Former defense minister Yoav Gallant met with US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk at the White House, Gallant wrote in a post on X/Twitter on Tuesday. סיימתי כעת פגישה חשובה בבית הלבן, עם ברט מקגרק, שליח נשיא ארה״ב למזרח התיכון.במרכז שיחתנו, עמדה האפשרות הממשית לפריצת דרך בנושא השבת החטופים בזמן הקרוב.הדגשתי בפני שליח הנשיא כי הימים הקרובים יהיו קריטיים עבור השבת החטופים וכי אני רואה במשימה זו חשיבות לאומית וערכית עליונה.… pic.twitter.com/QgTI6jdaBK— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) December 10, 2024"At the center of our discussion was the tangible possibility of a breakthrough on the issue of releasing the hostages in the near future," Gallant wrote.

An Israeli military incursion into southern Syria has reached about 25 km. (16 miles) southwest of the capital, Damascus, two regional security sources and one Syrian security source said on Tuesday.The Syrian security source said Israeli troops reached Qatana, which is 10 km. into Syrian territory east of a demilitarized zone separating Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.The Israeli military declined to comment.

Pope Francis will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the Vatican said in a planning note on Tuesday.Abbas is traveling to Italy this week, where he is expected also to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.Francis and Abbas have met several times. The pope has recently become more vocal in his criticism of Israel's military campaign in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.The pope in October criticized the "shameful inability" of the international community to bring an end to the war.Francis, leader of the global Catholic Church since 2013, has also criticized Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets as going "beyond morality."Abbas and Francis last met at the Vatican in November 2021. On Thursday, the Palestinian leader is expected to have a meeting with Francis at the Vatican's apostolic palace before also meeting with the Catholic Church's top diplomatic officials.

Satellite imagery show that Russian naval ships have left Moscow's base at Tartous on Syria's coast and some have dropped anchor offshore following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.An image taken on December 9 by Planet Labs showed at least three vessels in Russia’s Mediterranean fleet, including two guided missile frigates and an oiler, moored around 13 km northwest of Tartous. The rest of the fleet could not be immediately located in satellite imagery.In Moscow, Russia's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Moscow, which was an ally of the Assad regime for decades, is now scrambling to make a deal with the rebels who captured Syria in order to guarantee the safety of two strategically important military bases.