

Israel detains freed Palestinians, including children, in West Bank raid

Israeli forces have detained 45 people, including a child and several former prisoners, in raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since last night, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society reports.

The majority of the arrests took place in Hebron governorate, while the rest were in the governorates of Nablus, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Tulkarem, according to the group.

UNRWA has 6,000 trucks waiting to enter Gaza

Palestinian girls play on a mattress abandoned amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA, called for all of Gaza's crossings to open, to facilitate the flooding of desperately needed aid into the devastated enclave. “All crossings need to open. Aid needs to be unrestricted,” it said in a post on X.

“UNRWA has around 6,000 trucks worth of vital humanitarian supplies in Jordan and Egypt waiting to go in.”

Claiming to act in response to a delay in Hamas returning hostages' bodies, Israel already denied the opening of Rafah crossing, despite agreeing to a cease-fire that called for aid deliveries to return to the same levels as the spring 2025 cease-fire in Gaza.

French government spokesperson says Hamas is 'regaining control' of Gaza

Hamas is "regaining control of Gaza," a French government spokesperson told reporters, calling for "urgent" implementation of measures to secure and govern the territory, AFP reports.

"Hamas is regaining control of the territory, the administrations and is conducting a campaign of repression against its opponents, after the Americans suggested that it would have some time to stabilize the Gaza Strip," Maud Bregeon said following a Cabinet meeting.

"In this context, it is urgent to implement the second phase of the cease-fire, with the three priorities," she said. "Humanitarian, security and governance."

UAE's Gargash calls for new approach to ending Middle East conflict

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni speaks with Diplomatic Advisor to the United Arab Emirates President Anwar Gargash at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Rula Rouhana/Reuters)

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, called on Wednesday for a compromise to end the Middle East conflict by providing security for Israel and a viable state for Palestinians.

The Gaza cease-fire that came into force earlier this month presents an important opening, but the approach to one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts needs to change, Gargash said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.

"Some policies are no longer valid and should not be reincarnated," Gargash said. "The maximalist views on the Palestinian issue are no longer valid. We have to address the issue that we have two contending nationalisms fighting on one piece of land, and that land has to be divided."

Read the full report here. 👈

'We're creating an unbelievable day after,' Netanyahu says

During the press conference with Vance, Netanyahu also said that the two had discussed ideas for “the day after” in Gaza during their meeting.

“We’re just creating an unbelievable day after with a completely new vision of how to have the civil government, how to have the security there, who could provide that security there,” said the prime minister, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s possible… we’re really creating a peace plan and an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago,” he said. “That’s going to require a lot of work. It requires a lot of ingenuity.”

Top White House aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have left Israel, Times of Israel reports, citing a U.S. diplomatic source. Vance remains in Israel and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be arriving tomorrow.

Netanyahu says strong Israel crucial for American interests in the region

Standing next to the American vice president, Netanyahu told reporters that when it comes to Israel’s security, “we do what we have to do.”

“America has an interest in a strong Israel," Netanyahu said. "A strong Israel serves America’s interests in stabilizing this very unstable region, and you can’t stabilize it without a strong Israel,” he told reporters in West Jerusalem.

“So we make the decisions with the security of Israel [in mind]. We make common decisions, which I think [serve] both, and that’s what we discussed today.”

Vance insists Israel is ‘not a vassal state’

Vance, standing alongside Netanyahu, following a closed-doors meeting between the two, is speaking to reporters in West Jerusalem.

During the press conference, U.S. Vice President pushed back against the idea that Israel acts as a “vassal state” of the U.S. “We don’t want a client state and that’s not what Israel is," Vance said. "We want a partnership. We want an ally."

"We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas, to rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said. During yesterday's press conference alongside Witkoff and Kushner, Vance refused to put a deadline on the group's disarmament.

Trump, Vance said, believes that “Israel can play a very strong leadership role” in the region, allowing the U.S. to take more of a backseat. He added that he believes the Gaza cease-fire deal will open the door for more countries to join the Abraham Accords.

Cell of foreign fighters involved in clashes believed to be around 50 people

Fighters from the coalition of rebel forces that overthrew the Assad regime patrol the streets of Aleppo in December 2024. (Credit: Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP)

The group of foreign jihadists currently fighting with Syrian government forces in northwest Syria is called Firqatul al-Ghuraba ("Foreigner's Brigade" in Arabic) and is led by Omar Omsen, also known as Omar Diaby, a former Franco-Senegalese criminal turned preacher. According to AFP, around 50 people are believed to be part of the cell.

In September 2016, the United States designated Diaby, suspected of funneling francophone fighters to Syria, as an "international terrorist." He is also wanted on a French arrest warrant.

Thousands of people from Europe travelled to Syria to fight alongside jihadist groups with the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 after Assad's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Like other armed groups, Diaby's militants appear to have fallen out of favor with Syria's new authorities, who took power after overthrowing the Assad dictatorship in December 2024.

Syrian government forces launch operation against French jihadists in northwest

Syria government forces launched an operation this morning against jihadists holed up in a camp in the northwest, in a push to capture French fighters wanted by their government, a monitor and a French jihadist told AFP.

Security forces "launched a vast operation against the camp... to arrest French fighters wanted by their government," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The son of a prominent French jihadist in the camp, who goes by the alias Jibril al-Mouhajir, told AFP that "clashes erupted after midnight and are ongoing."

Mouhajir said the French government had demanded "two French nationals from the group be handed over" to Syrian authorities. 

WSJ: Hamas told mediators it would stop public executions of rival gangs

Palestinian militants stand guard on the day that hostages held in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as part of a cease-fire and hostages swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Yunis

Following increased pressure from Trump's senior officials and Trump himself to maintain the truce in Gaza, Hamas told mediators it would stop public executions of members of rival gangs in the Strip, Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing Arab officials. Mediators had argued these executions could give Israel an excuse to resume fighting.

Since the truce came into effect, Hamas has redeployed its security forces in an attempt to establish control in a post-war landscape where several armed gangs in Gaza are taking advantage of the group's weakness after two years of fighting to gain a footing in the enclave.

Several of these gangs are allegedly backed and funded by Israel and Hamas has accused the victims of these executions of being "collaborators." According to Reuters report from last week, citing a Gaza security official, Hamas forces had killed 32 members of "a gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City," since the cease-fire. Several Hamas fighters have also been killed in clashes with clans.

South Lebanon: Stun grenade fired on Naqoura

An Israeli drone fired a stun grenade on the coastal village of Naqoura, in Sour district, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Health Ministry and Hezbollah confirm death of man in Israeli strike in Ain Qana

The victim of Israel's strike on Ain Qana, Issa Qarbalai.

The Health Ministry has confirmed the killing of Issa Qarbalai by an Israeli drone in the southern Lebanese village of Ain Qana, in Nabatieh district.

Hezbollah announced that Qarbalai, who had been riding a moped through the village when he was killed, was a fighter with the party. It added that his funeral will take place in the village on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Healthcare workers in Israeli detention 'singled out,' treated with 'particular brutality,' freed doctor reports

Recently freed, Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Gaza's al-Awda Hospita, told Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) that "doctors have been singled out as targets for detention" and are treated with particular brutality in Israeli jails.

In a video testimony shared with the organization that monitors attacks on healthcare facilities and workers across Palestine, Muhanna described how several of the Palestinian detainees died "as the … Israeli jailers looked on," and that the detained healthcare workers were prevented from helping other detainees, even those injured during violent interrogations.

Muhanna’s own health suffered from starvation and unsanitary conditions, HWW reported, and he lost almost a third of his body weight while in detention.

Rubio set to join Vance, Witkoff and Kushner in Israel tomorrow

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow for a two-day visit, Times of Israel reports, citing a U.S. official.

A slew of senior American officials are in Israel this week as part of a significant diplomatic mission to ensure the cease-fire in Gaza, brokered by Trump's administration, does not collapse.

Rubio's trip will be officially announced later today, the official said, and will be part of that push to maintain the truce.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are also in Israel and are holding high profile meetings today. This will be Rubio’s fourth visit to Israel since taking office in January.

ICJ to give 'advisory opinion' on Israel's obligations to allow aid into Gaza

The top United Nations court will rule today on Israel's obligations to agencies providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, as Israel continues to block access for desperately needed supplies into the devastated enclave.

Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an "advisory opinion" laying out Israel's duty to facilitate aid in Gaza, AFP reports.

The U.N. asked the ICJ to clarify Israel's obligations, as an occupying power, toward U.N. and other bodies "including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival" of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries "great legal weight and moral authority."

ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organizations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

JD Vance voices 'great optimism' for Gaza truce on Israel visit

U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed "great optimism" that the Gaza truce would hold, ahead of his meeting today in Jerusalem with Netanyahu. 

Vance is in Israel to shore up support for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire and post-war reconstruction plans.

Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to reassert itself in Gaza, Vance said Washington would not set a deadline for the group to disarm.

Vance's comments came after Trump took to Truth Social to warn Hamas that allied nations in the region would invade Gaza if the group failed to comply with the truce. 

"What we've seen the past week gives me great optimism the cease-fire is going to hold," Vance said during a press conference in Kiryat Gat, a city in southern Israel where a U.S.-led mission is monitoring the Gaza cease-fire.

Israel kills man in Nabatieh district drone strike, causes panic at nearby school

A man was killed by an Israeli drone while riding his moped through the Nabatieh district village of Ain Qana this morning.

According to our correspondent in the South, the man, identified as Issa Qarbalai, was struck near the village's public school, causing panic among students who were arriving for the first class of the day.

Israel has killed more than 320 people in Lebanon since agreeing to a cease-fire almost a year ago. Its attacks continue unabated, followed by claims that Hezbollah is rebuilding its capabilities.

Earlier this month, the commander of the Lebanese Army told Cabinet that Hezbollah is cooperating in its disarmament south of the Litani River, which he said is 80 percent complete.

Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of events in the region, notably the increasingly fragile cease-fires in both Gaza and in Lebanon. In both places, Israel continues its attacks despite the agreements and, in both places, peace has been presented as contingent on the disarmament of Israel's adversaries, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Read our Morning Brief to catch up on everything you need to know going into today. 👈

Thank you for following our live blog — we'll be back tomorrow with more updates.

Arrest of former regime official responsible for Sednaya prison

Syrian authorities have announced the arrest of a former military official accused of executing detainees in the notorious Sednaya prison under the now-deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the counterterrorism unit in the Damascus province had arrested Major General Akram Salloum al-Abdallah, without disclosing the date, location, or circumstances of the arrest, according to AFP.

The ministry noted that Abdallah had held “several positions, including that of commander of the military police at the Ministry of Defense between 2014 and 2015, under the former president,” during the height of Syria’s civil war.

He was “involved in serious violations committed against detainees at Sednaya prison,” located north of Damascus, and was “directly responsible for executing detainees while serving as commander of the military police,” the statement added.

UN's Albanese warns truce falls short in adressing ‘genocide’

U.N. rights expert Francesca Albanese has called the U.S.-brokered Gaza cease-fire plan “absolutely inadequate,” saying it fails to stop what she describes as a genocide by Israel and the U.S. Speaking from South Africa, she urged an end to Israel’s occupation and exploitation of Palestinian land, and warned that continued international support for Israel makes states complicit in its actions.

Albanese, under U.S. sanctions for her criticism of Israel, said recent talks of a two-state solution are a distraction from the urgent need to halt the violence in Gaza.

Read more👉here.

UNIFIL stresses that every violation of Resolution 1701 threatens stability

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reminded in a statement that “every violation counts – large or small – as each threatens progress toward lasting stability.”

“The peacekeepers monitor and report violations of Resolution 1701 and work in coordination with the Lebanese Army,” the statement added.

It emphasized that “supporting Lebanon in extending state authority in the South is a key step toward the resolution’s long-term goal: a permanent cease-fire and lasting stability.”

Israel expels 32 foreign activists from West Bank olive harvest

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the expulsion of 32 foreign activists who had come to help Palestinians with the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

The expulsion order followed a complaint from Yossi Dagan, head of the northern West Bank settlers’ council, accusing the activists of being “anarchists” engaging in “provocations.”

This year’s harvest season has seen increased violence, including vandalism and attacks by Israeli settlers. Activists say their presence helps deter such incidents, AFP reports.

Twelve UN staff leave Yemen after Houthi detention

Twelve international U.N. staff members who were detained by the Houthis have left Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, by air, the U.N. said Wednesday.

They were among 15 foreign U.N. workers held for several days after Houthi forces stormed the U.N. compound on Saturday.

The remaining three are now “free to move and travel,” according to the UN. Five Yemeni U.N. employees had already been released shortly after the incident.

UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, was among those detained.

FPA urges Israel to allow Gaza access

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has urged Israel to allow foreign journalists into Gaza, ahead of a top court hearing on their petition.

“It is high time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues,” said FPA chair Tania Kraemer.

Israel has barred foreign media from Gaza for over two years, significantly hindering independent coverage. More than 270 journalists, including 10 from Al Jazeera, have been killed in Gaza since the war began, Al Jazeera reports.

Jordan condemns Israeli annexation plans

Jordan has strongly condemned Israel’s preliminary approval of two draft laws to annex the occupied West Bank and legitimize an illegal settlement, Al Jazeera reports.

The foreign ministry called the move a “blatant violation of international law” and a threat to the two-state solution, urging the international community to act.

Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow as the third senior U.S. official to visit Tel Aviv this week to affirm the cease-fire deal.

According to Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian, Rubio is expected to meet Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

ICJ orders Israel allow UN aid in Gaza, rejects claims against UNRWA

The International Court of Justice says Israel must facilitate U.N. aid schemes in Gaza, including UNRWA’s, and must ensure “basic needs” of Gaza population.

The panel of 11 judges have added Israel has not substantiated its claims that a significant part of UNRWA employees are "members of Hamas", the judges said.

Israeli parliament passes bill declaring Israeli sovereignty over occupied West Bank in preliminary reading

Right-wing Israeli MPs have passed a preliminary bill to apply Israeli sovereignty to the occupied West Bank — despite opposition from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud, in what The Times of Israel called an “embarrassment” during JD Vance’s visit.

All Likud members, with the exception of one, boycotted the vote. Yuli Edelstein broke ranks and voted in favor of the bill, casting a decisive vote that allowed the proposal to narrowly pass by 25 votes to 24.

The adoption of the bill comes as the Trump administration has recently spoken out against annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, warning that it could jeopardize the long-term sustainability of the Abraham Accords signed with several Arab countries.

The bill must still pass three additional readings before it can become law. It has now been referred to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.

ICJ begins ruling on Israel's obligations toward aid agencies in Gaza

The top United Nations court has begun its ruling on Israel's obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up assistance following a cease-fire.

Israel continues to prevent aid from entering Gaza, where famine and malnutrition has already killed more than 400 people, the result of Israel's ongoing blockade.

International Court of Justice President Yuji Iwasawa opened the public hearing to deliver its "advisory opinion" laying out Israel's duty to facilitate aid in Gaza.

The U.N. asked the ICJ to clarify Israel's obligations, as an occupying power, towards U.N. and other bodies "including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival" of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding but the court believes it carries "great legal weight and moral authority".

Israel's Knesset passes first reading of law declaring Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank

Right-wing Israeli lawmakers have voted to pass, in its preliminary reading, a bill that would apply Israeli sovereignty to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, despite opposition from Netanyahu and his Likud party, Times of Israel reports, describing the move as "an embarrassment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

All but one Likud Knesset member boycotted the vote, according to the outlet. Yuli Edelstein broke ranks to vote in favor, casting a decisive vote and helping the bill scrape by 25-24.

The passage of the bill comes as U.S. Vice President JD Vance is still in Israel, and could potentially lead to a crisis with the Trump administration, which has opposed annexation.

The bill would still need to pass three additional readings to become law. It will now go to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.

No Turkish troops in Gaza, Netanyahu's office says

There will be no Turkish troops in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office insisted after reports emerged of a disagreement on the issue during yesterday’s meeting between Netanyahu and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.

“There is no disagreement,” a representative of the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel. “There will be no Turkish involvement.”

Sky News Arabia reported yesterday that in the meeting, Netanyahu had rejected Turkish participation in Trump's "International Stabilization Force" in the Gaza Strip, citing a Palestinian source.

He also “completely rejected” Palestinian Authority security forces trained by Egypt and Jordan in Gaza, the source told the UK-Emirati outlet.

“Netanyahu insists that the second-phase conditions be implemented first, namely the disarmament of Hamas and its relinquishment of control over Gaza, before any discussion of local administration or security forces operating in Gaza,” the source told Sky News.

Israel returns the bodies of 30 Palestinians taken during ground invasion

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defence stand beside the remains of unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were returned by Israel under a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 22,

The Gaza Health Ministry announced that the remains of 30 unidentified Palestinians were returned to the Strip after being taken by the Israeli army during its ground invasion. Israel handed the remains over to the Red Cross, which in turn delivered them the the Palestinian Civil Defense, bringing the total number of bodies returned since Oct. 10 to 195, AFP reports.

The cease-fire agreement mandates that Israel must hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every dead Israeli returned. The Israeli army announced in the morning that it had identified two bodies of hostages recovered the previous day in Gaza as those of Tamir Adar and Aryeh Zalmanovich.

The bodies of 13 deceased hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas and the U.S. have both stated that delays in their return are due to the difficulty in locating and retrieving their remains amid the devastation left by Israeli bombardment.

Iran ratifies law to join UN convention against terror financing

Iran ratified a law joining a United Nations convention against terror financing, AFP reported, citing local media. The move was done in hopes it will lead to access to global banking, an easing of trade and relieving pressure on its sanctions-hit economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was elected last year on a promise to ease relations with the West and secure the lifting of sanctions that are hurting the economy.

His administration is trying to bring the country into line with the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors money laundering and terrorist financing.

Tehran has for years provided support to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, which are all designated as "terrorist" groups by the United States, along with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Hamas says dealt 'severe blow' to group it says collaborated with Israel

Hamas announced yesterday that its so-called Radea security force had "dealt a severe blow" to an armed group in Gaza it accuses of collaborating with Israel, AFP reported.

In a statement, Hamas said its Radea security force carried out an "operation early Tuesday morning in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting the militia of fugitive Yasser Abu Shabab."

Hamas added that it arrested "a number of members" of Abu Shabab's Popular Forces group during the operation and confiscated "military equipment and tools used in their subversive activities."

The statement added that the operation was carried out "as part of the ongoing deterrence operation against dens of treason."

Hamas recently established the Radea unit, whose name translates to "deterrence" and whose purpose it says is to "enforce order."

This morning, WSJ reported, citing Arab officials, that Hamas had told mediators that it would halt public executions of rival gang members.

Israel detains freed Palestinians, including children, in West Bank raid

Israeli forces have detained 45 people, including a child and several former prisoners, in raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since last night, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society reports.

The majority of the arrests took place in Hebron governorate, while the rest were in the governorates of Nablus, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Tulkarem, according to the group.

UNRWA has 6,000 trucks waiting to enter Gaza

Palestinian girls play on a mattress abandoned amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA, called for all of Gaza's crossings to open, to facilitate the flooding of desperately needed aid into the devastated enclave. “All crossings need to open. Aid needs to be unrestricted,” it said in a post on X.

“UNRWA has around 6,000 trucks worth of vital humanitarian supplies in Jordan and Egypt waiting to go in.”

Claiming to act in response to a delay in Hamas returning hostages' bodies, Israel already denied the opening of Rafah crossing, despite agreeing to a cease-fire that called for aid deliveries to return to the same levels as the spring 2025 cease-fire in Gaza.

French government spokesperson says Hamas is 'regaining control' of Gaza

Hamas is "regaining control of Gaza," a French government spokesperson told reporters, calling for "urgent" implementation of measures to secure and govern the territory, AFP reports.

"Hamas is regaining control of the territory, the administrations and is conducting a campaign of repression against its opponents, after the Americans suggested that it would have some time to stabilize the Gaza Strip," Maud Bregeon said following a Cabinet meeting.

"In this context, it is urgent to implement the second phase of the cease-fire, with the three priorities," she said. "Humanitarian, security and governance."

UAE's Gargash calls for new approach to ending Middle East conflict

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni speaks with Diplomatic Advisor to the United Arab Emirates President Anwar Gargash at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Rula Rouhana/Reuters)

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, called on Wednesday for a compromise to end the Middle East conflict by providing security for Israel and a viable state for Palestinians.

The Gaza cease-fire that came into force earlier this month presents an important opening, but the approach to one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts needs to change, Gargash said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.

"Some policies are no longer valid and should not be reincarnated," Gargash said. "The maximalist views on the Palestinian issue are no longer valid. We have to address the issue that we have two contending nationalisms fighting on one piece of land, and that land has to be divided."

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'We're creating an unbelievable day after,' Netanyahu says

During the press conference with Vance, Netanyahu also said that the two had discussed ideas for “the day after” in Gaza during their meeting.

“We’re just creating an unbelievable day after with a completely new vision of how to have the civil government, how to have the security there, who could provide that security there,” said the prime minister, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s possible… we’re really creating a peace plan and an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago,” he said. “That’s going to require a lot of work. It requires a lot of ingenuity.”

Top White House aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have left Israel, Times of Israel reports, citing a U.S. diplomatic source. Vance remains in Israel and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be arriving tomorrow.

Netanyahu says strong Israel crucial for American interests in the region

Standing next to the American vice president, Netanyahu told reporters that when it comes to Israel’s security, “we do what we have to do.”

“America has an interest in a strong Israel," Netanyahu said. "A strong Israel serves America’s interests in stabilizing this very unstable region, and you can’t stabilize it without a strong Israel,” he told reporters in West Jerusalem.

“So we make the decisions with the security of Israel [in mind]. We make common decisions, which I think [serve] both, and that’s what we discussed today.”

Vance insists Israel is ‘not a vassal state’

Vance, standing alongside Netanyahu, following a closed-doors meeting between the two, is speaking to reporters in West Jerusalem.

During the press conference, U.S. Vice President pushed back against the idea that Israel acts as a “vassal state” of the U.S. “We don’t want a client state and that’s not what Israel is," Vance said. "We want a partnership. We want an ally."

"We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas, to rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said. During yesterday's press conference alongside Witkoff and Kushner, Vance refused to put a deadline on the group's disarmament.

Trump, Vance said, believes that “Israel can play a very strong leadership role” in the region, allowing the U.S. to take more of a backseat. He added that he believes the Gaza cease-fire deal will open the door for more countries to join the Abraham Accords.

Cell of foreign fighters involved in clashes believed to be around 50 people

Fighters from the coalition of rebel forces that overthrew the Assad regime patrol the streets of Aleppo in December 2024. (Credit: Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP)

The group of foreign jihadists currently fighting with Syrian government forces in northwest Syria is called Firqatul al-Ghuraba ("Foreigner's Brigade" in Arabic) and is led by Omar Omsen, also known as Omar Diaby, a former Franco-Senegalese criminal turned preacher. According to AFP, around 50 people are believed to be part of the cell.

In September 2016, the United States designated Diaby, suspected of funneling francophone fighters to Syria, as an "international terrorist." He is also wanted on a French arrest warrant.

Thousands of people from Europe travelled to Syria to fight alongside jihadist groups with the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 after Assad's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Like other armed groups, Diaby's militants appear to have fallen out of favor with Syria's new authorities, who took power after overthrowing the Assad dictatorship in December 2024.

Syrian government forces launch operation against French jihadists in northwest

Syria government forces launched an operation this morning against jihadists holed up in a camp in the northwest, in a push to capture French fighters wanted by their government, a monitor and a French jihadist told AFP.

Security forces "launched a vast operation against the camp... to arrest French fighters wanted by their government," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The son of a prominent French jihadist in the camp, who goes by the alias Jibril al-Mouhajir, told AFP that "clashes erupted after midnight and are ongoing."

Mouhajir said the French government had demanded "two French nationals from the group be handed over" to Syrian authorities. 

WSJ: Hamas told mediators it would stop public executions of rival gangs

Palestinian militants stand guard on the day that hostages held in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as part of a cease-fire and hostages swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Yunis

Following increased pressure from Trump's senior officials and Trump himself to maintain the truce in Gaza, Hamas told mediators it would stop public executions of members of rival gangs in the Strip, Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing Arab officials. Mediators had argued these executions could give Israel an excuse to resume fighting.

Since the truce came into effect, Hamas has redeployed its security forces in an attempt to establish control in a post-war landscape where several armed gangs in Gaza are taking advantage of the group's weakness after two years of fighting to gain a footing in the enclave.

Several of these gangs are allegedly backed and funded by Israel and Hamas has accused the victims of these executions of being "collaborators." According to Reuters report from last week, citing a Gaza security official, Hamas forces had killed 32 members of "a gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City," since the cease-fire. Several Hamas fighters have also been killed in clashes with clans.

South Lebanon: Stun grenade fired on Naqoura

An Israeli drone fired a stun grenade on the coastal village of Naqoura, in Sour district, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Health Ministry and Hezbollah confirm death of man in Israeli strike in Ain Qana

The victim of Israel's strike on Ain Qana, Issa Qarbalai.

The Health Ministry has confirmed the killing of Issa Qarbalai by an Israeli drone in the southern Lebanese village of Ain Qana, in Nabatieh district.

Hezbollah announced that Qarbalai, who had been riding a moped through the village when he was killed, was a fighter with the party. It added that his funeral will take place in the village on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Healthcare workers in Israeli detention 'singled out,' treated with 'particular brutality,' freed doctor reports

Recently freed, Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Gaza's al-Awda Hospita, told Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) that "doctors have been singled out as targets for detention" and are treated with particular brutality in Israeli jails.

In a video testimony shared with the organization that monitors attacks on healthcare facilities and workers across Palestine, Muhanna described how several of the Palestinian detainees died "as the … Israeli jailers looked on," and that the detained healthcare workers were prevented from helping other detainees, even those injured during violent interrogations.

Muhanna’s own health suffered from starvation and unsanitary conditions, HWW reported, and he lost almost a third of his body weight while in detention.

Rubio set to join Vance, Witkoff and Kushner in Israel tomorrow

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow for a two-day visit, Times of Israel reports, citing a U.S. official.

A slew of senior American officials are in Israel this week as part of a significant diplomatic mission to ensure the cease-fire in Gaza, brokered by Trump's administration, does not collapse.

Rubio's trip will be officially announced later today, the official said, and will be part of that push to maintain the truce.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are also in Israel and are holding high profile meetings today. This will be Rubio’s fourth visit to Israel since taking office in January.

ICJ to give 'advisory opinion' on Israel's obligations to allow aid into Gaza

The top United Nations court will rule today on Israel's obligations to agencies providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, as Israel continues to block access for desperately needed supplies into the devastated enclave.

Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an "advisory opinion" laying out Israel's duty to facilitate aid in Gaza, AFP reports.

The U.N. asked the ICJ to clarify Israel's obligations, as an occupying power, toward U.N. and other bodies "including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival" of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries "great legal weight and moral authority."

ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organizations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

JD Vance voices 'great optimism' for Gaza truce on Israel visit

U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed "great optimism" that the Gaza truce would hold, ahead of his meeting today in Jerusalem with Netanyahu. 

Vance is in Israel to shore up support for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire and post-war reconstruction plans.

Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to reassert itself in Gaza, Vance said Washington would not set a deadline for the group to disarm.

Vance's comments came after Trump took to Truth Social to warn Hamas that allied nations in the region would invade Gaza if the group failed to comply with the truce. 

"What we've seen the past week gives me great optimism the cease-fire is going to hold," Vance said during a press conference in Kiryat Gat, a city in southern Israel where a U.S.-led mission is monitoring the Gaza cease-fire.

Israel kills man in Nabatieh district drone strike, causes panic at nearby school

A man was killed by an Israeli drone while riding his moped through the Nabatieh district village of Ain Qana this morning.

According to our correspondent in the South, the man, identified as Issa Qarbalai, was struck near the village's public school, causing panic among students who were arriving for the first class of the day.

Israel has killed more than 320 people in Lebanon since agreeing to a cease-fire almost a year ago. Its attacks continue unabated, followed by claims that Hezbollah is rebuilding its capabilities.

Earlier this month, the commander of the Lebanese Army told Cabinet that Hezbollah is cooperating in its disarmament south of the Litani River, which he said is 80 percent complete.

Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of events in the region, notably the increasingly fragile cease-fires in both Gaza and in Lebanon. In both places, Israel continues its attacks despite the agreements and, in both places, peace has been presented as contingent on the disarmament of Israel's adversaries, Hezbollah and Hamas.

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