Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel breaks with U.N. agency critical to Gaza's aid flow Israeli troops to remain in Jenin refugee camp, defence minister says Palestinian militants begin handover of three Israeli hostages in latest stage of ceasefire deal Australia's Albanese defends antisemitism response as Israel urges more action Institute for Liberty and Responsibility’s Asif Efrat: Israel must reject territorial expansion after the war Bloomberg Editorial: Pressure on Iran is needed. So is a strategy Russia seizes another Ukrainian town in push to take all of Donetsk Syrian leader disbands armed groups, cancels constitution Sisi says Egypt will not take part in 'act of injustice' displacing Palestinians German parliament backs resolution on migration with far-right votes Haiti leader says long-awaited general elections penned for November Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protestersIn The News
Israel
President Trump’s Middle East envoy on Wednesday made a rare visit by a U.S. official to the Gaza Strip to oversee the implementation of the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that he helped broker. – Wall Street Journal
Israeli authorities said they would stop working Thursday with the main United Nations agency caring for Palestinian refugees, threatening aid deliveries for Gaza that are a key part of the cease-fire deal. – Wall Street Journal
Israeli troops will remain in the Palestinians’ Jenin refugee camp once the large-scale raid they launched last week is complete, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday as a crackdown in the occupied West Bank extended into a second week. – Reuters
Israel urged Australia to do more to halt an “epidemic of antisemitism” in the country as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was doing all it could to combat attacks that he says include domestic terrorism. – Reuters
Germany’s interior and foreign ministries are in consultations about sending a German contingent to the European Union’s civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, spokespeople in Berlin said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Palestinian militants began handing over three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Thursday in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal. – Reuters
For more than 470 days, Eitan Gonen publicly pleaded with his daughter to stay alive while in Hamas captivity. He didn’t know if she would hear him, but he ended every interview he gave with the same hopeful message: Romi is coming home alive. – Associated Press
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said his government plans to rebuild Gaza with help from the US and Saudi Arabia, a process he said would reshape the Middle East and require the removal of Hamas from power and Israel from the ground. – Bloomberg
A Turkish ship docked at Egypt’s El-Arish on Wednesday, delivering the first aid destined for Gaza through the port since a fragile ceasefire went into effect, a Turkish official and Egyptian sources said. – Agence France-Presse
Hamas officials accused Israel on Wednesday of delaying aid deliveries to Gaza and jeopardizing a truce and hostage release deal, an allegation Israel dismissed as “fake news.” – Agence France Presse
The Israel Air Force struck an armed terrorist cell in Tubas, located in the West Bank, as part of an operation in the area, the IDF announced on Wednesday evening. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: For too long, the Arab world has hidden behind the convenient narrative of Israeli aggression while doing little to improve Palestinian lives. The time for empty slogans is over. If the Palestinian cause truly matters to these governments, then they must prove it with action – not just words. – Jerusalem Post
Asif Efrat writes: This discussion will need to bridge the large gap between the secular public, which mostly prefers to keep Israel within its current borders, and the religious-Zionist and ultra-Orthodox public who hold a broader territorial vision. Israel’s rehabilitation after the war requires us to reject this broader vision and prefer the norm prohibiting territorial conquest. Civilian settlement and military defense must take place within Israel’s borders. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
A growing number of Republicans are alarmed by President Donald Trump’s decision to yank security details from his former national security aides, especially following recent briefings that Iran-backed threats against them are unabated. Their problem now is how to get that message across to Trump. – Politico
The director of the Swedish Institute for International Policy has been linked to a Tehran-directed influence network, according to a Swedish TV investigation relying on emails provided by Iran International. – Iran International
Human rights activists have in recent days expressed concern about the impact of the 90-day pause in foreign aid on Iran-related programs, with some saying the order could help Tehran further restrict its people’s access to information. – Iran International
Editorial: At the same time, the administration should present Iran with enticing alternatives, potentially including economic incentives and sanctions relief, in proportion to the scale and pace of Iran’s concessions. […] If Iran seems unlikely to agree to any deal strong enough to last, US leverage is also greater than it was during Trump’s first term. He shouldn’t wait to use it. – Bloomberg
Brandon J. Weichert writes: Ultimately, however, the Iranians have only received a handful of these planes. That’s nowhere near enough to counteract the kind of firepower that Israel and, possibly, the United States might deploy against them. Iran’s only viable option is not military confrontation, but accommodation with Israel and the United States. It is doubtful, however, that the Islamist regime is capable of such a policy, given its ideological predilections. – National Interest
Russia & Ukraine
Building on their momentum in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have seized control of yet another small town, military experts say, taking another step in their grinding push to conquer the entire Donetsk region. – New York Times
“Our storage facilities are gradually but surely approaching the level of 10% fullness,” said Makogon, who led the Ukrainian state transit operator for more than three years before stepping down in 2022. – Reuters
Ukrainian investigators have opened a criminal case involving Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, a move likely to deepen a standoff in his ministry over arms procurement that could strain Kyiv’s ties with important Western allies. – Reuters
A Russian drone struck a multi-storey apartment building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy early on Thursday, killing four people and injuring nine, including a child, the regional authorities said. – Reuters
Western officials have warned Ukraine that an escalating rift between the defense minister and procurement chief may jeopardize trust in the country and urged the government to resolve the situation quickly so as not to disrupt weapons supplies. – Associated Press
Anastasia Pociumban writes: It is crucial for Moldova to prioritize energy diversification, enhance security, and foster regional cooperation. At the same time, the crisis offers an opportunity for Moldova to reframe its relationship with Transnistria, preparing for future reintegration in a way that is both strategic and sustainable, including a vision on energy policy that includes Transnistria and minimizes Russia’s influence. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Sean Monaghan writes: He also appears more willing—even desperate—to make a deal. If Trump plays his cards right, the deal of the century might be within reach. If desperation leads him to sell out Ukraine and strike any deal for the sake of it, he may end up suffering a catastrophic defeat with lasting consequences for him, Ukraine, and the world. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Syria
Days after rebels routed the Syrian army from a major city in the north, a five-page report landed on the desk of military-intelligence officers in Damascus with an alarming diagnosis. – Wall Street Journal
Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa declared himself president, canceled the constitution and disbanded the national army and all opposition parties and armed groups, including his own, in a step toward transitioning away from the era of Bashar al-Assad. – Wall Street Journal
At least 14 civilians were killed and 29 wounded in attacks by Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria on Monday and Tuesday, the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia group said. – Reuters
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed discussed his country’s financial position and potential sanctions relief in his first meeting with European Union officials on Wednesday since Islamist rebels ousted the Assad regime last year. – Reuters
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will visit Damascus on Thursday, Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported, as Syria’s new interim government begins a political transition after Islamist rebels ousted the Assad regime last year. – Reuters
Syria’s new authorities on Wednesday urged Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian territory it occupied in the Golan Heights after president Bashar Assad’s ousting, during talks with UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, state media reported. – Agence France Presse
Salem Alketbi writes: Trust takes time to build, so they must show their worth through actions rather than words. Many around us have spoken well and raised various banners over the years. Yet few have worked for their countries’ good, and fewer still have avoided the paths that breed anger and create space for terrorism and extremism – with all their known disastrous sequels. – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
An Israeli airstrike killed three Turkish citizens who attempted to cross illegally from Lebanon to Israel, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas leader Muhammad Ismail Darwish in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan’s office said in a statement. – Reuters
Turkey’s monthly inflation rate is expected to rise sharply to 4.35% in January, driven by an annual hike in the minimum wage and various new year price adjustments, while the annual rate is seen slowing further, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. – Reuters
Lebanon
The director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon said on Wednesday that the agency had not been affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s halt to U.S. foreign aid funding or by an Israeli ban on its operations. – Reuters
Five people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said. – Reuters
Editorial: As our friends at the Alma research center, which watches Lebanon, write, America and others must now “exert maximum pressure on the Lebanese government” to exclude Hezbollah, sever ties with Iran, and cut the terror organization’s access to the banking system. The LAF, they add, “is ill-equipped to confront Hezbollah.” Israel is eager to avoid renewal of the Lebanon war. America could help by leaning on Beirut and pressuring Iran. – New York Sun
Philippe Massoud writes: For Lebanon to rise, it needs bold action that restores trust, revives hope, and sets a precedent for future governance. The time for symbolic gestures and empty promises is long past; it is a moment for transformative, new leadership that can realign the country’s trajectory and fulfill the dreams of its people, at home and abroad. – Washington Institute
Middle East & North Africa
A fire aboard the Hong Kong-flagged ASL Bauhinia on Tuesday was not linked to Houthi attacks, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Egypt will not participate in the displacement of Palestinians, an “act of injustice” that would threaten Egyptian security, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Wednesday in his first public response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Cairo to take in residents of the Gaza Strip. – Reuters
Migrants expressed their dismay and sense of betrayal on Wednesday over Italy’s decision last week to release a Libyan policeman wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and human rights abuses and allow him to return home. – Reuters
The European Union on Wednesday promised 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) of financing and investments for Jordan as part of a new “strategic” partnership with the key Middle East ally. – Agence France Presse
Korean Peninsula
The fire spread quickly after starting near the end of the plane’s cabin. But the captain, despite being informed of the escalating danger, did not announce an evacuation order on the intercom. – New York Times
The “complete denuclearization of North Korea” remains a priority for President Donald Trump, a White House official says, as Kim Jong Un renews his pledge to expand the country’s atomic arsenal. – Newsweek
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Jan 29 dispatched officials and set up an emergency response team to investigate the cause of a fire that broke out on an Air Busan flight on the evening of Jan 28. – The Straits Times
China
In technology, many entrepreneurs get only one defining act. Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, is already on his second. – New York Times
The European Commission presented on Wednesday its plans to reverse industrial decline in the bloc and step up efforts to compete with the United States and China in new fields such as AI, to lower energy costs and to cut red tape. – Reuters
On the campaign trail last year, President Donald Trump talked tough about imposing tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods and threatened to renew the trade war with China that he launched during his first term. – Associated Press
Karishma Vaswani writes: The US’s allure over China is that it has always been able to offer a stable, reliable business and policymaking environment, one that could be depended on to follow the rule of law. Under Trump, that’s not so certain anymore. – Bloomberg
South Asia
After years of decline, polio is surging again in this populous South Asian nation, dimming hopes that the viral disease — eradicated nearly everywhere else on Earth — can be stamped out here. – Washington Post
Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede on the most auspicious day of the six-week event. – Reuters
A man who had recently brought his family back to Pakistan from the United States on Wednesday confessed to shooting dead his teenage daughter, motivated by his disapproval of her TikTok content, Pakistani police said. – Reuters
Four years after seizing power in a dawn coup that ousted an elected civilian government, Myanmar’s embattled ruling generals are making their most concerted effort to gain legitimacy – by pushing to hold another election. – Reuters
Ruth Pollard writes: These complicated, fraught and flawed processes matter. They show Afghan women that they have not been forgotten and vindicate their brave, ongoing struggle against the Taliban. They also encourage nations to come together in the defense of human rights — a critical show of solidarity in a world ridden with conflict. – Bloomberg
Asia
Rescuers are racing to save a man swallowed by a massive sinkhole in Japan while driving a truck through an intersection, with a second sinkhole opening up and residents ordered to evacuate amid fears of further collapse. – Washington Post
Japan and the United States are in the final stage of planning for a meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 7, the Asahi newspaper said on Thursday, citing sources from both nations. – Reuters
Taiwan’s government will soon look at whether it needs to help its domestic industry over threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to put tariffs on semiconductors, Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Wednesday. – Reuters
More than 70 Rohingya came ashore in Indonesia’s Aceh province, an official said on Thursday, the latest wave of Rohingyas who often faced rejection from Indonesia’s regional communities. – Reuters
Philippine priests accused of sex abuse remain in active ministry in the Catholic-majority country, a U.S.-based abuse tracking group said on Wednesday, urging the country’s bishops to take action and hold the alleged perpetrators accountable. – Reuters
Three more incidents of antisemitic graffiti were found across Sydney on Thursday morning, leading Australian political leaders to warn of an escalation in hatred and decry as terrorism explosives found earlier in a trailer on the city’s outskirts. – Associated Press
Europe
The European Commission is preparing a stack of measures aimed at making it easier for companies in the bloc to comply with its knot of regulations. The effort, months in the making, has gained new urgency amid the second Trump administration, which has threatened Europe and much of the rest of the world with tariffs for goods manufactured outside the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
Three weeks after a very public rift, the populist British politician Nigel Farage said on Wednesday that his relationship with Elon Musk was “fine” and that the two men had spoken just last week. – New York Times
Germany’s opposition conservatives won parliamentary approval on Wednesday for a proposal to drastically restrict migration with the help of votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo on cooperation with the far-right. – Reuters
Denmark’s sovereignty is an “essential issue” for the EU, the European Council President said in an interview on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to express interest in claiming Greenland for the United States. – Reuters
French budget talks teetered on the brink of collapse on Wednesday, a day after Socialist party officials suspended their participation in protest over remarks about immigration by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, threatening his government’s survival. – Reuters
Serbia’s ruling coalition began talks to form a new government on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned amid protests and President Aleksandar Vucic floated the possibility of a snap election in April. – Reuters
France, Germany and 10 other European Union countries want the European Commission to use its powers under the Digital Services Act to protect the integrity of European elections from foreign interference, a letter signed by the 12 countries showed. – Reuters
German lawmakers approved about €2.5 billion ($2.6 billion) worth of weapons and equipment orders for the armed forces in the last regular parliamentary session before the snap election on Feb. 23. – Bloomberg
Poland is targeting companies importing Russian fertilisers, in a bid to prevent the European Union from developing another dependency on Moscow for a key resource. – Bloomberg
Rosa Prince writes: But it leaves you mired in the politics of managerialism, which proved pretty uninspiring already with Starmer’s most immediate Conservative predecessor, Rishi Sunak. As one backbench Labour MP put it to me recently: “He needs to think more with his heart and less with his head.” – Bloomberg
Africa
Britain has warned Rwanda that its involvement in an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo could jeopardise the over $1 billion of aid it receives every year. – Reuters
A small aircraft carrying oil workers in South Sudan’s Unity State crashed on takeoff from its oilfield airport on Wednesday, killing 20 people, the region’s information minister said. – Reuters
Ghana has signed a memorandum of understanding with its official creditors that formalises a debt restructuring agreed last year, its finance ministry said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who’s been mediating peace talks between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, called for the withdrawal of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels from the city of Goma and for Rwandan troops to leave Congolese territory. – Bloomberg
Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s daughter will face charges related to anti-government riots in the country four years ago in which 354 people died. – Bloomberg
In light of President Trump’s freeze on issuing aid to foreign countries, the former president of Kenya is urging African leaders to quit “crying” and take the 90-day aid pause as a “wakeup call.” – New York Sun
The Americas
Roughly $900 billion in annual trade between Canada and the United States — and with it, traditionally chummy bilateral ties — is on the brink of upheaval, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada as early as this weekend. – Washington Post
Haiti’s transitional council president Leslie Voltaire said in an interview on Wednesday that a date for the Caribbean nation’s long-awaited general elections has been fixed for around Nov. 15 of this year. – Reuters
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that her government will send a letter to Google (GOOGL.O), after the internet giant said it would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico for users of Google Maps in the United States. – Reuters
Brazilian and U.S. officials agreed on Wednesday to discuss regularly how Washington will deport migrants from Brazil, as some leaders in Latin America have balked at what they see as poor treatment of their citizens on repatriation flights. – Reuters
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday she does not believe the United States will impose tariffs on Saturday as President Donald Trump has pledged, but said her administration has its own response plan in place if needed. – Reuters
Germany’s budget committee is expected to approve state guarantees worth up to 4.1 billion euros ($4.27 billion) to help Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems(TKMS) (TKAG.DE), win an order from Argentina for three submarines, two sources in the budget committee told Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
El Salvador’s Congress ratified a constitutional reform Wednesday that will make it easier and faster to make constitutional changes in the future, a change critics say will allow President Nayib Bukele and his party to further consolidate power. – Associated Press
León Krauze writes: It was an imperfect policy, and one that came in for much criticism from human rights activists. But it was reasonably effective and more humane than doing nothing. Unfortunately, implementing such a solution requires some moral imagination — something that feels in short supply in an administration apparently focused on telegraphing toughness at the expense of strategic thinking. – Washington Post
Juan Pablo Spinetto writes: That hyperbole neglects all the crucial work that can be done together, from fighting organized crime to countering malicious activities by US rivals or developing critical minerals. And, of course, taming migration too. It’s up to Latin America to prove Trump wrong. – Bloomberg
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Eric Patterson write: Foreign officials who violate international agreements and traffic human beings must be held accountable for their actions. It is time for nations around the world to tell Cuba that its medical professionals should not be exploited, abused or threatened — and the U.S. should lead the charge. – The Hill
United States
President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the construction of a detention camp with 30,000 beds at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, outlining plans for a site outside U.S. territory where immigrants caught in his expanding deportation campaign could be sent. – Washington Post
U.S. President Donald Trumpsigned an executive order on Wednesday to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests. – Reuters
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cut the duration of deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. as the Trump administration searches for ways to ramp up removals of Venezuelan nationals, she said on Wednesday. – Reuters
An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said. – Reuters
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a virtual meeting with his Japanese counterpart, the department said Wednesday. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The ICC is clearly anti-Israel, but the theory behind its warrants threatens any democracy that must fight against terrorists who hide behind civilians in hospitals, schools and mosques. Why Democrats want to protect the court is a mystery other than perhaps as a bow to the anti-Israel left or simply to deny a legislative victory to Republicans. It’s cynical politics that harms a U.S. ally and American interests. – Wall Street Journal
Cybersecurity
A Chinese social media operation that aims to whip up political anger in the West has called for the overthrow of a foreign government when impersonating protesters criticising flood relief efforts in Spain, online analysis outfit Graphika said. – Reuters
Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to pay $25 million to resolve Donald Trump’s claims that his ban from the company’s social media networks after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol was illegal censorship, a lawyer for the president said. – Bloomberg
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with several other international law enforcement departments, has seized control of several high-profile online platforms linked to cybercrime in a sweeping operation aimed at disrupting digital marketplaces for stolen credentials and hacking tools. – CyberScoop
A cyberattack has forced the government-run South African Weather Service (SAWS) offline, limiting access to a critical service used by the country’s airlines, farmers and allies. – The Record
Defense
Huntsville, Alabama-based Cummings Aerospace is readying its Hellhound for submission to the U.S. Army’s loitering munition competition set to kick off later this year, having recently wrapped up flight tests of its turbo-jet powered, 3D-printed kamikaze drone. – Defense News
In response to multiple audience questions about recent presidential executive orders involving the military, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told a crowd of nearly 200 on Wednesday that he remains focused on preparing the service for future conflict. – Defense News
The United States and Algeria formally pledged to deepen their militaries’ partnerships and pursue possible weapons exchanges and new joint asset deployments, multiple U.S. officials familiar with the deal told DefenseScoop this week. – DefenseScoop