Summary of the day …
Syria’s defence ministry has announced it has completed military operations to fight remnants of former ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s forces
Hassan Abdul Ghany, Syria’s defence ministry spokesperson, said in a statement on social media that with the end of a military operation against remnants of the, public institutions were now able to resume their work and provide essential services. “We are paving the way for life to return to normal and for the consolidation of security and stability,” Abdul Ghany said
Israel’s mediating team was expected to travel to Qatar on Monday to continue fragile negotiations over the release of remaining hostages held in Gaza and the ceasefire with Hamas
Israel said over the weekend it plans to cut off any remaining electricity supplies to Gaza. In a video announcing the directive, Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister, said that Israel would use “all means available … to ensure the return of all Israeli hostages” and that Hamas would not remain in Gaza after the war. Hamas accused Israel of “cheap and unacceptable blackmail”
A Hamas spokesperson said the group has “softened” its demands “at the request of the mediators and Donald Trump’s envoy”, but said that “Israel’s decision to cut off electricity and talk about resuming the fighting constitute a threat to the hostages”
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that in the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza have received nine more bodies of those killed by Israeli forces. Five of the bodies had been recovered, with four new deaths reported
Israel has announced that the position of official IDF spokesperson will be taken up by BG Effie Defrin, who will replace Rr Adm Daniel Hagari “following an orderly and professional transition”
Police have question a protester who has been repeatedly reading out the names of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas through a loudhailer outside a Knesset member’s home in Tel Aviv
The Greek oil tanker Sounion, which caught fire after being attacked by Yemen’s Houthis in August 2024, has been successfully towed through the Suez canal as part of the recovery process, and is bound for Greece
In Australia, federal police say a caravan with explosives found in Sydney that appeared to be part of a plot to launch an attack on a synagogue was a “fake terrorism plot” and “never going to cause a mass casualty event.”
These pictures from Gaza show Palestinian children attending school in a makeshift classroom.
