The new president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, the former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces and a maronite christian, has declared after taking the seat that he would disarm Hezbollah. This, by all means, seems unlikely for the moment or the near future since the position he holds is one regarded as mere ceremonial, reserved for the maronites and which bears little power and strenght. This does not overshadow the fact that the terrorist organization is in disarray and suffering.
On the Gaza front, it seems that the talks for the hostage release and ceasefire deal are close to being finalized according to various news sources which cite Israeli officials. The final provisions are said to be acceptable by most of Israel and are awaiting the Hamas response. But even if Lapid and Gantz are said to be backing it, the final draft is regarded by Smotrich as unacceptable and deemed a catastrophe, according to the same sources. It is very unclear at this moment what the outcome is going to be regarding the ceasefire talks, the hostage swap, or if they do happen, will the said deals remain in place. All the uncertainty resides from the fact that talks have been held before and like before, hopes have been announced for the cessation of the conflict but with negative outcomes, or false predictions – this is why caution is advised once more.
On the humanitarian side of the conflict, UNICEF has recorded 74 casualties among children in Gaza in the first week of 2025. In conflicting news, UNRWA also announced that 190 coordinated missions to deliver humanitarian help were planned but the denial rate reached 70 percent, while COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza Strip of Israel) announced on the 8th of January that 230 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza through either the Kerem Shalom Crossing, or the Erez Crossing. It also announced that more than 64.000 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
OCHA has also reported on the 10th of January that the Al Awda Hospital which is the last partially functioning hospital in northern Gaza is “critically low on fuel and essential medical supplies”. The north of the Strip has witnessed ongoing operations almost incessantly since the start of the war and is said to be the most affected and destroyed part.
In any case, operations continue in the Gaza Strip and if the deal between Hamas and Israel does not go through, they will likely continue until conditions force the two parties to reach an agreement.
On more positive news, the UN has announced at the start of the year that more than 115.00 Syrians have returned to Syria from the neighboring countries following the fall of Assad. In this regard, the stakes remain high, with Turkiye and Jordan being two of the more invested entities in the process of stabilizing Syria, with Erdogan warning that he will take military action if the war-torn country shows any risk of breaking up by factional or tribal wars.