The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad earlier in December has set millions of Yemenis thinking about what lies in store for their own country. Some say the fall of the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen – who control Sanaa and much of northern and western Yemen – may be the “next surprise” in the region.

Israel is celebrating the fall of Assad because it breaks the noose that Iran had been patiently tightening around Israel’s borders in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Tehran’s pincer is now broken and rendered useless. From the point of view of Israel’s wider conflict with the Islamic Republic, the collapse of Assad’s regime is a strategic victory.

Millions of Syrians fled their home country under the Assad regime. As they are contemplating whether to return to Syria, the fall of the regime has led to a new flow of refugees - Assad loyalists from the country's Shiite minority.

Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday that they had fired a ballistic missile at central Israel, with Israeli forces saying they intercepted the attack.

A septuagenarian Israeli woman who was taken hostage during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 0ct. 7, 2023 has died.