Israel

Israel wary of Egypt’s expanding role in Somalia and Horn of Africa TEL AVIV — Israel is watching with growing unease as Egypt deepens its political and security footprint in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa, a volatile corridor that funnels global trade through the Red Sea and toward the Suez Canal. Israeli broadcaster i24 News, citing Israeli security sources, reported that Cairo has intensified its backing for Somalia’s federal government and is closely scrutinizing Israel’s reported move to recognize North Western…

Israel struck targets across Gaza in what it called a response to a “blatant violation” of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as Washington moved to stand up a new “board of peace” to steer the next phase of a fragile plan for the war-battered territory. The Israeli military said it hit “several terrorists, including commanders from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations across the Gaza Strip,” saying the operation answered an incident in western Rafah earlier this week in which “armed terrorists fired at IDF troops.”…

North Western State of Somalia’s president says Israel has recognized the breakaway republic, a move he casts as both a moral reckoning and a strategic recalibration in one of the world’s most contested maritime corridors. In a statement published Thursday, President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi (Cirro) wrote that Israel extended recognition on Dec. 26, framing it as a response to shared history and aligned security interests along the Gulf of Aden. The claim, originating from the president’s account of events, puts fresh…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s abrupt decision to cancel port management and security cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates caps years of friction and crystallizes a new geopolitical split in the Horn of Africa. Triggered by Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia as an independent state — the first by any country — the rupture threatens to reorder alliances, stress Somalia’s fragile federal compact, and unsettle maritime security along one of the world’s most strategic coastlines. The move,…

Egypt has expanded and refocused its military mission in Somalia after Israel recognized the breakaway region of North Western State of Somalia, elevating the protection of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government to a top priority, according to sources briefed on Cairo’s policy. The move underscores Egypt’s fears that Israel’s recognition could give it a foothold in the Horn of Africa—a region Cairo sees as vital to its national security—and enable closer alignment with Ethiopia at a time of fraught disputes over Nile…

North Western State of Somalia’s Irro urges African, Arab states to recognize region after Israel’s move Hargeisa (AX) — North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro on Tuesday called on African and Arab countries to recognize North Western State of Somalia, arguing the region has earned international acceptance and should no longer be overlooked after Israel’s decision to formally recognize it. Speaking at a consultation meeting with former foreign ministers at the presidential palace in…

Israel’s unilateral recognition of North Western State of Somalia as an independent state has jolted the Horn of Africa, triggering swift international pushback and raising fresh concerns about maritime security, legal precedent and regional stability. In Somalia, the move sparked immediate street protests. Abroad, governments across Africa, Europe and the Middle East — joined by the United States — moved quickly to restate Somalia’s territorial integrity. The African Union led with a reaffirmation of Somalia’s unity, a line…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s defense minister accused Israel of planning to forcibly relocate Palestinians to North Western State of Somalia and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse Israel’s surprise recognition of the breakaway region, escalating a diplomatic standoff that has rippled across the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast Saturday, Defense Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi called Israel’s move a “serious violation” of international law and a “direct attack” on…

Somalia’s month-long presidency of the UN Security Council, its first in 54 years, has arrived with an unexpected geopolitical twist: a fight to contain the fallout from Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and the wider regional implications it carries from the Horn of Africa to the Red Sea and Gaza. In its opening days, the council convened an emergency session on Venezuela. But Mogadishu has made clear it intends to use the gavel to rally opposition to Israel’s move and to defend Somalia’s internationally recognized…

Israel’s North Western State of Somalia recognition jolts Somalia’s diplomacy — and tests Africa’s bedrock rule on borders When Israel formally recognized North Western State of Somalia in late December 2025, the move sent a shock wave through Mogadishu and across African diplomatic circles. For Somalia, the decision was more than a breach of protocol: it was a direct challenge to the principle that has underpinned Africa’s post‑colonial stability — that borders cannot be redrawn without the consent of the sovereign state…