Palestinian Islamic Jihad issued a statement detailing its activities in the West Bank in recent days. The release follows an increase in the terror group’s activity in the territory over the past few months, including the deaths of nine of its members in separate incidents involving the IDF in November.
Israel continues to await the return of the remains of two hostages, a month and a half after a ceasefire began in Gaza. On December 2, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) received “findings” that Hamas had handed over to the Red Cross; Israeli authorities have not yet confirmed receiving the remains of a hostage. Separately, the IDF says it has eliminated suspected terrorists in daily incidents in Gaza, and Qatar urged the ceasefire to move to a new stage.
On November 29, members of Suwayda’s National Guard, a militia affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al Hijri, carried out a series of arrests against political opponents in Syria’s predominantly Druze Suwayda province.
In 2020, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Al Mustafa International University, followed by Canada’s Foreign Ministry designating the organization in 2022. Ostensibly an international Islamic school, Al Mustafa is a front for Iranian terrorism and propaganda with a proven track record of involvement in terror plots, including a recent IRGC scheme to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico.
Israel continued military operations in Lebanon between November 24 and November 30, 2025. Israeli activities were less intense than usual last week and, irregularly, resulted in zero casualties.
US President Donald Trump has imposed unprecedented military pressure on Venezuela during his second term, including kinetic strikes on alleged drug speedboats. However, this largest buildup of American military power in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 didn’t happen in a vacuum. The US has applied various forms of pressure to counter the authoritarian turn of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro since he took power in 2013.
On November 27, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an operation in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn to arrest operatives linked to the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood.
A November 26 drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq has led to power outages. The attack has been condemned by the US, UN, Turkey, Iran, and local Iraqi officials. Kurdistan Regional Government officials have called for increased protection of the facility, which has been targeted a dozen times in the last several years. Iranian-backed militias using kamikaze drones have been blamed for past attacks, and officials in Baghdad and Erbil vowed to investigate.
Palestinian terrorists violated the ceasefire 14 times between November 22 and 26, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reports. Among these incidents were an attacker using a humanitarian aid route to shoot at Israeli troops and at least three instances of terrorists emerging from tunnels in Rafah on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line. Palestinian Islamic Jihad also returned the body of a hostage after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of violating the ceasefire by delaying the transfer.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported on November 26 that Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been “increasingly strengthening its military wing in Syria in recent weeks,” particularly around Palestinian refugee camps in Damascus.
Israel assassinated Hezbollah’s newest chief of staff, Haitham Ali Tabatabai, on Sunday, September 23, 2025. His likeliest successors are Mohammad Haydar and Talal Hamiyeh.
On November 25, Hamas transferred the body of Dror Or, an Israeli hostage whose body had been held in Gaza for more than two years. Israeli troops continued to clash with Hamas terrorist cells in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as the Israeli military continues reporting ceasefire violations along its Yellow Line of control. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ended its work in the territory, noting that it had distributed 187 million meals since May.
Israel continued military operations in Lebanon between November 17 and November 23, 2025. These activities involved targeted assassinations of Hezbollah operatives involved in the group’s regeneration efforts and strikes on its assets. The week witnessed a significant escalation by Israel against Hezbollah, including the targeted assassination of its chief of staff, Haitham Ali Tabatabai, for his ongoing oversight of the group’s regeneration efforts.
The Rewards for Justice program also offered a $5 million bounty for the deputy emir of AQIS. The two AQIS leaders are veterans of the jihad in South and Central Asia and have been instrumental in establishing Al Qaeda’s infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Ceasefire on paper. Chaos on the ground. Trump’s 20-point plan promises “peace” in Gaza — but Hamas is already violating the ceasefire, gaming hostage returns, killing rivals, and rearming in tunnels. Bill Roggio is joined by his FDD colleagues Samuel Ben-Ur and Aaron Goren to discuss why disarming Hamas is a fantasy, why an international force risks becoming UNIFIL 2.0, and why Israel may be forced to finish the war.
The US-backed Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel primarily coordinates humanitarian aid entering Gaza and monitors the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. A visit by FDD’s Long War Journal to the site on November 20 showed that US Central Command (CENTCOM) has committed significant resources to this effort, which now involves nearly 50 countries and organizations.
An Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed senior Hezbollah figure Haytham Ali Tabatabai, along with four other members of the group. The strike is the most high-profile action taken against Hezbollah since the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel began last November.
A Palestinian police officer, identified as Younis Ishtayeh, shot and wounded an Israeli soldier in the West Bank on Thursday, and Israeli counterterrorism forces killed the shooter the next day. The incident adds to growing signs of rising violence in the West Bank following months of general calm.
On November 19, the Syrian Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled near Maadan, Syria. While the two factions have not entered into full-blown conflict, tensions between them are rising as the end-of-year deadline for an integration agreement signed in March 2025 approaches.
As phase one of the ceasefire in Gaza continued to bend but not break, Israel reported that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations continue to violate the terms. Notably, another shooting attack on Israeli troops this week led to retaliatory airstrikes across the enclave. Separately, the situation surrounding 200 holed-up Hamas operatives in Rafah remains unresolved.
On November 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a buffer zone in southern Syria that is controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The zone, which the IDF took over after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024, has been a source of tension between Israel and Syria. Netanyahu led a large Israeli delegation, including government ministers and commanders, to the area and said Israel’s presence there is of “immense importance.” Syrian officials condemned the visit as reports emerged of security talks between Israel and Syria hitting a “dead end.”
Hamas rejected UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which endorses US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, immediately after its passage. The resolution also called for the establishment of the Board of Peace that would temporarily govern Gaza and oversee the creation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF). Continued challenges to the establishment of an ISF and Hamas’s rejection of the resolution and refusal to disarm place the future of the peace plan in question.
Israel continued military operations in Lebanon between November 10 and November 16, 2025. These activities included targeted assassinations of Hezbollah operatives involved in the group’s regeneration efforts and strikes on its assets.
North Korea will soon provide thousands of workers to help Russia produce Shahed-type kamikaze drones, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. If true, the additional trained labor will increase both Russia and North Korea’s drone-manufacturing capabilities while providing significant revenue to Pyongyang.
The Israeli military continues to eliminate Hamas tunnels in the 50 percent of Gaza still under its control after the ceasefire deal signed in Egypt in early October. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir traveled to the territory to meet with troops on November 16 and said, “We will persist in the mission of dismantling Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.” He also stated that the army had to be prepared to transition back to fighting if necessary.
The recent arrest of four East Jerusalem residents for their ties to the Islamic State reflects a rise in terrorism cases linked to the jihadist group in the West Bank and Israel. Israeli authorities have noted the trend and point to online radicalization as a factor in this emerging pattern.
Iraq is embarking on a likely months-long process of government formation after its national election. Sunni and Kurdish leaders will be elected to serve as speaker of the Council of Representatives and president of Iraq, respectively, in accordance with Iraq’s traditional sectarian power-sharing arrangements. The office of the prime minister, who is the head of government, goes to a Shiite leader and will be determined by negotiations within and between the major parties and alliances that emerge post-election.
According to the IDF, Palestinian terrorists have violated the Gaza ceasefire on at least six occasions since November 7. The incidents over the past week have been nearly identical, with terrorist operatives testing the boundaries of the “Yellow Line” marking Israeli-controlled territory almost daily. These issues have been compounded by 200 Hamas members trapped in tunnels under Rafah in Israeli-controlled territory.
On November 11, Iraqis voted in the country’s sixth parliamentary election since 2006. More than 30 million people were eligible to vote, and estimates say turnout was around 55 percent. There were 329 seats up for election, with Iraqi parties divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. On the eve of the election, US officials met with their Iraqi counterparts to discuss future security cooperation. Meanwhile, Iran is closely monitoring the election results as pro-Iranian parties and militias seek to secure seats in parliament.
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) launched suicide operations outside of a courthouse in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and at a military cadet college in South Waziristan. Pakistan continues to blame Fitna al Khwarij, an India-supported terror group that does not exist, for attacks that the TTP is carrying out.