Morning Briefing: Dec. 17, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday with, including US President Donald Trump ordering a blockade of oil tankers on Venezuela, European members of the UN Security Council condemning record violence by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, and a newborn baby freezing to death in the Gaza Strip amid Israel's ongoing aid blockade.

TOP STORIES

• Trump orders blockade on oil tankers to and from Venezuela

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuelan waters.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said on his social media company Truth Social, adding that the blockade would remain until Caracas returned “all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets.”

He accused the government of President Nicolas Maduro of using oil revenues to fund “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping,” and said Venezuelan nationals previously sent to the US were being returned “at a rapid pace.”

• European nations on UN Security Council condemn record violence by illegal Israeli settlers

European members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday cited more than 260 illegal Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in a single month, condemning what they described as record levels of violence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Speaking on behalf of the E5 — Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the UK — British Ambassador James Kariuki said the council would discuss Resolution 2334, which "explicitly condemns settlement activities and calls on Israel to respect its obligations under international law."

He warned that "the government of Israel continues to implement policies which contravene this resolution and contribute to rising instability in the West Bank," adding that this "risks undermining the implementation of the 20-point plan for Gaza and the prospects for a two-state solution, as well as long-term peace and security across the region."

• Newborn baby freezes to death in Gaza Strip amid Israel's aid blockade

A newborn baby died of severe cold in the Gaza Strip amid bad weather conditions in the war-ravaged enclave, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

A ministry statement said two-week-old Muhammad Khalil Abu al-Khair breathed his last on Monday due to hypothermia amid freezing cold.

Khair had been receiving hospital intensive care since Sunday, the ministry said. At least 14 people had lost their lives in a winter storm in Gaza last week.

Israel continues to block the entry of shelter materials, such as tents and mobile homes, reneging on its obligations under a ceasefire agreement that entered into force on Oct. 10.

​​​NEWS IN BRIEF

• The US designated Colombia's largest drug cartel, Clan del Golfo, as a "foreign terrorist organization" and a "specially designated global terrorist," Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday.
• Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that targeting commercial and civilian ships in the Black Sea benefits no one, referring to recent attacks linked to the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Venezuela on Tuesday condemned a US decision to impose a "total blockade" on oil tankers, calling the move a violation of international law.
• The US transferred 22 Cuban migrants to its naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite a federal judge ruling that the administration exceeded its authority in holding migrants at the facility, according to a report on Tuesday.
• Honduran President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday that a coup attempt to overthrow her government was underway and urged the nation to mobilize in defense of democracy, as election results remain unknown two weeks after the poll.
• Israel refused a Canadian delegation’s entry into the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, branding them “public safety threats” despite earlier issuing them travel authorizations.
• Breaking from most UN Security Council members on Tuesday, the US declined to condemn illegal Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank and also opposed briefings on Resolution 2334, which concerns Israel’s growing illegal settlements in the West Bank.
• The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is receiving electricity through a single external power line after a fire damaged infrastructure linking the facility to a nearby thermal plant, according to a statement on its Telegram channel.
• Civil defense teams in western Gaza City retrieved the bodies of 30 victims from the same family on Tuesday, pulling them from the rubble of their home destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in late 2023.
• Arab countries on Tuesday condemned an Israeli decision to legalize 19 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank as a “flagrant violation of international resolutions.”
• Nearly 2,000 civilians were displaced from Sudan’s western city of Heglig in West Kordofan after an arduous nine-day displacement journey following the city’s takeover by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), local media said Tuesday.
• A Muslim Uber driver was targeted in a violent attack last week in Montreal, raising concerns about rising anti-Muslim hatred in Quebec and Canada, according to a statement from the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).
• Japan will begin monitoring greenhouse gas emissions using spectrometers installed on commercial passenger flights, marking a global first as the country steps up efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Nikkei Asia reported Tuesday.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Sudan, South Sudan agree to ease oil trade via free zone

Sudan and South Sudan agreed Tuesday to establish a free zone at Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast to facilitate oil imports and exports and other goods between the two countries.

The agreement was announced in a joint statement following a four-day visit to Sudan by a South Sudanese delegation headed by Presidential Adviser Tut Gatluak Manime.

According to the statement, the two sides agreed to facilitate oil-sector imports and exports, as well as other goods through the establishment of a free zone in Port Sudan in eastern Sudan.

• Israeli energy minister expects gas export deal with Egypt ‘within weeks’

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Thursday he expects Israel and Egypt to sign their new natural gas export agreement “within weeks.”

In an interview with the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Cohen argued that “leaving natural gas in the seabed (of the Mediterranean) contradicts economic logic and Israel’s geopolitical needs,” adding that Israel has enough gas for 30 years of exports and domestic consumption.

He said laws and regulations should facilitate, not hinder, development.