Armed conflicts and attacks
Middle Eastern crisis
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says that the military will keep troops in occupied Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza in Palestine forever. (AA via Middle East Monitor)
2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
The first talks between Iran and the United States since the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum are held at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland. The talks are mediated by Pakistan and Qatar. (Kashmir Observer) (Middle East Eye)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) secretary-general Rafael Grossi says that the interim ceasefire peace deal between Iran and the United States would allow the IAEA access to Iran's nuclear inspectors. (Reuters)
A direct communications line between Iran and the U.S. is established under Article 5 of the memorandum of understanding over the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to prevent incidents that could lead to military confrontation. (AA)
The Tasnim News Agency reports that Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the ceasefire is implemented in the Lebanon war and waivers are issued for Iranian oil sales. (Reuters)
Five known ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, down from 26 ships the previous day, amidst the closure. (Reuters)
The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation reports that the Bangladesh-flagged DWT bulk carrier vessel MV Banglar Joyjatra has cleared through the Strait of Hormuz at 3:00am BST after it was stranded in the region for 4.5 months. (The Business Standard) (New Age BD)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the U.S. will not accept Iranian tolls or fees on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. (Kurdistan24)
Omani foreign minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi confirms that no transit fees would be imposed on ships using the Strait of Hormuz as part of future management of the waterway. (Arab News)
Two liquefied natural gas carriers from Qatar, the Marshall Islands-flagged Bu Samra bound for the Far East, and the Liberia-flagged Patris, transit through the Strait of Hormuz after being stranded for a period of time since the waterway was closed. (MENAFN)
2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign
The International Maritime Organization announces an evacuation plan for around 500 to 600 ships with 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran and the United States have reached a ceasefire deal to end the war. The evacuation will be coordinated with Iran and Oman. (Middle East Eye) (The Maritime Executive)
Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez says that the International Maritime Organization will pause an evacuation effort for 11,000 seafarers on stranded ships in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran objected to the plan and after a vessel was attacked near Oman. (Axios) (NBC News)
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy rejects United Nations-backed temporary shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz proposed with Oman while negotiations continue over the waterway's future administration. (CNBC) (The Guardian)
Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely is damaged after being struck by a unknown projectile off the coast of Oman, near Dahit in the Musandam Governorate. No casualties are reported. (The Edge Malaysia) (CNBC)
The International Maritime Organization says that 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers have been evacuated from the Strait of Hormuz since the plan was announced. (AA)
The United States Central Command says its forces have conducted airstrikes on Iran in response to yesterday's drone strike on a civilian Singapore-flagged cargo ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, striking Iranian missile and drone storage sites, and coastal radar sites. (Reuters)
2026 United States F-15E rescue operation in Iran
Two sources tell CNN that a pilot on a United States Armed Forces F-15E Strike Eagle, which was downed over Iran during the beginning of April, reported a "jellyfish-like" formation from Iranian drones before the jet was shot down. (AA) (CNN)
The Israeli military and Shin Bet confirm that they have killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, who participated in the kidnapping of 12-year-old Yagil Yaakov during the Nir Oz attack on October 7, 2023. Additionally, he was also accused of training jihadists at the Nasser Hospital. (The Jerusalem Post) (Ynetnews)
Three Palestinians, including an eight-year old girl, are killed in drone strikes by Israel in Gaza. (The New Arab)
The Israeli military announces that it has killed Hamas militant Akram Muhammad Mahmoud Abu Machi, who took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel, during an airstrike in southern Gaza. (The Times of Israel) (Israel National News)
Calls for a ceasefire during the Gaza war
Saudi Arabia reaffirms its call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a UN Security Council meeting on behalf of the Arab Group. (Saudi Gazette)
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says that Israeli troops will not withdraw from the illegally occupied Beaufort Castle, Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says that his country will not intervene in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon following calls from U.S. president Donald Trump to do so. (Times of Israel)
Israeli soldiers open fire near an excavator in Nabatieh, Lebanon, killing two civilians and wounding two more. (Al Jazeera)
Israel and Lebanon deny a claim from a United States official that some Israeli troops have been withdrawn from southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture during their negotiations. (The Guardian)
Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz says his forces will not withdraw from occupied southern Lebanon even if "the United States demands it", adding that "200,000 residents will not return" to their homes. (Al Jazeera)
France–Italy relations, France–Lebanon relations, Italy–Lebanon relations
France and Italy agree to establish a multinational coalition to support Lebanon after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ends its mission on 31 December 2026. The initiative aims to strengthen Lebanon's armed forces and maintain international security support. (Xinhua)
2026 Israel–Lebanon peace talks
Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon
Israel, Lebanon, and the United States sign a trilateral framework agreement in Washington, D.C, that provides for the transfer of two Israeli-held areas to Lebanese army control and establishes a process for the disarmament of Hezbollah. (AFP via RFI) (Axios via Naharnet) (Reuters)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu states that Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms, despite the framework agreement. (AFP via Le Monde) (Xinhua)
Netanyahu states that displaced Lebanese civilians will not be permitted to return to areas within the Israeli-controlled security zone in southern Lebanon under arrangements announced following the agreement. (AFP via Dawn)
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a United Nations fact-finding mission, finds that Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the West Bank. (Reuters)
Sudanese civil war
A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces hits civilian facilities in Kosti in Sudan's White Nile state, killing one person and injuring 14 others. (Sudan Horizon)
Two people are killed and seven others are injured in a drone strike by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces on a fuel station in Rabak, White Nile. (AA via Middle East Monitor)
The Sudanese army launches an offensive in the Geissan District of Sudan's Blue Nile State, capturing a key rebel stronghold near the border with Ethiopia. (Sudan Tribune)
War crimes during the Sudanese civil war
The U.N. Human Rights Office reports that sexual violence has been more widespread across Sudan since the civil war broke out three years ago in April. (BBC News) (Radio Tamazuj)
The Sudan Doctors Network reports that more than 215 civilians have died at the RSF-run Daqris Prison in Sudan's South Darfur state from the spread of diseases and epidemics, as well as torture and mistreatment of detainees. (AA)
Darfur campaign, Darfur genocide
The International Organization for Migration reports that 1,430 people were displaced from five villages in Sudan's North Darfur state in a single day due to worsening insecurity. (AA)
2026 Iran war
2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar say that Iran and the United States have agreed to a roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal within 60 days. (BBC News)
The Indian government confirms that four India-bound fertilizer cargo ships carrying urea, diammonium phosphate, and sulfur have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters)
Shipping data from Kpler shows that two crude oil tankers carrying 2 million barrels of oil have transited through the Strait of Hormuz coming from the east, including one of the vessels showing Basra, Iraq, as its destination. (Reuters)
Russo-Ukrainian war
Aerial warfare in the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba says that Russian drone attacks in Ukraine have killed at least five people, including an Egyptian crew member aboard a Panamanian-flagged vessel in the Black Sea and three members of the same family in Sumy Oblast. The attack also damages the vessel and forces its crew to evacuate. (Firstpost) (Hurriyet Daily News)
Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainian forces launch long-range drone strikes inside Russia, striking the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which also houses the only helium plant in Russia, and also striking two Russian Satellite Communications Company facilities, including one in Moscow Oblast and another in Vladimir Oblast. Russia says its forces have shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight. (AP)
Ukraine launches its largest drone attack on Russia since the start of the war, with over 660 drones launched at multiple regions, including Moscow Oblast, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has approved a "40-day campaign" aimed at "compelling Russia to end the war". (AP)
Ukrainian missiles strike two Russian military airfields and several air defence systems in Crimea. (AP)
A state of emergency is declared in Russian-occupied Crimea in response to an increasing number of airstrikes by Ukrainian forces. (The New York Times)
Prisoners of war in the Russo-Ukrainian war
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, with each side releasing 160 people. (The Guardian)
Myanmar civil war
The United Nations reports that the Tatmadaw's army has killed over 700 Myanmar civilians in six months. (BBC News)
Communal conflicts in Nigeria
Nigerian police report that at least 20 people were killed in an attack on a community in Bokkos, Plateau State, over the weekend. Police and other security agencies engaged the assailants in a shootout before they withdrew from the area. (Reuters)
Mali War
The Radio France Internationale reports that the Malian Army and Russian Africa Corps have killed four civilians in Zahro and Abakoira near the Timbuktu and Gao regions in Mali, arranging one of the bodies in the shape of a swastika. (RFI in French) (Mezha) (AllAfrica in French via RFI)
Mexican drug war
Three gunmen and a National Guard officer are killed in an attempted ambush on the outskirts of Acapulco, Guerrero. (Proceso in Spanish)
Patricia Negrete Tafoya, a madre buscadora, is shot dead upon leaving from work in Pénjamo, Guanajuato, marking the fifth killing of activists in the last four months. (La Jornada in Spanish)
Colombian conflict
Two police officers are killed and four others are others injured after FARC dissidents attack a police post in Calima, Valle del Cauca. (El Tiempo in Spanish)
France–Russia relations
French president Emmanuel Macron announces that the navy intercepted and boarded the Cameroon-flagged, Russia-linked oil tanker Deliver off the coast of Sicily, Italy, two days earlier. (The Moscow Times)