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Over 82k Israelis left occupied territories in 2024: Official data

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Airport

The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics said that 82,700 people left the occupied territories in 2024, while 23,800 returned to the occupied territories.

The bureau did not specify the reason for the departure of the Israelis, but previous Israeli media reports attributed it to rocket fire from Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and Yemen.

According to the bureau, Israel’s population reached approximately 10.027 million, including 7.7 million Jews, 2.1 million Arabs, and 216,000 foreigners.

Israel’s population growth dropped by 1.1% in 2024, down from 1.6% a year earlier, it added.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Iranian researcher develops method for rapid diagnosis of Parkinson

By
Golrokh Askarieh
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Parkinson

Fatemeh Zahra Seyedi, a graduate of the Master’s program at Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran, told Fars News Agency that after extensive research, she has designed a sensor for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.

She added that in this method, gold nanoparticles change to purple in the presence of indicators of Parkinson’s disease in the patient’s saliva, while no color change occurs if the individual is healthy.

The Iranian researcher pointed out that until now, Parkinson’s disease has not had an accurate laboratory diagnostic method, adding that this sensor could become an inexpensive and accessible diagnostic tool for doctors in the future.

Seyedi pointed out that early detection of Parkinson’s disease can help prevent its progression and improve the quality of life for patients.

Houthis claim US military drone shot down over Yemen

By
IFP Media Wire
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US MQ-9 drone

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the drone was shot down by a locally made surface-to-air missile and marked the 14th aircraft downed by Houthi air defences since fighting with a US-led coalition and Israel had escalated since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

CENTCOM made no mention of losing a Reaper drone.

With each drone costing approximately $31m, that would mean that the total cost of the downed drones is more than $430m.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched nearly 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, actions they say are in solidarity with Palestinians suffering under Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 45,400 people and wounded at least 107,900 Palestinians.

The Houthis have said they will stop their attacks if Israel’s war on Gaza stops.

Latest Gaza ceasefire negotiations stalled: WSJ

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Hostages

Citing “Arab mediators”, the WSJ said the two sides were considering a 60-day ceasefire during which up to 30 Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip would have been released.

In exchange, Israel was to set Palestinian prisoners free and allow greater humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, the mediators stated.

But the talks have now stalled.

“Mediators said Israel insisted that it receive only living hostages in any exchange and refused to approve the release of some of the Palestinian detainees sought by Hamas,” the WSJ added.

Hamas also demanded the ceasefire be a “path to an end to the war”, it noted.

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump cautioned that the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza must be freed soon.

Speaking briefly to reporters as he attended a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump said, “We’re going to see what happens”, when asked about the possibility of a ceasefire in the besieged enclave.

Regarding the Israeli captives, he added: “I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon.”

Last month, Trump warned in a post on social media that “there will be hell to pay” if the captives held in Gaza were not released by the time he takes office on January 20.

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he wrote.

Hamas has repeatedly expressed its readiness to reach an agreement, even agreeing in May to a proposal by US President Joe Biden, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later rejected by introducing new conditions, including the continuation of military operations.

Critics, including Israeli opposition members and captive families, accuse Netanyahu of stalling negotiations to maintain his position, as far-right ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to withdraw their support for his government if the Gaza war ends.

The situation in Gaza remains dire, with nearly 2 million residents displaced from their homes under conditions of severe food, water, and medicine shortages.

Israel’s blockade of Gaza, now in its 18th year, has turned the territory into what many describe as the world’s largest open-air prison.

Israel also continues to face international scrutiny, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants last month for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the ongoing Gaza offensive.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

2025 New Year’s celebration kicks off in Tehran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The ceremony featured various religious rites, singing hymns, and other traditional activities marking the start of the New Year.

Former Iranian minister urges Expediency Council to re-evaluate FATF with updated information

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

In an interview with Khabar Online, Yahya Al-e Es’haq, former minister of industry, mine and trade, said that the previous Iranian administration lacked the necessary groundwork to finalize the FATF, but the current administration, led by Massoud Pezeshkian, is keen on revisiting the issue, citing statements by the Minister of Economy Abdolnaser Hemmati.

Al-e Es’haq argues that the FATF is an economic measure that, despite its potential drawbacks, could facilitate the economic activities of Iranian traders and remove at least one obstacle in international economic relations.

He also mentioned that the previous administration’s inability to finalize the FATF led to international economic restrictions, even from friendly countries like China.

Al-e Es’haq, the President of the joint Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, believes that a realistic approach to the FATF, considering the current economic realities, could help develop economic relations and reduce obstacles in the economic domain.

The remarks by Al-e Es’haq came after Hemmati, citing the president, announced that the Iranian Leader has agreed that the officials ‘reconsider’ the two sticking points in the FAFT, Palermo and CFT conventions bills in the Expediency Council.

Doctors from around world ask for release of Gaza hospital director

By
IFP Media Wire
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Kamal Adwan hospital

Doctors, medical professionals and regular civilians have taken to social media this week to share their support for Abu Safiya, using the hashtag “FreeDrHussamAbuSafiyeh”, as well as amplifying demands that Israel stop attacking Gaza’s hospitals in its war on the besieged enclave which began in October 2023.

In addition to the trending hashtag, a petition was started on the Change.org platform.

The petition is addressed to US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and calls on “the international community, particularly the United States, to use its influence and authority to force Israel to immediately release Dr Abu Safiya and other medical personnel and patients detained at Kamal Adwan”.

“Healthcare is not a crime. Deliberately attacking hospitals, medical staff, and patients is,” the petition statement reads.

Almost 2,000 people have signed the petition, citing international laws which prohibit deliberate or wilful attacks on medical facilities and personnel, as well as the wounded and sick.

The family of Abu Safiya also appealed to the international community to take action for the the doctor’s release.

Medical professionals shared images online with hand-written messages saying #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya to draw more attention to the cause.

Israeli forces detained Abu Safiya on Friday after storming Kamal Adwan hospital. During Israel’s assault, several departments caught on fire, killing and wounding Palestinian medical workers and patients, according to Munir al-Bursh, director general of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

In the raid, Israeli troops confirmed they killed at least 20 Palestinians.

According to reports on Monday, Abu Safiya is currently being held at Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman prison, where abuse, including torture, killings and rape, is rife, recently released detainees have said.

Bursh stated that Israeli soldiers violently beat Abu Safiya before they arrested him.

Since the news of Abu Safiya being detained at Sde Teiman, many people online have called for accountability and an explanation from the Israeli authorities.

The Kamal Adwan hospital, which was northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital, has now been rendered out of service following continuous Israeli attacks.

Abu Safiya has gained prominence throughout the Israeli war on Gaza through his calls for better healthcare for all Palestinians and his regular updates from the wartorn enclave.

He has also been praised for refusing to neglect patients at Kamal Adwan hospital, even as Israel stormed it and forcibly removed healthcare professionals there.

The last photograph taken of him before he was detained by Israel shows Abu Safiya in his medical garb walking alone towards two Israeli tanks with rubble completely surrounding him. That image has since gone viral.

All remaining medical staff, patients and their relatives were taken out of the hospital at gunpoint on Friday, forced to strip down to their underwear and transferred to an unknown location.

At the time of the raid, there were 350 people in the hospital, including 180 medical workers and 75 wounded people, according to the Gaza-based Government Media Office.

Hundreds of medical personnel had been killed since the start of the war, according to reports.

US sanctions IRGC entity over ‘election interference’

By
IFP Media Wire
-
United States Department of the Treasury

The designation was announced by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday and targeted the IRGC subsidiary, which it identified as the Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC).

A statement on the Treasury’s website claimed the CDPC had planned influence operations since at least 2023 to incite tensions among the US electorate on behalf of the IRGC.

Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations it has interfered in elections in other countries, including in the US.

Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations issued a statement in late August to reject such allegations.

“Such allegations are unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” said the Mission after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and several other American intelligence agencies claimed that Iran had been involved in the hacking of the campaigns of Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

“As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the US presidential election,” added the statement.

Iranian authorities say that Washington’s policy of imposing numerous sanctions on the country is solely aimed at forcing the country into accepting political and military concessions.

Bahrain says continues cooperation with Iran aimed at restoration of diplomatic relations

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Abbas Araghci Bahraini King

The foreign ministry announced in a statement that Bahrain pursues a balanced approach in its foreign policy, on the basis of defending its sovereignty and independence, serving the Persian Gulf kingdom’s national interests, and enhancing its regional and international standing.

The kingdom also adheres to the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and focuses on promoting relations and consolidating cooperation and dialogue through mutual respect and common understanding, the Bahraini foreign ministry said.

It added that Manama, in accordance with the lofty directives of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the continuous follow-up of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, attaches great importance to its diplomatic relations with all countries.

The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that it will continue coordination with its Iranian counterpart in order to establish the necessary legal frameworks to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries, stating that the mutual visits between the two sides have contributed to reaching an agreement on resuming talks aimed at restoring bilateral relations between the two countries.

The ministry also stressed the need to adhere to the basic principles of international relations and good neighborliness, which are essential to maintaining the stability and economic prosperity of the West Asia region.

Bahrain followed Saudi Arabia’s suit and severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016, after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its diplomatic mission in Iran.

Tehran and Riyadh reached an agreement in the Chinese capital city of Beijing in March 2023 to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions.

In October, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and King Hamad of Bahrain met in Manama and discussed relations and the latest developments in the region, most notably the escalation of Israel’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The top Iranian diplomat placed a premium on the need for the regional countries to seriously work for an end to the Israeli barbarism, which included the campaign of genocide in Gaza and the aggression against Lebanon. Araqchi also called for the expansion of Tehran-Manama relations.

For his part, the Bahraini monarch called for an end to wars and aggression in the region. He said Bahrain wants all the people in the region to live with dignity.

King Hamad expressed hope that he would pay a visit to Tehran.

Syria de facto leader holds meeting with Christian clerics

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Syria War

“The leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, meets a delegation from the Christian community in Damascus,” Syria’s General Command said in a statement on Telegram.

The statement included pictures of the meeting with Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican clerics.

Since seizing power, Syria’s new leadership, headed by al-Sharaa, who was previously a member of al-Qaeda, has repeatedly tried to reassure minorities that they will not be harmed, although some isolated incidents have sparked protests.

On December 25, thousands protested in several areas of Syria after a video circulated showing an attack on an Alawite shrine in the country’s north.

A day earlier, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus to protest against the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria.

Before the war erupted in 2011, Syria was home to about one million Christians, according to analyst Fabrice Balanche, who says their number has dwindled to about 300,000.

Earlier, a Syrian official told the AFP news agency that al-Sharaa held “positive” talks with delegates of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday.

The talks were al-Sharaa’s first with SDF commanders since his rebels overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in early December and come as the SDF is locked in fighting with Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria.

The United States-backed SDF spearheaded the military campaign that pushed Daesh fighters from their last territory in Syria in 2019.

But Turkiye, which has long had ties with al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, says that the SDF is led by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a four-decade rebellion against the Turkish state, and is branded a “terrorist” group in Turkiye and the US.

On Sunday, al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya television that the SDF should be integrated into the new national army.

“Weapons must be in the hands of the state alone. Whoever is armed and qualified to join the defence ministry, we will welcome them,” he added.

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