IDF reports 2 new strikes in Lebanon

A combat officer with the Israeli military was wounded by an improvised explosive device that was detonated near Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Wednesday.

The officer was “lightly injured” after the device was detonated against an IDF vehicle “during operational activity,” the IDF said.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office released a statement saying Hamas continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

“Their ongoing and continuing public refusal to disarm is an ongoing flagrant violation and again today their violent intentions and violations were confirmed by their detonation of an IED that wounded an IDF officer,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

“Israel will respond accordingly,” the statement said.

-ABC News’ Dorit Long

The Israel Defense Forces said it "eliminated" one alleged Hezbollah member in a strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

The IDF said in a post to X that it targeted two alleged Hezbollah operatives in the Yater area of southern Lebanon. The force claimed that the person killed "was involved in attempts to rehabilitate Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area."

Hezbollah later released a statement confirming that one of its members from Yater was killed.

Over the past week, the IDF said that its 91st Division killed four alleged militants in southern Lebanon.

Israel's cabinet approved a proposal for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to a post on X by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the chairman of the far-right Religious Zionist Party.

Israel has established a record 69 new settlements over the last three years, Smotrich said.

"We are blocking the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground. We will continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors," Smotrich added.

Smotrich is one of the country's most vocal proponents of Israeli settlements in both the West Bank and Gaza.

The rate of Israeli West Bank settlement expansion has increased significantly under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's current government, according to United Nations figures.

"All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and related infrastructure have no legal validity and violate international law and U.N. resolutions," said Ramiz Alakbarov -- the U.N. deputy special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process -- earlier this month.

Settlement advancement during 2025 "reached its highest level since U.N. tracking began in 2017," Alakbarov added.

-ABC News' Dorit Long and Somayeh Malekian

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff confirmed that the U.S. met with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in Miami, Florida, to discuss the Gaza peace plan, in which they reviewed implementation plans for phase one and began preparing for phase two.

“The first phase has yielded progress, including expanded humanitarian assistance, the return of hostage bodies, partial force withdrawals, and a reduction in hostilities,” Witkoff wrote on X.

Regarding phase two of the ceasefire plan, Witkoff added that the US emphasized “enabling a governing body in Gaza under a unified Gazan authority to protect civilians and maintain public order.”

Witkoff also confirmed the U.S.’ “support for the near-term establishment and operationalization of the Board of Peace as a transitional administration for the civilian, security, and reconstruction tracks of the reconstruction.” In reviewing the "next steps in the phased implementation" of the plan, Witkoff stressed the importance of working in partnership with local Gazan institutions and international partners.

“We reaffirm our full commitment to the entirety of the President’s 20-point peace plan and call on all parties to uphold their obligations, exercise restraint, and cooperate with monitoring arrangements,” Witkoff said.

Witkoff added that "further consultations” in anticipation of phase two will take place in the "coming weeks." As Mariam noted below, phase two of the peace plan is expected to be announced in the new year.