The ceasefire in Gaza is broadly holding, despite sporadic clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Gaza militants -- plus deadly IDF strikes. Israeli forces inside the strip have pulled back to the so-called "yellow line."
The ceasefire is still in the first of three proposed phases. The details of the second phase of the agreement are yet to be agreed. The remains of one deceased hostage are still thought to be in Gaza. Israeli raids are also ongoing in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli strikes continue against alleged Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.
IDF claims killing of 2 Hezbollah members in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said on Monday that it killed two alleged Hezbollah members in a Sunday strike in the Jamijama area of southern Lebanon.
The two people targeted “were engaged in restoring military infrastructures of the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” the IDF claimed in a statement posted to X.
Dec 31, 2025, 6:59 AM EST
Foreign ministers from 10 countries urge Israel to allow NGO work
The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. released a joint statement on Wednesday pushing back on Israel's announcement that it will suspend the operations of 37 humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank on Jan. 1.
Displaced children warm by a fire next to a sand sculpture in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Dec. 30, 2025.
Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images
The ministers expressed "serious concerns about the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza which remains catastrophic," warning that forecast winter weather will likely exacerbate the situation there.
The statement urged Israel to "ensure that international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza in a sustained and predictable way," warning that their deregistration as of Jan. 1 "could result in the forced closure" of NGO operations "within 60 days in Gaza and the West Bank. This would have a severe impact on access to essential services including healthcare."
The ministers called on Israel to "ensure the U.N. and its partners can continue their vital work. This is essential to ensure the impartial, neutral, and independent delivery of aid throughout the whole of Gaza. This includes UNRWA, which provides essential services, such as healthcare and education, to millions of Palestinian refugees."
The statement said Israel should "lift unreasonable restrictions on imports considered to have a dual use," such as medical and shelter equipment, plus "open crossings and boost the flows of humanitarian aid into Gaza."
Israel announced the suspensions on Tuesday, saying some aid organizations failed to comply with new registration rules. COGAT, the Israeli agency tasked with coordinating aid into Gaza and other areas, said on Wednesday that the new registration system is intended "to ensure aid does not fall into the wrong hands, not to control NGO workers or organizations."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the joint statement was "false but unsurprising."
"It reflects a recurring pattern of detached criticism and one-sided demands on Israel, while deliberately ignoring the essential requirement of disarming Hamas -- a prerequisite for the security of Israel and the region," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Palestinian NGO Network released a statement criticizing the Israeli move as "dangerous" and posing "a direct threat to life in the Gaza Strip."
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Somayeh Malekian, Nasser Atta, Diaa Ostaz and Anna Burd
Dec 29, 2025, 6:32 PM EST
Trump says it will be 'horrible' for Hamas if it fails to disarm
While hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, President Donald Trump said Hamas must disarm for the next phase of the Gaza peace plan to begin.
If they don't, Trump said it would be "horrible for them" and there would be "hell to pay." The president added that other countries that wanted the ceasefire deal to be made "will go and wipe them out" should Hamas not disarm.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference after meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., December 29, 2025.