The Israeli Defense Ministry announced last week that it had signed its first deal using an $8.7 billion military aid package it received from the US to purchase munitions for its Iron Dome missile defense system. The Defense Ministry said it signed a contract with...
Trump Says He Wants To Work With China and Russia on ‘Denuclearization’
On Thursday, President Trump delivered a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said he wanted to discuss the idea of "denuclearization" with Russia and China. The president claimed that during his last term in office, he discussed the...
Trump To Put Steve Witkoff in Charge of Iran Negotiations
President Trump is expected to put his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in charge of the Iran file, signaling the administration will try diplomacy with the Islamic Republic, Financial Times reported on Thursday. Sources told FT that Witkoff, who put pressure on...
Gaza Hospitals Receive 122 More Bodies, Raising Death Toll
Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday that hospitals received 122 more bodies as Palestinians continue to dig the remains of people killed by Israel's bombing campaign out of the rubble on the fifth day of the ceasefire. The Health Ministry said that 120 of the bodies...
US Private Security Contractors To Operate Checkpoint in Gaza
Armed US private security contractors will begin operating a checkpoint in Gaza in the coming days, Axios reported on Thursday, citing Israeli officials. The report said the US contractors will be deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational group that's been...
Trump Re-Designates Yemen’s Houthis as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’
On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order re-designating Yemen's Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," a move that will impede aid deliveries to Yemen and complicate the chances of a lasting peace deal between the Saudis...
Israel Wants to Extend Troops’ Stay in Lebanon Another 30 Days
Just one day after Israel’s Foreign Minister was saying they are “committed” to the ceasefire in Lebanon, multiple media reports say that Israel is now seeking an additional 30 days to keep troops in Lebanon, beyond the 60-day deadline for the pullout currently in...
Taiwan Publicizes the US Is Sending Troops for Two-Year Naval Training Program
Last week, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced it had signed a deal with the US under which the US will send military personnel to the island for a naval training program. The US has a history of sending personnel to train Taiwanese forces, but the training programs...
Yemen’s Houthis Release Crew of Commercial Ship It Seized Over a Year Ago
On Wednesday, Yemen's Houthis released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a commercial ship the Yemeni group seized in November 2023 as part of its response to Israel's onslaught in Gaza. Yemen's Al Masirah TV reported that the Houthis released the crew to Oman in...
Trump Envoy Says It’s ‘Good’ Hamas Wants Talks With the US
President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Wednesday that it was "good" that Hamas was open to talks with the United States. Witkoff was asked in an interview with Fox News about comments from Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official based in Qatar. "We’re...