Netanyahu ‘Reassures’ Iran Via Putin
CrossFireArabia- January 6, 2026
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin to relay reassuring messages to Iran that Tel Aviv does not intend to attack it, amid fears of a preemptive strike by Tehran, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Public broadcaster KAN, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, said Netanyahu asked Putin to convey “reassurance” messages to Iran that Israel has no plans to launch an attack.
Accoring to the outlet, the messages were recently delivered to Iran, including through phone calls between Netanyahu and Putin, amid concerns that Tehran might move to strike Israel preemptively to avert a possible Israeli attack.
KAN reported that the Russian president said last October that he had been asked to pass along a message to Iran stating that Israel was “not interested in escalation.”
Netanyahu, however, told the Knesset on Monday that Israel sent a message to Iran that if Israel is attacked, it would face “very severe consequences.”
KAN said that there was concern within Israel that a miscalculation by Iran could lead to an attack driven by fears of an imminent Israeli strike.
In recent weeks, Israeli political and security leaders have held discussions on various security issues, including the Iranian file.
Speculation has recently increased in Israeli media about a potential Israeli strike on Iran, against the backdrop of what has been described as Tehran’s “rebuilding of its ballistic missile program.”
Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran in June, with Tehran retaliating with drone and missile attacks. The US military bombed three major Iranian nuclear facilities — Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan — using bunker-buster bombs during the assault, before Washington managed to strike a ceasefire deal between the two arch-foes according to Anadolu.
Battling The Rains in Gaza
- CrossFireArabia
- December 29, 2025
Severe weather conditions have led to further casualties and heightened health risks in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported on Monday.
Heavy seasonal downpours are compounding an already dire humanitarian situation, as rainstorms cause war-damaged buildings to collapse, flood tents and soak people’s belongings, OCHA said.
To respond swiftly to flood alerts, a coordinated system bringing together UN agencies and non-governmental organizations is distributing tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes, blankets and dignity kits across Gaza.
The UN and its partners are also mobilising heavy equipment to pump overflowing sewage – which poses serious health risks – away from residential areas. OCHA warned that the conditions have increased the risk of hypothermia, particularly among babies, as well as illnesses linked to sewage flooding.
Separately, humanitarian teams are assisting hundreds of people newly displaced from the At Tufah neighbourhood in Gaza City, where ongoing military operations have forced many residents to flee.
People who remain in, or have returned to, the As Sanafour area of At Tufah – often due to a lack of space elsewhere – report significant challenges in accessing water, food and basic services.
Relief operations continue
Other relief operations under the UN-coordinated humanitarian plan for the ceasefire are continuing.
Between 23 and 26 December, partners working on water, sanitation and hygiene dispatched tens of thousands of dignity kits, hygiene kits and bottles of shampoo across Gaza, reaching some 150,000 people in need, according to OCHA.
As of Sunday, partners addressing food insecurity had reached more than one million people – about half of Gaza’s population — through 60 distribution points with December’s monthly general food assistance.
In parallel, humanitarian partners distributed veterinary kits and animal feed to more than 2,000 families with livestock between 9 and 26 December, helping support local production and reduce aid dependency according to UN News.
Cold Weather Kills Palestinian Baby
- CrossFireArabia
- December 29, 2025
Another Palestinian baby lost his life in the Gaza Strip due to severe cold amid a widespread scarcity of shelters, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
A ministry statement said two-month-old Arkan Firas Musleh died as a result of harsh weather conditions, bringing the death toll of toddlers from cold to three since early December.
According to the Gaza Civil Defense, 25 people, including six children, have died from cold and the collapse of damaged buildings in Gaza amid freezing weather conditions in the war-torn enclave.
Spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said that 18 buildings that had been damaged in previous Israeli strikes had fully collapsed, and more than 110 others recorded partial collapse in the current low-pressure weather system, threatening the lives of thousands of displaced people sheltering in these buildings.
The spokesman added that 90% of tents sheltering displaced civilians were uprooted or flooded in heavy rains and strong winds across Gaza, with thousands of families left without any shelters or any clothes that could have protected them from the harsh weather according to Anadolu.
He called for urgently starting the reconstruction of Gaza and providing mobile homes that would protect the lives and dignity of Palestinians.
The Israeli army has killed more than 71,200 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,200 others since October 2023 in Gaza in a brutal assault that also left the enclave in ruins.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10, Israel still closes the territory’s crossings and prevents the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials, worsening the plight of nearly 2.4 million people in the enclave.
Iran Condemns Israeli Recognition of Somali Region
- CrossFireArabia
- December 27, 2025
Iran strongly condemned on Saturday Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland as a “flagrant violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Criticizing the Israeli move as “malicious,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei emphasized the importance of “preserving the national sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity” of Somalia.
Baghaei asserted that the recognition aligns with Israel’s broader policy “to destabilize countries in the region and exacerbate insecurity in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.”
Expressing support for the firm condemnation by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the African Union (AU), Baghaei called on the international community to take “decisive action” to “neutralize this expansionist and threat-creating move by the occupying regime.”
On Friday, Israel became the first country to officially recognize Somaliland, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that the two sides had signed a joint declaration establishing full diplomatic relations “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”
In response, Somalia’s government denounced the move as an “attack” on its sovereignty and an “unlawful action,” reaffirming Somaliland as an “inseparable” part of its territory.
The Israeli move has been widely condemned by several countries, including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar according to Anadolu.
Notably, Somalia was among the countries that severed diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 following a mob attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
In March 2024, a year after Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations through a China-brokered deal, Somalia announced its readiness to mend ties with Iran.
In August of the same year, the top diplomats of Somalia and Iran met on the sidelines of the OIC summit in Jeddah and agreed to revive and deepen diplomatic relations.
