For several days the security forces of the new Syrian regime exchanged fire with Hezbollah-affiliated arms and drug smugglers near the border with Lebanon; Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Trump's plan to evacuate residents of the Gaza Strip was a "serious crime" but said he hoped Trump would succeed in promoting peace in the Middle East; The Syrian army deployed its first divisions across the country. A new commander was appointed to the Syrian Air Force; The IDF attacked a Hamas weapons depot in southern Syria. Other Israeli raids were reported in villages in the Golan Heights outside the buffer zone. Read more...
Senior Iranian officials strongly condemned US President Trump’s proposal to transfer the residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries and called for decisive action by the international community, especially the countries of the region and the Islamic countries, against the plan.; A delegation of senior Hamas figures visited Tehran and met with senior officials of the Iranian regime, headed by Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezeshkian. The senior Iranian officials congratulated the Hamas delegation on the “victory” of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and stressed Iran’s support for the Palestinians and the “resistance"; Iran’s ambassador to Beirut stated that Iran intends to participate in the reconstruction of Lebanon in coordination with the new government in Beirut; According to an unconfirmed report, senior Iranian officials and senior officials of the former Syrian regime held a secret meeting in Iraq to formulate a plan to overthrow the new regime in Syria and assassinate President al-Shara; The Houthi leader threatened that if the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip collapsed, the Houthi forces would be ready to resume their attacks against Israel. Read more...
IDF forces continued operations to counter Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire, especially the organization's attempts to smuggle weapons from Syria. The Lebanese army continued to deploy in the towns and villages evacuated by the IDF, including for the first time villages in the eastern sector of south Lebanon; Hezbollah called on the government to increase pressure to ensure the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon by the target date of February 18, 2025; The American administration's envoy to Lebanon, Morgan Ortagus, met with senior government officials in Beirut and assured them that Israel would complete its withdrawal in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. Hezbollah condemned her remarks that the organization had been defeated and that its entry into the new government should be prevented; According to Hezbollah, Nasrallah’s funeral on February 23, 2025 will serve as a referendum proving the people's loyalty to the "resistance"; Prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam announced the formation of the new Lebanese government, which includes two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah; The Lebanese army reinforced its forces along the Lebanon-Syria border after clashes between the security forces of the new Syrian regime and clans affiliated with Hezbollah. Read more...
On January 25, 2025, after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip went into effect, U.S, President Trump proposed the temporary or permanent relocation of all Gazans in light of the extensive destruction and to facilitate reconstruction. The proposal sparked condemnations from the Palestinians, Iran and Arab states, which accused it of being a "forced displacement" in violation of international law; The proposal reignited the issue of emigration from the Gaza Strip in general and of young people in particular, known even before the Gaza Strip War. Unofficial data indicated that approximately 300,000 young people had left the Strip since Hamas took control in 2007, primarily due to the economic situation and lack of hope for the future; The Hamas leadership sought to downplay emigration, calling any reference to it a Palestinian Authority smear campaign, but a document found by the IDF in Gaza written by the Khan Yunis Brigade of Hamas' military wing indicated concerns over the departure of young people, who constituted a significant part of the movement’s fighting force; In ITIC assessment, the Palestinians and Arab states will continue to present a united front against the plan in an attempt to eliminate it in its early stages. However, even if the plan is not implemented, the opening of the Rafah Crossing and others at the end of the war could lead to a significant wave of emigration from Gaza because of the widespread destruction and uncertainty about the future. Such a scenario would pose a significant challenge to Hamas, which would do everything in its power to prevent the emigration of young people, which could weaken its political and military stranglehold on the Gazan public. Read more...
The Victory of the Revolution Conference convened in Damascus: Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Julani) was declared Syria's new president, the institutions of the previous regime were dismantled and 18 armed militias announced they would disband. Al-Sharaa said presidential elections would be held in four to five years; Syrian President al-Sharaa made his first visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Meeting with the Turkish president, al-Sharaa said he wanted strong bilateral relations with Turkey, including in security; The Syrian minister of the interior announced the seizure of arms shipments intended to be smuggled into Lebanon; The commander of the Kurdish militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces stated they had not been involved in the decision to appoint al-Sharaa president. The Syrian defense minister warned force would be used if negotiations with the Kurds failed; For the first time, gunfire was directed at IDF forces in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights; no casualties were reported. The Syrian Popular Resistance claimed responsibility and threatened further attacks. Syrian President al-Sharaa said normalization with Israel would not be possible as long as it occupied the Golan Heights. Read more...
Senior Iranian officials have reiterated their emphasis on the “Palestinian victory” achieved following the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip; Iran and the militias loyal to it issued statements of mourning following Hamas’ announcement of the death of the head of its military wing, Mohammed al-Deif; The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed Israel’s claims that Iranian diplomats are transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hezbollah in suitcases via flights landing at Beirut airport; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei authorized Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem as his religious representative in Lebanon; The IRGC commander admitted that Iran’s enemies had achieved certain results in Syria but declared that the situation would not remain the same; Sources in the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq denied that talks were underway for a deal that would lead to the release of the kidnapped Israeli researcher, Elizabeth Tsurkov. Read more...
