In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump  touched on the ongoing Middle East crisis, the future of U.S.-Israel relations, and the plight of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Trump expressed skepticism about the fate of the approximately 100 hostages still in Hamas custody, signaling doubt about their survival. “I’m not a big believer in the fact that there are too many of them living, sadly,” Trump said. “I hate to say it, I think you have far fewer hostages than people think.” Addressing Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas, Trump stressed the importance of a decisive outcome. “I want [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] to end it, but you have to have a victory,” Trump said.

Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were still at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country’s public sector had come “to a complete and abrupt halt.” Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for friends and relatives who disappeared during Assad’s brutal rule. There were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the rebel alliance now in control of much of the country. The alliance is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and has promised representative government and religious tolerance.

Israeli authorities on Monday indicted three Hamas terrorists captured in the Gaza Strip, marking the first formal charges against Palestinian suspects from the territory since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023. The accused — Mahmoud Qawasme, Ali Hamdallah, and Amar Asaida — were among the 1,027 prisoners released in 2011 as part of a deal to secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. According to a statement from the Israel Police, after their deportation to Gaza, the three men resumed their involvement with Hamas, taking up senior roles in the group’s “West Bank Headquarters.” The indictment alleges that the trio orchestrated over 120 terrorist attacks targeting Israeli security forces and civilians in Yehuda and Shomron.

In a revelation that will surprise exactly no one who’s been paying attention, The New York Times has confirmed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employs Hamas members — a fact Israel has been shouting from the rooftops for years. In what feels more like a reluctant admission than groundbreaking journalism, the Times reported on Saturday that at least 24 staff members in UNRWA schools across Gaza are affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). This comes after Israel handed over a list of 100 alleged terrorists employed by the agency months ago, a list that evidently took the Times this long to validate.

A Ukrainian man who embarked on a perilous journey fleeing his war-torn country into Romania was rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach. More than a dozen rescuers worked in a harsh blizzard to save Vladislav Duda, 28, who was found “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-meter (437-yard) deep ravine in the northern Maramures region last week, according to the region’s mountain rescue service. Duda had fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into his country’s armed forces fighting Russia. “The cat was warm and was warming him … so he saved his life,” Dan Benga, the director of the Maramures mountain rescue service, told The Associated Press.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has signaled his willingness to sidestep the City Council to revise the city’s stringent sanctuary city designation, which has been under fire amidst the ongoing migrant crisis. Speaking on CBS’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer” on Sunday, Adams said his administration is exploring executive powers to address the issue. “The City Council made it clear they don’t want to change that,” Adams said. “They stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders. Do I have the power to do so? I have to protect the people of this city.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Boston parents who claimed a temporary admissions exam policy for the city’s elite high schools discriminated against white students and those of Asian descent. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from their colleagues’ decision to leave in place lower court rulings in favor of the plan, which was used just once during the coronavirus pandemic. A third justice, Neil Gorsuch, said he also was troubled by the policy. The Boston School Committee had temporarily dropped the entrance exam for Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the O’Bryant School of Math and Science because it was not safe to hold exams in-person during the pandemic.

In a dramatic escalation, the Israeli Air Force has carried out over 250 airstrikes in Syria within 48 hours, effectively dismantling the country’s former Navy, Air Force, and chemical weapons facilities. The strikes come amid as U.S. bombers deployed more than 140 satellite-guided bombs against ISIS, with officials from both nations citing the grounding of Russia’s air force as a strategic window of opportunity. Israeli operations have targeted key infrastructure, including three major airports, military and intelligence headquarters, ammunition depots, and chemical weapons production sites. These actions aim to prevent advanced weapons and strategic facilities from falling into hostile hands.

For Iran’s theocratic government, it keeps getting worse. Its decades-long strategy of building an “Axis of Resistance” supporting terror groups and proxies around the region is falling apart. First came the crushing Israeli campaign in Gaza started by Iranian-backed Hamas’ murderous Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. That war spawned another in Lebanon, where Israel has mauled Iran’s most powerful ally, Hezbollah, even as Israel has launched successful airstrikes openly inside of Iran for the first time after Iran twice directly attacked Israel. And now Iran’s longtime stalwart ally and client in Syria, President Bashar Assad, is gone.

Court documents confirm that a Pentagon leak delayed a planned Israeli military operation against Iran, U.S. prosecutors revealed. Lead prosecutor Troy Edwards stated the disclosure forced Israel to postpone a “kinetic action,” fearing its plans were compromised. Asif William Rahman, 34, accused of leaking the classified documents, was ordered released to home detention under electronic monitoring, despite prosecutors presenting incriminating evidence. The Justice Department plans to appeal, citing national security risks due to Rahman’s memory of sensitive information. Rahman, an Ohio native and Yale graduate, was arrested in Cambodia while allegedly trying to delete classified files and secure his devices.