Israeli fire kills five as US unveils ‘New Gaza’ plan

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President Donald Trump said Thursday a US naval "armada" was heading toward the Gulf, maintaining pressure on Iran although he has recently downplayed the prospect of imminent military action.

Last week, Trump pulled back from a threat to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests after the White House said Tehran had halted planned executions of demonstrators.

But the Republican president on Thursday confirmed continuing military preparations. US media have reported in the past week that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was ordered from maneuvers in the South China Sea to the Middle East.

"We're watching Iran," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"You know we have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case... We have a big force going toward Iran," the president said.

(AFP)

The US military expects to complete the transfer of up to 7,000 Islamic State detainees from Syrian prisons to Iraq in the coming days, a US official told Reuters on Thursday, saying hundreds would be moving across the border daily.

The US military's Central Command said on Wednesday its forces had transferred 150 Islamic State detainees from a detention facility in Syria's Hasaka province to Iraq, citing the need to guard against any prison breakout.

The transfers are taking place after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria triggered concerns over prison security following Tuesday's escape of roughly 200 low-level Islamic State fighters from Syria's Shaddadi prison. Syrian government forces recaptured many of them.

(Reuters)

Two prominent Tunisian columnists were sentenced on Thursday to three and a half years in prison each for money laundering and tax evasion, according to a relative and local media.

The two men, Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, have already been in detention for almost two years for statements considered critical of President Kais Saied's government, made on radio, television programmes and social media.

They were due to be released in January 2025 but have remained in custody on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

Since Saied's power grab, which granted him sweeping powers on 25 July 2021, local and international NGOs have denounced a regression of rights and freedoms in Tunisia.

Dozens of opposition figures and civil society activists are being prosecuted under a presidential decree officially aimed at combatting "fake news" but subject to a very broad interpretation denounced by human rights defenders.

Others, including opposition leaders, have been sentenced to heavy prison terms in a mega-trial of "conspiracy against state security".

(AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Thursday the International Monetary Fund will send a mission to Lebanon from 9 to 13 February to continue technical discussions, with the aim of agreeing on a programme between Lebanon and the Fund.

Salam said he had held a meeting with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos and that their discussion had been positive and constructive.

(Reuters)

More than 134,000 people have been displaced in northeast Syria, the United Nations migration agency said Thursday, after clashes and a fragile ceasefire deal between government and Kurdish-led forces.

In the past three days, the number of internally displaced people in Hassakeh province "has increased to approximately 134,803 individuals" compared to 5,725 recorded on Sunday, the International Organisation for Migration said in a statement.

Syria's government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed a fresh four-day ceasefire on Tuesday evening after the army sent reinforcements to Hassakeh province, the Kurds' stronghold in the northeast.

Under military and political pressure from Damascus, which is seeking to extend its control across the country, the SDF has relinquished swathes of territory in recent days and withdrawn to parts of Hassakeh province.

(AFP)

The Trump administration could order a complete military withdrawal from Syria as Damascus moves to retake the country's northeast from Kurdish-led forces, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The US has had troops stationed in Syria for more than a decade after President Barack Obama intervened in the country's civil war.

Tunisian authorities on Thursday said they killed four members of a "terrorist cell" in western Tunisia near the North African country's border with Algeria.

An interior ministry statement said security forces had been tracking the movements of the suspects for several days near the town of Majel Bel Abbes, which is located in a mountainous and forested region.

The statement did not provide details about their identities.

The four were all Tunisian and belonged to the same family, according to local media citing security sources.

(AFP)

The head of Donald Trump's Gaza committee said Wednesday that Israel has agreed to reopen the Rafah border crossing 

"I am pleased that an agreement has been reached regarding the preparation for re-opening of the Rafah crossing. Concurrently, we are working with Israel and the National committee for the administration of Gaza to expedite the search for the remaining Israeli hostage," Nickolay Mladenov wrote on X.

Mladenov's statement came shortly after Trump officials unveiled details about their plan to rebuild Gaza at the inaugural Board of Peace' event in Davos.

Ali Shaath, the head of the Palestinian committee set to take charge in the devastated territory, said the Rafah crossing would open in both directions next week in a recorded message during the event.

Israel has continued to keep the border closed despite agreeing to reopen it in October under the first phase of the ceasefire.

The EU will cooperate with Donald Trump's Board of Peace if it drops its global ambitions and focuses only on Gaza, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.

"We want to work for the peace in the Middle East and we want this Board of Peace to be limited to the UN Security Council resolution as it was foreseen," Kallas said before a summit of EU leaders where Trump's proposal was among items to be discussed.

"So if we narrow it down to Gaza like it was meant to be, then we can work with it," she added.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

The nationwide shutdown of the internet by authorities in Iran, which activists fear is aimed at masking the true scale of a crackdown on protests, has lasted more than two weeks, a monitor said Thursday.

"Iran has now been under a national internet blackout for two full weeks," said Netblocks in a post on X.

In recent days there have been reports of more users being able to gain access to the internet on occasional moments, but the monitor indicated this was sporadic and limited to government-approved sites and traffic.

(AFP)

⚠️ Update: #Iran has now been under a national internet blackout for two full weeks. At hour 336, connectivity levels continue to flatline with only a slight rise at the backbone supplying regime-whitelisted networks, while a few users are now able to tunnel to the outside world. pic.twitter.com/Ha9wxKeuxj

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 22, 2026

Ireland’s deputy prime minister has warned of “very serious red flags” surrounding Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, saying he cannot envisage Ireland joining the body in its current form.

The initiative was initially presented as a small group tasked with overseeing a ceasefire in the Middle East, but has since expanded into a far broader project, with dozens of countries invited to take part.

Simon Harris said his concerns included the lack of any clear reference to Gaza and the involvement of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He noted that the original proposal was for a board to supervise a Gaza peace plan endorsed by the United Nations in November.

“Let me be very clear: what we are witnessing at today’s signing ceremony could not be further removed from that original discussion,” Harris said.

Turkey’s Ministry of Defence has welcomed the move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, describing it as a positive step alongside the formation of a Palestinian technocratic committee to administer the enclave and ongoing efforts to establish a “Board of Peace”.

Speaking at a press briefing, the ministry’s Press and Public Relations Adviser, Admiral Zeki Aktürk, said that achieving lasting peace in Gaza and ensuring regional stability depends on Israel’s full commitment to these initiatives and agreements.

He stressed that Israel must halt ceasefire violations and stop obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, adding that the international community has a responsibility to closely monitor Israel’s actions.

US envoy Tom Barrack called for a truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces to be upheld, urging steps to build trust after Damascus captured swathes of the northeast in a push to reassert central authority.

Tensions between President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spilled into conflict this month as the SDF resisted government demands for its fighters and enclaves to be integrated into the state.

 Barrack said he met SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and leading Syrian Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed on Thursday, and reaffirmed U.S. support for an integration process set out in a January 18 agreement.

"All parties agreed that the essential first step is the full upholding of the current ceasefire, as we collectively identify and implement confidence-building measures on all sides to foster trust and lasting stability," he wrote on X.

The SDF, dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, and the government have accused each other of violating the ceasefire since Tuesday.

Israel's military on Thursday announced the death of a soldier who was injured during combat in Gaza in October last year, after the start of the US-sponsored ceasefire with Hamas.

In a statement, the Israeli military announced the death of Sergeant Major (Reservist) Asael Babad, 38, who "passed away after being severely injured during combat in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025".

Babad, a father of five, lived in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces have killed at least 477 Palestinians in Gaza during the same period, according to the territory's health ministry.

France will not join U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for now because its charter does not correspond with a U.N. resolution to resolve the war in Gaza, and some of the charter's elements were contrary to the U.N. charter, its foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

"It was not corresponding on the one hand with the pure Gaza mandate, which is not even mentioned, and on the other hand, there are elements of this charter which are contrary to the United Nations charter," Pascal Confavreux told reporters. 

UN investigators probing rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories said Thursday they hoped US President Donald Trump's new Board of Peace could finally open the door to field visits.

Israeli authorities have blocked the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI), which found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, from conducting investigations on the ground.

Speaking just before the US president unveiled his new Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, CoI chairman Srinivasan Muralidhar said of the Trump-brokered plan to end the war in Gaza: "We don't find anything there that can possibly hinder the work of this commission."

The commission was set up in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council, but Israel has refused to cooperate with the open-ended probe.

"With this peace plan in place, it's only a hope that that might change. We might have some cooperation from those who will be controlling the affairs of that zone of conflict," Muralidhar told a press conference in Geneva.

"We would expect them to trust us to do our investigation in the most professional way."

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has met Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin to discuss developments in Palestine, according to the Palestinian Government Communication Centre.

The talks took place on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts during a fragile ceasefire and continued Israeli attacks that have killed Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli settlers and military forces carried out a series of raids across several towns in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces arrested at least one Palestinian man east of Jenin, while conducting separate raids in the towns of Yabad and Silat al-Harithiya to the west of the city. Another man was arrested in Nablus after Israeli troops raided multiple homes.

At the same time, Israeli settlers stormed the evacuated settlement of Tarsala, south of Jenin, under the protection of the military.

Sources told Wafa that Israeli forces closed the Jenin–Nablus road ahead of the settlers’ incursion, during which buses and mobile homes were brought into the former settlement.

The raids come amid heightened activity across the West Bank, with dozens of settlers earlier storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Israeli forces deploying overnight across the city of Tulkarem.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian has met the European Union’s special envoy for the Middle East peace process, Christophe Bigot, to discuss humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, amid what she described as a deteriorating situation in the enclave.

In a post on X, the Palestinian Authority’s top diplomat welcomed EU efforts but urged them to be intensified “during this critical phase”, pointing to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

She stressed the urgent need for the immediate and sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid, the establishment of a sustainable ceasefire, and closer coordination between Gaza and the West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Bigot reaffirmed the European Union’s support for the Palestinian National Authority and the rights of the Palestinian people.

Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has approved the issuance of gun licences to residents in 18 additional illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Ben-Gvir, a far-right minister, wrote on Telegram that the move allows these settlements to “submit applications for a personal weapon licence” and described the effort as intended to “enhance self-defence and increase personal security.”

The decision comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government continues to expand outposts widely considered illegal under international law, further undermining prospects for a two-state solution.

Hamas on Thursday condemned as "unjust" a move by the United States to sanction Palestinian associations which Washington accused of having links to the Islamist movement.

The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six nonprofit organisations working in the Gaza Strip, which the Treasury Department said "claim to provide medical care to Palestinian civilians but in fact support the military wing of Hamas".

It also announced sanctions on a group of Palestinians involved in civilian flotillas that aim to break Israel's sea blockade on Gaza to bring in humanitarian aid.

The Treasury Department said the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad has been "a main organiser" of the flotillas and charged that it was "clandestinely acting on behalf of Hamas".

"We view these decisions as unjust and oppressive," Hamas said in a statement, suggesting the sanctions were incited by Israel as a fight against the Palestinian "national cause".

All the organisations were accused of "secret ties to Hamas" in the US Treasury statement.

Jared Kushner outlined the Board of Peace’s vision for Gaza’s future following the signing ceremony, presenting a development-led plan focused on security, investment and large-scale reconstruction.

Kushner said the proposals include working with Hamas on demilitarisation, reducing Gaza’s reliance on foreign aid, and applying what he described as “free market principles” to drive economic growth.

He recalled that while there was celebration after the initial Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, he and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were concerned about what would follow.

"Peace is a different deal than a business deal, because you’re changing a mindset," Kushner said, describing the effort as "very entrepreneurial".

Security would be the first priority, Kushner said, adding that the US was working closely with Israel on de-escalation before moving to a phase focused on Hamas disarmament. He argued that investment would not be possible without security and that job creation depended on attracting private capital.

Kushner presented a map dividing Gaza into "residential" areas and "coastal tourism mixed" zones, and unveiled plans to build 100,000 housing units in Rafah as well as a new development dubbed "New Gaza". Visual renderings showed high-rise towers along the coast.

He did not mention a pathway towards Palestinian statehood. Kushner said cities housing millions of people could be built within a few years in the Middle East if the political will existed, adding that Gaza’s coastline had significant economic potential.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt, Gaza's main gateway, which has been largely shut during the war on the Palestinian territory, will reopen next week, Palestinian technocratic committee leader Ali Shaath said on Thursday. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a highly laudatory speech praising Donald Trump’s record and describing his presidency as “historic”.

Referring to Gaza, Rubio said Trump had shown the “vision and courage to dream the impossible” in what many had viewed as an intractable conflict.

He argued that institutions which have “served us well for more than 70 years” had been unable to resolve the issue, a remark likely to heighten concerns that the proposed Board of Peace is intended to supersede existing international bodies.

Rubio spoke of a new era and a new phase in global politics, presenting the initiative as a model of what could be achieved elsewhere.

He concluded by saying that the proposed vision for Gaza would be “our destiny” if sufficient time and effort were invested.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that 59 countries are involved in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, suggesting they have expressed support for his proposed Board of Peace.

Speaking about Gaza, Trump said Hamas would need to fulfil its commitments, adding that the group must give up its weapons.

“If they don’t do that,” he said, “it is going to be the end of them.”

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, US President Donald Trump said that "everybody" wants to be part of his proposed "Board of Peace".

He added that he would continue to work with a range of partners, including the United Nations.

Members of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace have taken their seats on stage in Davos, Switzerland.

The ceremony, led by Trump, is expected to conclude with the signing of the board’s first charter.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog said on Thursday that "regime change" can be the only future for Iran, where mass protests against the clerical authorities have faced a deadly crackdown.

Demonstrations initially sparked by economic grievances turned into a movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since 1979.

People poured into the streets for several days from January 8, but the demonstrations appear for now to have petered out in the face of what activists describe as a crackdown under the cover of a blanket internet shutdown.

"The Iranian people are yearning for change. The Iranian people deserve change," Herzog said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"The future for the Iranian people can only be in a regime change, and that has to be... within the realms of the Iranian people and the international community and its support," he added.

"It's clear to me that the Ayatollah regime is in quite a fragile situation."

The Islamic Republic's long-time foe Israel has expressed support for the protesters, without suggesting it would intervene.

Iran accused Israel in early January of trying to undermine its national unity after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel stood "in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people".

Agence France-Presse has demanded a "full and transparent investigation" into the death of Abdul Raouf Shaat, a regular contributor to the agency in the Gaza Strip who was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike alongside two other Palestinian journalists.

"Far too many local journalists have been killed in Gaza over the past two years while foreign journalists remain unable to enter the territory freely," the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

It expressed "immense sadness" at the death of the 34-year-old photo and video journalist, who was "a regular contributor to AFP's production for nearly two years" and "much loved by the AFP team covering Gaza".

He was killed on Wednesday along with colleagues Anas Ghneim and Mohammed Salah Qashta in the central Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army said it had targeted the operators of a drone deemed suspicious, adding that the details of the incident were still under review.

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, nearly 220 journalists have been killed by Israel, making the Palestinian territory by far the deadliest place for journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) data.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has said his country will not take part in the so-called “Board of Peace” on Gaza being formed by US President Donald Trump, despite receiving an invitation to join.

Speaking at a press conference, Golob said Slovenia had discussed the proposal and decided against participation, stressing its commitment to the international order based on international law and the UN Charter.

"The main concern is that the committee’s mandate is too broad and that it could dangerously undermine the international order based on the United Nations Charter," he said.

"Although we find any initiative that can calm the situation in the Middle East to be commendable, this invitation dangerously encroaches on the broader international order and not just on pacification in Gaza," Golob added.

According to local reports, the Prime Minister will not attend the signing of the initiative’s founding charter at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, opting instead to take part in a meeting of European Council leaders in Brussels

Israeli forces were deployed overnight across several main roads in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Wafa reported that troops were present in the city centre, the vegetable market, and along the road leading to Martyr Thabet Governmental Hospital.

The agency said soldiers posted threatening stickers containing inciting slogans and direct warnings to residents on walls in multiple neighbourhoods. Surveillance drones were also flown over the vegetable market, while live ammunition was fired as military vehicles moved through the streets.

Wafa added that Israeli military vehicles rammed Palestinian cars on the road to the hospital, marking the second such incident reported that day.

Earlier, two vehicles were deliberately struck on Nablus Street near the Tulkarem refugee camp. No injuries were reported.

Britain will not be signing US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace treaty on Thursday, foreign minister Yvette Cooper said, citing concerns over Russia's possible involvement in the initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts.

"We won't be one of the signatories today, because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues, and we do also have concerns about (Russian) President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace," Cooper told BBC News from Davos.