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Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and a former peanut farmer whose vision of a "competent and compassionate" government propelled him into the White House, died on Sunday, the Carter Center confirmed. He was 100.

The news was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday, shortly before The Carter Center, the late president's non-profit organization, made an announcement on X.

"Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," the organization's post read.

Carter's death follows the passing of his wife Rosalynn on Nov. 19, 2023. She died at the age of 96 with her family by her side at the Carter home in Plains, just days after she had been admitted to hospice care.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that no hostage deal had been created yet because Hamas "does not want there to be a deal" in a Sunday weekly government meeting. 

During the meeting, the ministers attending were given a very limited briefing on the hostage deal talks.

"The situation is less optimistic," ministers told The Jerusalem Post.

The new administration's president in Syria, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, conducted an interview with the Saudi Arabia-based Al Arabiya channel on Sunday to address key issues facing the country. Toppling Assad's regime ensured and guaranteed the security of the region, the Gulf, and Syria for the next 50 years, he said, noting that the transition of power is "as smooth as possible." Syria will witness many steps and stages until a new president is elected for Syria. Elections will be held in Syria in four years at most, with a timeline for a constitution expected for three years.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization will be disassembled, al-Sharaa said, which will be announced at an upcoming National Dialogue Conference.

"We hope the incoming Trump Administration will not follow the policy of its predecessor," he told the Saudi channel.

Iran, bracing for a possible re-imposition of incoming US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy, said on Saturday that 2025 would be an important year for its nuclear program.

In 2018, Trump withdrew from a deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015, under which Iran agreed to curb uranium enrichment in return for the relaxation of economic sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters in Beijing that “2025 will be an important year regarding Iran’s nuclear issue.” In the remarks aired by Iran’s state TV, he added that he had discussed the issue in talks with his Chinese counterpart.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had completed an operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital and the surrounding area.

Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces, which last operated against Hamas at Kamal Adwan in October, said the operation was launched because the hospital had “once again become a key stronghold for terrorist organizations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorist operatives.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a key policy-setting meeting of the country's ruling party last week ahead of the new year, state media KCNA reported on Sunday.

The meeting of party and government officials decided that North Korea would launch the "toughest" strategy to counteract the United States for its security and national interests, the report said, without elaborating.

The alliance between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan has expanded to a "nuclear military bloc" and South Korea has become an "anti-communist outpost" for the U.S., the KCNA report added.

"Our problem is not with Israel," Maher Marwan, the new governor of Damascus, told NPR on behalf of new Syrian leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

Following their rapid 11-day takeover of Syria, the leaders of Al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are looking to consolidate their international legitimacy as the 'new Syria.'

In a meeting with NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Marwan said it was "natural" that Israel had concerns about the new Syrian government and that as a result of this "fear," Israel "advanced a little, bombed a little."

Israel's battle against the Iran-backed Houthi terror groups in Yemen may be more difficult than previously thought, an anonymous Israeli official told The Washington Post on Friday. 

An American missile defense system battery that was deployed by the US in Israel in October participated in the interception of a Houthi ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen overnight.

The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, was used to try to intercept a projectile from Yemen sometime during the last 24 hours, and an analysis would determine its success, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

It is the first time that the THAAD system deployed in Israel has been used.

The Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on the western coast of and deep inside Yemen on Thursday evening, including Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, the IDF said.

The targets included the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, in addition to terror infrastructure in the Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports.

“These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the Philadelphi Corridor on Wednesday, reaffirming Israel's determination to maintain security control of the Gaza Strip. Accompanied by the Southern Command chief, Major General Yaron Finkelman, and other commanders, he received an operational and intelligence briefing on the IDF's activities in the region.

"The security control of Gaza will remain in the hands of the IDF, which can act as it sees fit to eliminate threats, prevent tunnel digging, dismantle terrorist infrastructures, and prevent the organization of terrorists seeking to harm the State of Israel or its soldiers," said Katz.

Hamas claimed on Wednesday that "Israel is delaying the negotiations by adding new conditions," prompting a furious response from the Prime Minister's Office, which said, "They are lying again."

The Prime Minister's Office said that "the terrorist organization Hamas is once again lying, going back on understandings that have already been reached, and continues to impose difficulties on the negotiation. Despite this, Israel will continue with uncompromised efforts to bring back all of our captives."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi stated that Israel was ready to strike Iran "at any time" during a Wednesday speech at the 189th IAF Pilots Course Graduation Ceremony.

During his speech, Halevi addressed the various operations that Israel has conducted against threats throughout Israel's multifront war.

Regarding the threats that Israel still faces, he addressed Iran and the entire Middle East.

Mossad chief David Barnea has been pushing Israel’s leadership to concentrate on attacking Iran as a way to stem attacks from the Houthi rebels, according to reports Wednesday, as senior officials hinted that attacks against the Iran-backed Yemeni group were set to escalate in the near future.

The stance reportedly adopted by Barnea contrasts the opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who prefer to keep carrying out strikes against the Houthis themselves rather than against Iran.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, Barnea raised the option during a series of discussions on the lack of results from three earlier rounds of strikes in Yemen. The report stated that the Mossad chief believes it would be more effective to go after Iran, which funds and arms the Shiite rebel group, which has long enjoyed Tehran’s support.

Israel will begin targeting leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, Defense Minister Israel Katz says, vowing that Israel will not allow missile and drone fire on Israel to continue unchecked.

Firing at Houthi leaders would seem to mark an escalation by Israel, which has so far targeted port infrastructure and military sites in a handful of sorties in response to repeated launches of drones and ballistic missiles from Yemen. A missile fired early Tuesday was shot down, but sirens in the Tel Aviv area caused widespread panic and a rush to shelter left one woman seriously injured.

“Just as we took care of Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz says, referring to the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.

In a powerful display of bipartisan cooperation, Robert O'Brien, former White House national security adviser under Trump, and Tom Nides, former US Ambassador to Israel under Biden, published a joint opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal Monday addressing the urgent plight of American hostages in Gaza since the Oct. 7 massacre.

Iran is worried about a direct attack by Israel against its strategic sites in the near future, Israel’s Channel 12 Newsreported on Sunday. 

The Iranians have reached this conclusion due to a series of events, including Israel’s agreement to a ceasefire with the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. Iran’s leadership has interpreted this move as being intended to free up Israel to concentrate on the Islamic Republic directly, according to the report. 

Two other events played into their conclusion: Israel’s elimination of Iranian air defense systems in October, and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

Following the Israeli air force's interception of a drone launched from Yemen that was headed toward Israel on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened the Houthis with a "decisive blow."

The drone was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, the IDF noted, and no sirens were sounded.

This follows recent attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, including firing a ballistic missile that wounded sixteen in Jaffa on Saturday.