Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war is set to resume in Qatar.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayad on Tuesday, according to a release from Saar's office.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan shakes hands with Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Jan. 7, 2025.
Wam/via Reuters
The Israeli Foreign Minister was invited by the UAE, the readout said, his visit coinciding with the resumption of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha, Qatar.
The UAE has discussed with Israel and the U.S. the idea of participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, Reuters reported this week.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman
Jan 08, 2025, 5:10 AM EST
Biden, Trump teams 'very collaborative' on Gaza push, envoy says
President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters that President Joe Biden's team has been "very collaborative" on working towards a Gaza hostage release deal, with renewed talks ongoing in Qatar.
Steve Witkoff talks with reporters after a news conference by President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, on Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Evan Vucci/AP
"We're just very collaborative together," Witkoff said following Trump's Tuesday Mar-a-Lago press conference. "I mean, this is a tense negotiation, so no one has pride of authorship. We are totally outcome oriented. Let's get them home."
Witkoff said he speaks every day with Brett McGurk, the top Biden White House official on Middle East policy.
During the press conference, Trump said "all hell will break loose" if the remaining hostages aren't released before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Witkoff said "there was no exaggeration or embellishment with what the president said."
"If you get on the phone with the hostage families, it's harrowing to listen to them," Witkoff said. "There are people who just want the remains of their children back…it is withering to listen to this, and he [Trump] listens to them all."
Witkoff said the incoming administration "aspirationally" hopes for a 42-day ceasefire to be enacted before the inauguration.
"President Trump's persona is such that he's driving the narrative on these negotiations," Witkoff added. "He will be in office when that 42-day ceasefire is over. That's what Hamas cares about -- how we move to phase two. That's what the Israelis care about, how President Trump will be at the end of that ceasefire."
Witkoff said he's seen intelligence reports about how many hostages remain alive, and said it's "not a small amount."
-ABC News' Selina Wang
Jan 07, 2025, 7:00 AM EST
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Palestinian villages
There were multiple overnight attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in parts of the West Bank, following a shooting attack that killed three Israelis and injured eight others earlier on Monday.
Israeli military vehicles operate during a raid at the Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Jan. 7, 2025.
Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
The Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency reported at least two attacks by settlers on Palestinian communities in Bethlehem and Ramallah.
The Yesh Din human rights group reported as many as 100 settlers attacking Palestinian villages, some in the al-Funduq area where Monday's attack occurred.
Israeli security forces are still searching for the suspected perpetrators of Monday's shooting attack, which Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as "an act of war."
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Jan 06, 2025, 1:01 PM EST
3 Israelis killed in West Bank shooting
Three Israelis were killed in a shooting that targeted a bus and a vehicle in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, security and emergency officials said.
An Israeli police officer and two women in their 60s were killed, Israeli emergency services said.
The attack occurred in the village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads crossing the Palestinian territory, much of which is under Israeli security control.
Israeli rescuers and security forces work at the site of an attack near the village of Al-Funduq, in the occupied West Bank, on Jan. 6, 2025.
Gil Cohen-magen/AFP via Getty Images
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it provided medical treatment to seven injured people, including the bus driver who was in serious condition.
The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a manhunt for the suspected Palestinian shooters.
"Anyone who follows the path of Hamas in Gaza and sponsors the murder and harm of Jews will pay heavy prices, " Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on his X account, reacting to the attack.
Sending his condolences to the families of the victims, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attackers "will not get away."
"We will find the abhorrent murderers and settle accounts with them and with all those who aided them," his statement said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in an extensive report Sunday that at least 838 Palestinians -- including 173 children -- have been killed by Israeli fire and over 6,700 have been injured in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Diaa Ostaz and Somayeh Malekian
