Overnight coverage lingered on the Ali Taher demolition, with the IDF releasing details of a four-month operation beyond the Litani, deception tactics, collection of intelligence before detonating 1,100 tons of explosives in 5.4 km of tunnels where some 50 Hezbollah men refused surrender offers. Forces remained on high alert for retaliation over the holidays.
Attention then shifted to Yemen. Outlets reported the Houthis completed control of the Yemeni side of Bab al-Mandab, including Perim Island and Dhubab, with Iranian help, alongside Trump's refusal to join Saudi strike requests and Washington limiting itself to intelligence. Israeli officials called it closure of an Iranian pincer with Hormuz, warning of trade and oil disruption.
Marking 25 years since September 11, Trump tied remembrance to the Iran war. Late in the day Riyadh said it temporarily shut a vital oil pipeline after drone strikes attributed to Iraq.