Israel Sends Dozens of Drones to Gaza, Lapid Cancels his Vacation

A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
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Israel Sends Dozens of Drones to Gaza, Lapid Cancels his Vacation

A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid canceled his vacation due to the security situation in the south of the country, according to the Hebrew Channel 14.

Lapid's office said in a statement that the prime minister canceled his leave and will assess the situation at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

Israel sent dozens of drones into Gaza Strip amid the state of alert among its forces in the vicinity of the Palestinian enclave.

Tel Aviv is expecting a possible response after its brutal arrest and assault of the leader of the Islamic Jihad movement in Jenin, Bassam al-Saadi.

Hebrew media said that the Israeli Air Force attacked the Gaza Strip's borders to "target armed cells" that might launch anti-tank missiles or rockets or carry out sniping operations toward Israeli targets.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the General Staff, Aviv Kohavi, visited the Gaza Division and held an operational-security situational assessment with the Commanding Officer, Nimrod Aloni.

Kohavi ordered the Israeli forces to increase readiness for escalation and expand defensive and intelligence efforts.

Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Makan) announced that the area near the Gaza Strip witnessed a state of alert. Roads were shut and train stations were closed.

Israel closed Kerem Shalom commercial crossing and the Beit Hanoun crossing.

Based on a new assessment of the security situation, the Israeli army sent a letter to Gaza residents announcing the extension of the state of alert for another day.

According to Israel's Channel 14, the army will not tolerate maintaining the state of alert in the Gaza Strip for a long time and may replace this with economic sanctions, such as banning fishing in the Gaza sea and keeping the crossings closed, in an attempt to put financial pressure.

The Israeli army confirmed it has a strong intelligence warning that Islamic Jihad plans to operate on the border between Israel and the Strip soon.

The Ynet website said these attacks might include anti-tank missiles, snipers, or missiles.

Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batsh said that the movement responded to the Egyptian efforts, given that attacks and arrests stopped in the West Bank.

Israel refused and arrested 20 Palestinians on Thursday.

Later, a Hamas delegation left for Egypt to contain the situation. The movement does not want an escalation from Gaza, but it will not prevent the Islamic Jihad if an agreement is not reached, according to Israeli estimates.

The Israeli Minister of Tourism, Yoel Razvozov, said that the relevant authorities are working at the military and political levels to end the current tension.

Razvozov stressed that the decision to restrict movement in the region was taken after carefully studying the situation and in consultation with intelligence agencies.

He made it clear that Israel wants to calm the situation and will not allow the Islamic Jihad to escalate the situation or impose its conditions, warning that Tel Aviv will continue to respond to any breach from the Strip.

The Israeli minister tried to calm the Jewish settlers in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, who expressed anger at the continued Israeli restrictions. The settlers demanded compensation from the Israeli government, and some had to leave their homes.



Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

Photographs and footage shared by the ministry showed Fidan and Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the operation to topple Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, walking ahead of a crowded delegation before posing for photographs.

The two are also seen shaking hands, hugging, and smiling.

On Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye would help Syria's new administration form a state structure and draft a new constitution, adding Fidan would head to Damascus to discuss this new structure, without providing a date.

Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, also visited Damascus on Dec. 12, four days after Assad's fall.

Ankara had for years backed opposition fighters looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.

Fidan's visit comes amid fighting in northeast Syria between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.

Earlier, Türkiye’s defense minister said Ankara believed that Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in the northeast.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the Kurdish fighters.

The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.