February 23, 2025

*Israel strikes several locations along Syrian-Lebanese border The Israeli army has said it carried out air strikes on several locations along the Syria-Lebanon border, alleging the sites were being used for weapons transfers to Hezbollah. The Israeli military further claimed that such smuggling efforts "are a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon." This marks the second time in less than 48 hours that Israel has announced air strikes in the border region. *Trump says US close to minerals deal with Ukraine, wants aid 'money back' President Donald Trump said the United States is close to an agreement with Ukraine on sharing revenue from Ukrainian minerals as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war, saying his intent is to recover the aid Washington has provided. "Europe has given $100 billion. The United States has given $350 billion because we had a stupid, incompetent president and administration," he told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. The president argued that Washington should not bear the burden alone. *DRC's Tshisekedi plans unity government in response to rebels' offensive Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi will launch a unity government, his spokesperson has said, as he faces domestic pressure over his handling of an offensive by M23 rebels in eastern provinces. Since the start of the year, DRC has faced back-to-back losses in North and South Kivu provinces, fuelling criticism of the authorities' military strategy. *Israel may deploy tanks in northern West Bank for 1st time since 2002 The Israeli army may deploy tanks to the northern occupied West Bank for the first time in 23 years, a media outlet has reported. According to Channel 14, citing anonymous sources, the political leadership is "pressuring for the inclusion of tanks” in the ongoing military raids in the northern occupied West Bank. The tanks "could soon participate" in the raids, the sources further indicated. It added that the decision came "after pressure from the political leadership." *Gambian information minister praises strong bilateral ties with Türkiye Gambian Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services Minister Ismaila Ceesay stated that Türkiye has very strong bilateral relations with Gambia. It is important for Gambians to know their friends and to fully understand Turkish culture, traditions, geography, and history, he stated. Ceesay also suggested signing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in capacity building, experience sharing, and news exchange between the two countries.