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Netanyahu to Discuss Iran, Next Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
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Netanyahu to Discuss Iran, Next Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he will discuss Iran's nuclear activities during his visit next week with US President Donald Trump.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware Iran had been conducting "exercises" recently, without elaborating. Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media reported Iran had held missile drills in various cities during the day, the second such reported exercise in a ‌month.

Western powers regard ‌Iran's ballistic missile arsenal as both a conventional ‌military ⁠threat to Middle ‌East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. It denies any intent to build atomic bombs, Reuters reported.

Relations between eastern Mediterranean neighbors Israel, Greece and Cyprus have grown stronger over the past decade, with shared concerns over Türkiye’s influence in the region.

ISRAEL NOT SEEKING CONFRONTATION: NETANYAHU

Despite "great achievements" during a 12-day war with Iran in June, Netanyahu said basic Israeli and US ⁠expectations of Iran were unchanged, including lowering its uranium enrichment level.

"Obviously it will be an item ‌in our discussions," he said of his meeting ‍with Trump next week, adding, "We are ‍not seeking confrontation with" Iran but rather, "stability, prosperity and peace."

Still, Netanyahu said the ‍focus of his discussions with Trump in Washington will be on moving to the next phase of Trump's Gaza plan as well as dealing with Lebanon's Iran-based Hezbollah militants.

He cited Israel's "desire to see a stable sovereign Lebanon" and efforts to prevent the blocking of international shipping by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces.

Netanyahu, Mitsotakis and Christodoulides agreed to deepen security cooperation, while Netanyahu said the three ⁠countries intended to advance an initiative to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail.

Christodoulides described the projects as offering a "southeastern gateway connecting Europe with the Middle East and beyond."

The three countries said they would seek to advance an undersea power cable project to integrate their electricity grids with Europe and the Arabian Peninsula.

Mitsotakis said Greece was a gateway for liquefied natural gas. "(It) is a new energy hub in southeastern Europe." Interconnection projects, he said, remained a key priority for the three countries.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Reuters after the press conference the trilateral meeting was important since it comes ‌when there are “countries that are working to uproot regional stability." He did not identify the countries.

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Arab World

Gazans Fear Renewed Displacement after Israeli Strikes

This overview shows a destroyed mosque and other buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2024 on the first anniversary of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This overview shows a destroyed mosque and other buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2024 on the first anniversary of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Gazans Fear Renewed Displacement after Israeli Strikes

This overview shows a destroyed mosque and other buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2024 on the first anniversary of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This overview shows a destroyed mosque and other buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2024 on the first anniversary of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

When her children, trembling with fear, ask where the family can go to escape Israel's continued bombardment in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis area, Umm Ahmed has no answer.

In her small, devastated village near Khan Yunis city, recent Israeli drone and artillery strikes shattered the tenuous sense of peace delivered by a ceasefire that has largely held since October 10, AFP said.

Residents say the strikes have targeted neighborhoods east of the so-called Yellow Line -- a demarcation established under the truce between Israel and Hamas.

The Israeli military says its troops are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire framework, accusing Hamas militants of "crossing the Yellow Line and carrying out terrorist activities".

More than two years after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked a devastating war, tens of thousands of Gazans still live in tents or damaged homes in these areas, where the Israeli army maintains control and operates checkpoints.

Now, many fear being forced from their homes, compelled to move west of the Yellow Line.

"We don't sleep at night because of fear. The bombardments in the east are relentless," said Umm Ahmed, 40.

"My children tremble at every explosion and ask me, 'Where can we go?' And I have no answer."

Her home in Bani Suheila has been completely destroyed, yet the family has stayed, pitching a tent beside the ruins.

"Staying close to our destroyed home is easier than facing the unknown," Umm Ahmed said.

Crossing the Yellow Line to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, is not an option for them.

There, makeshift camps stretch as far as the eye can see, housing tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled the fighting.

"There is no place left for anyone there, and not enough food or water," Umm Ahmed said, as Gaza remains trapped in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

- 'We will not leave' -

The Israeli military blames continued threats from the Hamas group for its actions in the area.

The Israeli military said in a statement to AFP that the army’s “current operations in Gaza, and their deployment in the Yellow Line area in particular, are carried out to address direct threats from terrorist organizations in Gaza.”

The war in Gaza began with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Since the war began, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The vast majority of Gaza's more than two million residents were displaced during the war, many multiple times.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 10, though both sides regularly accuse each other of violations.

Under the truce, Israeli forces withdrew to positions east of the Yellow Line.

Earlier this month, Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir described the Yellow Line as the "new border line" with Israel.

"The Yellow Line is a new border line -- serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity," he said to reserve soldiers in Gaza.

For Palestinian officials, the line is seen as a tool for permanent displacement.

"The objective is to frighten residents, expel them from their areas, and force them west," said Alaa al-Batta, mayor of Khan Yunis, denouncing the bombardments as "violations of the ceasefire agreement".

Mahmud Baraka, 45, from Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis, described constant artillery fire and home demolitions in the area.

"It feels like we are still living in a war zone," he said.

"Explosions happen as if they are right next to us. The objective of the occupation is clear: to intimidate us and drive us out, so the region is emptied."

For now, residents feel trapped between bombardment and displacement, uncertain how long they can endure.

Despite the danger, Abdel Hamid, 70, refuses to leave his home located north of Khan Yunis, where he lives with his five children.

"We will not leave... this is our land," he said.

"Moving would not be a solution, but yet another tragedy."

Arab World

Sudan's Prime Minister Takes His Peace Plan to the UN, but US Urges Humanitarian Truce Now

In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters wave assault rifles as they cross a street in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. (Photo by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / AFP)
In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters wave assault rifles as they cross a street in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. (Photo by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / AFP)
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Sudan's Prime Minister Takes His Peace Plan to the UN, but US Urges Humanitarian Truce Now

In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters wave assault rifles as they cross a street in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. (Photo by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / AFP)
In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters wave assault rifles as they cross a street in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. (Photo by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / AFP)

Sudan’s prime minister on Monday proposed a wide-ranging peace initiative to end a nearly 1,000-day war with a rival paramilitary force, but the United States urged both sides to accept the Trump administration’s call for an immediate humanitarian truce.

Kamil Idris, who heads Sudan’s transitional civilian government, told the Security Council his plan calls for a ceasefire monitored by the United Nations, African Union and Arab League, and the withdrawal of paramilitary forces from all areas they occupy, their placement in supervised camps and their disarmament, the Associated Press said.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting, with widespread mass killings and rapes, and ethnically motivated violence. This has amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the UN and international rights groups.

It seemed highly unlikely the RSF would support the prime minister’s proposal, which would essentially give government forces a victory and take away their military power.

Idris stressed to the UN Security Council that the government’s proposal is “homemade -- not imposed on us.”

In early November, the Rapid Support Forces agreed to a humanitarian truce. At that time, a Sudanese military official told The Associated Press the army would only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and gives up their weapons — key provisions in the plan Idris put forward on Monday.

Idris said unless the paramilitary forces were confined to camps, a truce had “no chance for success.” He challenged the 15 members of the Security Council to back his proposal.

“This initiative can mark the moment when Sudan steps back from the edge and the international community — You! You! — stood on the right side of history," the Sudanese prime minister said. He said the council should “be remembered not as a witness to collapse, but as a partner in recovery.”

US deputy ambassador Jeffrey Bartos, who spoke to the council before Idris, said the Trump administration has offered a humanitarian truce as a way forward and “We urge both belligerents to accept this plan without preconditions immediately.”

Bartos said the Trump administration strongly condemns the horrific violence across Darfur and the Kordofan region — and the atrocities committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, who must be held accountable.

The devastating war in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people according to UN figures, but aid groups say the true number could be many times higher. The conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million people displaced, disease outbreaks and famine spreading in parts of the country.

Arab World

Lebanon: Salam Urges Swift Approval of Law Aimed at Paying Back Depositors amid Objections

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
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Lebanon: Salam Urges Swift Approval of Law Aimed at Paying Back Depositors amid Objections

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged cabinet to swiftly approve a draft law allowing depositors to gradually recover funds frozen in the banking system since a financial collapse in 2019, a move critical to reviving the economy.

The collapse - the result of decades of unsustainable financial policies, waste and corruption - led the state to default on its sovereign debt and sank the Lebanese pound.

The draft law marks the first time Beirut has put forward legislation aimed at addressing a vast funding shortfall - estimated at $70 billion in 2022 but now believed to be higher.

LAW AIMS TO BRING JUSTICE TO DEPOSITORS SAYS PM

The cabinet approved several articles on Monday. Discussions would continue on Tuesday, Information Minister Paul Morcos said. Lebanon's divided parliament must pass the law after cabinet approval.

Salam said the law is realistic and its goal is to ‌do "justice to depositors", ‌also spurring recovery in the banking sector.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters ‌implementation of ⁠the law would ‌boost the economy, pumping deposits of $3-$4 billion annually into the system.

REPAYMENTS DIFFER FOR SMALL, LARGE DEPOSITS

The draft, published on Friday, foresees repayments to small depositors – those with deposits valued at less than $100,000 – in monthly or quarterly instalments over four years.

Deposits larger than $100,000 will be repaid via tradable, asset-backed securities to be issued by the central bank or Banque du Liban (BDL), with no less than 2% of the value paid annually.

The maturity period will be set at 10 years for deposits valued at up to $1 million, at 15 years for deposits valued from $1 million to $5 million, and ⁠at 20 years for deposits valued at more than $5 million.

The securities will be backed by the income, revenues and returns of BDL-owned assets and ‌any proceeds from the sale of assets, if any occur. The ‍draft mentions precious metals, which have soared in value ‍this year, as one possible source of income.

It says commercial banks will bear 20% of the responsibility for ‍payments for the asset-backed securities. It says BDL and commercial banks will jointly finance the payments of the small deposits, with BDL's share not exceeding 60%.

Debt owed by the state to BDL will be converted into a bond whose maturity and interest rate would be agreed between the finance ministry and BDL.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon has objected to the draft, saying on Sunday that the proposals do not reflect banks' ability to meet "their obligations towards depositors" and that the state was not "fulfilling its outstanding debts to BDL".

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Mike Azar, an ⁠expert on the financial system, said the law appeared to be intentionally vague on politically sensitive but critical questions.

"For example, what happens if the BDL or the banks can’t pay what they owe to depositors," he said.

Swapping deposits for asset-backed securities issued by BDL could imply a big "contingent state debt," he said. The government has yet to provide quantitative analysis underpinning the plan, including deposit repayment amounts, sources of funding, and bank recapitalization needs, he added.

Jaber noted that the value of BDL's gold assets had risen with the price of gold since 2020, which would help provide confidence in the asset-backed securities.

The law requires an international auditing firm to evaluate BDL's assets within one month to determine the size of the funding shortfall. Banks must also conduct an asset quality review and recapitalize.

The law would write off some dollar deposits.

These would include deposits that resulted from funds being converted into dollars from pounds at ‌the official exchange rate long after it had collapsed as well as deposits containing illicit funds, in accordance with a law to counter money-laundering and financing for terrorism.