President-elect Donald Trump threatened of severe consequences Monday if hostages held in Gaza are not released before his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. There will be “ALL HELL TO PAY” and those responsible “will be hit harder than anybody has been hit,” he wrote on his social media network Truth Social. He did not name Hamas.
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End of carouselIsrael Defense Forces confirmed that an Israeli American believed until now to have been held hostage in Gaza was dead. Omer Neutra, 21, a tank commander and leader of an Israeli army outpost near Gaza, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, in Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, the IDF said on Monday citing intelligence.
At least 44,466 people have been killed in Gaza during the war and 105,358 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 3,961 people have been killed and 16,520 injured in Lebanon, its Health Ministry has said. Neither agency distinguishes between civilians and combatants.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, including more than 300 soldiers. It says 380 soldiers have been killed in its military operation in Gaza and at least 77 in its war with Hezbollah.
Recent U.S. strikes in Syria were are “completely unrelated” to the rebel advance, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday. U.S. forces conducted a “self-defense strike” against forces preparing to attack a U.S. base in northeast Syria on Friday, Ryder said. About 900 U.S. troops are stationed in Syria. They have been targeted by Iran-backed groups following Israel’s ground operation in Gaza.
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End of carouselIsrael Defense Forces confirmed that an Israeli American believed until now to have been held hostage in Gaza was dead. Omer Neutra, 21, a tank commander and leader of an Israeli army outpost near Gaza, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, in Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, the IDF said on Monday citing intelligence.
At least 44,466 people have been killed in Gaza during the war and 105,358 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 3,961 people have been killed and 16,520 injured in Lebanon, its Health Ministry has said. Neither agency distinguishes between civilians and combatants.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, including more than 300 soldiers. It says 380 soldiers have been killed in its military operation in Gaza and at least 77 in its war with Hezbollah.
Recent U.S. strikes in Syria were are “completely unrelated” to the rebel advance, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday. U.S. forces conducted a “self-defense strike” against forces preparing to attack a U.S. base in northeast Syria on Friday, Ryder said. About 900 U.S. troops are stationed in Syria. They have been targeted by Iran-backed groups following Israel’s ground operation in Gaza.
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Map shows areas of control by Syria’s factions
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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group based in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province, is leading the fight against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. In recent days, battle lines that remained largely static for years have shifted fast.
After seizing much of Aleppo, the largest city in northern Syria, the group’s fighters are pushing southward toward the city of Hama, which lies between Aleppo and the capital, Damascus. It is unclear how much of Hama remains under government control.
Besides HTS, two other groups are active in the broader region, holding some territories. Turkish-backed Syrian National Army forces are based in northern Syria along the Turkish border. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the SNA participated in the recent rebel offensive, claiming to have captured a military airport in Aleppo.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control some territories in the northeast. In the past week, the SDF said it has battled to hold back advancing SNA fighters. The United States backed Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State, which by 2019 had lost its vast swaths of territory captured in Iraq and Syria. The United States pulled back under the first presidency of Donald Trump, leaving erstwhile Kurdish allies to face an offensive by Turkey.
Israel and Hezbollah blame each other for ceasefire violations
Return to menuThe ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared severely under strain after exchanges of fire late Monday that led to several deaths. Israeli forces hit targets after Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel, in what the militant group called a “warning defensive response” to “repeated violations” of the ceasefire earlier by Israel.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the Israeli attacks killed 11 people.
The dueling claims of breaches came as U.S. officials said that the Washington-brokered deal was holding and that a mechanism set up with the government of France would evaluate any alleged violations.
In a statement Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck sites across Lebanon. According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward Mount Dov, a disputed Israeli-held territory also known as Shebaa Farms, on Monday evening. The projectiles fell in an open area, and no injuries were reported, the IDF wrote on Telegram.
The incident appeared to be the first time Hezbollah has fired rockets toward Israel since the ceasefire started Wednesday. Israel’s alleged violations included “firing on civilians and airstrikes in different parts of Lebanon, which led to the death of citizens and the injury of others, in addition to the continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft reaching the capital Beirut,” Hezbollah said in its statement.
Initial U.S. assessments are that the ceasefire is holding, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman. The attacks are generally limited in scope, Ryder said, indicating that the agreement has not broken down.
Syrian forces regroup with help from Iran, Russia after shock rebel advance
Return to menuRussia launched airstrikes in support of the Syrian army Monday in an effort to stanch a major rebel advance that surprised and overwhelmed the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad late last week.
After initially withdrawing from some areas, Syrian government forces appeared to be regrouping to counterattack Monday. The Syrian army said its warplanes also carried out airstrikes against the rebel forces that are posing the most significant challenge to Assad’s rule in more than a decade. And in the background, Iranian officials launched a diplomatic blitz to shore up the Assad regime.
Whether Syrian government forces can stop the lightning assault and roll back rebel gains will largely depend on how much support Russia and Iran provide the Assad regime. Both allies have been instrumental in helping Assad cling to power as the country was engulfed in a civil war that killed tens of thousands of civilians.
This is an excerpt from a full story.
