December, 2025

• 16 December

  Turkey Puts Fragile Deal Between Damascus and Kurdish Forces at Greater Risk

  

  If the agreement collapses, violence may be imminent. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have spent months negotiating with the government in Damascus how to implement their March agreement for the SDF to merge with the national armed forces. Mistrust of government centralization and recent sectarian massacres have shaken the …

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• 16 December

  China is overplaying its hand on rare earth materials

  

  When President Trump travels to Beijing early next year to finalize a new trade deal, China will deploy one of its favorite pressure tactics: restricting exports of rare earth elements. Last month, The New York Times’s Thomas Friedman warned that China’s threat to cut off rare earth exports could “trump …

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• 16 December

  Sissi not planning to meet PM without changes in conduct toward Egypt – official

  

  Official says unresolved disputes over Gaza, Rafah Crossing and security make summit with Netanyahu unlikely despite interest from Jerusalem, Washington Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi currently has no plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a government official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, amid reports that …

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• 16 December

  Beirut has been warned of possible Israeli offensive against Hezbollah — Lebanese FM

  

  Youssef Rajji says Lebanon seeking to prevent escalation and negotiate terror group’s disarmament; denounces Iran as ‘source of instability’ Lebanon has received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing for a wide-scale military operation against Hezbollah, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji told Al Jazeera on Friday, as …

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• 16 December

  IDF kills top Hamas commander Raad Saad, a key planner of Oct. 7, in Gaza City strike

  

  3 others said killed in airstrike on terror group’s No. 2; Netanyahu, Katz say assassination a response to IED that lightly hurt 2 reservists in Strip’s south Top Hamas commander Raad Saad was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said, in …

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• 16 December

  ISF will not fight Hamas, say US officials, who still seek to deploy force next month

  

  US military to host conference with over 25 countries in Doha next week to discuss plans for International Stabilization Force; it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US …

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• 16 December

  From rebel factions to an army: Efforts to tame the Syrian National Army

  

  While some elements that constitute the Syrian National Army (SNA) have moved away from their revolutionary foundations and turned into a contractor structure for Turkey’s foreign operations across various regional conflicts, others are trying to transform into an organized army under civilian leadership. Although the SNA’s previous attempts at institutionalization …

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• 16 December

  Scrap wars: How child labour and conflict feed Turkey steel boom

  

  The Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism Association (SIRAJ) and El País co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. Ahmad* is 11 and has lost his hacksaw – or rather, it was stolen by a man whom he recognises as a former soldier of the toppled Syrian regime. …

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• 16 December

  Has the Israeli state lost control of the settler movement?

  

  West Bank – In a rare move, senior Israeli officials – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Defence Minister Israel Katz – have publicly condemned the recent wave of settler attacks across the occupied West Bank. Settler attacks surged during the olive harvest in October, marking the …

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• 16 December

  Top Hamas Officials Contradict Each Other Over Disarmament

  

  Hamas officials are sending mixed messages over disarmament. On December 7, a day after Hamas leader Khaled Mashal rejected aspects of President Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza, including disarmament, senior official Bassem Naim said Hamas is open to discussions over its weapons. Separately, Hamas’s Taher al-Nunu vaguely suggested on …

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