Israeli minister calls for sovereignty in West Bank in 2025; more strikes on Beirut

IN BRIEF

• Israel's finance minister said he hoped Israel would extend sovereignty into the occupied West Bank in 2025, and that he would push the government to seek U.S. support from the incoming Trump administration. READ MORE BELOW

• The Israeli military carried out at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday. READ MORE BELOW

• Israel's military is building along a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in Syria, satellite images show, with the UN confirming troops entering the zone is a violation of the area's ceasefire rules. READ MORE BELOW

• Israel's defense minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel's goals had been met.

• International aid groups said that Israel had failed to meet a series of U.S. demands intended to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a Tuesday deadline. READ MORE BELOW

• Summoning Israel's envoy, France's foreign minister said there must be no repeat of an incident in Jerusalem that saw armed Israeli security forces entering a French-administered property.

• Four Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said.

• Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Axios reported, citing two Israeli officials and two U.S. officials.

• Dutch police said they had arrested five more people for their suspected involvement in attacks on Israeli football supporters late last week.

• Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said there was progress in talks about a Lebanon ceasefire, and indicated Russia could play a part by stopping Hezbollah rearming via Syria.

• Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, speaking at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders, condemned what he called the "genocide" committed by Israel against Palestinians.

IN DETAIL

Israeli minister calls for sovereignty in West Bank in 2025

Israel's finance minister said he hoped Israel would extend sovereignty into the occupied West Bank in 2025 and that he would push the government to engage the incoming Trump administration to gain Washington's support.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also occupies a defense ministry supervisory role for settlers as part of his coalition deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hoped the Trump administration would recognise an Israeli sovereignty push.

Israel's foreign minister said separately that while no decision was made, the issue could come up in talks with the future U.S. administration in Washington.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Smotrich's remarks confirmed the Israeli government's intention to annex the West Bank in defiance of international law.

"We hold the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the repercussions of these dangerous policies," he said. The United States was also responsible for the continuous support it offered to Israel's aggression, he said.

Smotrich has for years called for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for a future state.

At a meeting of his far-right faction in parliament on Monday, Smotrich said he had instructed Israeli authorities overseeing West Bank settlements "to begin professional and comprehensive staff work to prepare the necessary infrastructure" for extending sovereignty, according to a statement from his office.

Multiple Israeli strikes on Beirut as defense minister rules out ceasefire

The Israeli military carried out at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, after Israel's defense minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel's goals had been met.

Smoke rose over Beirut as blasts shook the capital around mid-morning. The explosions followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media identifying 12 sites in the southern suburbs and saying it would take action against them soon. It warned residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest strikes. Residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing the area in September.

Meeting with Israel's general staff for the first time, Israel's newly appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals.

"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon - disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes."

Hezbollah has said it is ready for a long war against Israel and has kept up rocket fire.

The Lebanese government has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a UN Resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006. The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state. Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.

Israel's offensive has driven more than 1 million people from their homes in Lebanon in the last seven weeks. 

Satellite images show Israeli military building in UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in Syria

Israel has begun a construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, apparently laying asphalt for a road right along the frontier, satellite photos show.

Israeli troops have entered the demilitarized zone during the work, the United Nations confirmed, a violation of the cease-fire rules governing the area.

The work, which earlier satellite photos show began in earnest in late September, follows the completion by the Israeli military of new roadways and what appears to be a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip's frontier with Israel.

The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where United Nations peacekeepers have come under fire.

So far, there has been no major violence along the Alpha Line, which delineates the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied territory that UN peacekeepers have patrolled since 1974.

Syria, which has been at war with Israel since its founding in 1948 and relies on Iran for support, has remained silent regarding the construction. But the Golan Heights remain a flashpoint for the two countries — making any changes along the border potentially that much more sensitive.

The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment and Syrian officials in Damascus declined to comment.

High-resolution images taken last week show over 7.5 kilometers of construction along the Alpha Line, starting some 3 kilometers southeast of the Israeli-held Druze town of Majdal Shams, where a July rocket strike killed 12 children playing soccer.

Israel fails to meet U.S. aid demands to ease Gaza catastrophe, aid groups say

International aid groups said that Israel had failed to meet a series of U.S. demands intended to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a Tuesday deadline.

The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on October 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days. If not, it could face potential restrictions on U.S. military aid.

"Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza," a group of eight aid groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a 19-page report.

For more than a month, Israeli forces have been pushing deeper into north Gaza, surrounding hospitals and shelters and creating fresh waves of displacement in an operation they say is designed to prevent Hamas fighters regrouping there.

On Friday, global food security experts released a rare warning of imminent famine in parts of northern Gaza unless immediate steps were taken to ease the situation.

Israel said on Monday it had met most of the U.S. demands. Some things remain under discussion and they touch on safety issues, an Israeli official told reporters.

Other measures, including the opening of a new crossing into Gaza, have been implemented. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that hundreds of food and water packages had been sent to parts of northern Gaza during a coordinated operation.

Washington has not yet commented on whether its conditions have been met. Last week, the State Department said Israel had taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but had so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation.