By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Passenger traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv rose 33% in 2025, the Israel Airports Authority reported on Tuesday, reflecting the return of foreign carriers after many airlines halted flights during the two-year Gaza war.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October gave way to the resumption of flights to Israel by carriers who had not yet resumed routes to Tel Aviv. In December, the number of passengers rose 59%.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Somalia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday condemned a visit by Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Hargeisa, saying it was a violation of Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The ministry said that any official engagement without Somalia's consent was illegal and void and called on international bodies, including the United Nations and the African Union, to support its territorial integrity.

(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Alex Richardson)

NAIROBI/JERUSALEM, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is on a visit to Somaliland in East Africa, where he is due to meet the semi-autonomous region's president later on Tuesday, according to a senior Somaliland official.

A second source briefed on the visit confirmed the foreign minister was in Somaliland, without providing further details. The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond when asked if the foreign minsiter was in Somaliland.

DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - At least 25 people have been killed in Iran during the first nine days of protests that started in the bazaar of Tehran over the plunging value of the currency and soaring inflation, according to rights groups.

The protests have spread to some cities in western and southern Iran but do not match the scale of unrest that swept the nation in 2022-23 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.

JERUSALEM, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Israel has approved an upgrade to fourth-generation (4G) mobile services for Palestinians in the West Bank, the Israeli Communications Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said the two Palestinian mobile operators - Jawwal and Ooredoo - and Swedish infrastructure firm Ericsson signed management agreements that were approved by Israel on Sunday.

DUBAI, Jan 6 - When the United Arab Emirates withdrew its troops from Yemen last week under a deadline from Saudi Arabia, it also left behind the remote Yemeni island of Socotra and the roughly 600 tourists who had flown in but could no longer fly out.

Air traffic at the island's main airport came to a halt as a deepening crisis between the UAE and Saudi Arabia translated into fresh conflict on Yemen's mainland, where the two Gulf powers now back opposing groups in the country's civil war.

BAKU, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan has no intention of sending a contingent of its troops to take part in peacekeeping operations outside its borders, including in Gaza, President Ilham Aliyev said late on Monday.

Aliyev, interviewed by Azeri television channels, said Azerbaijan had been in contact with Donald Trump's U.S. administration with a list of questions about the operation of a peacekeeping force in Gaza.

"We prepared a questionnaire of more than 20 questions and provided it to the American side. No participation in peacekeeping forces is envisaged," Aliyev said.

An emboldened US President Donald Trump has hinted that he has other countries in his sights after toppling Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, leaving the world asking: where's next?

Trump took aim at Colombia, Cuba, Greenland, Mexico and Iran in the space of a single half-hour exchange with reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.

Trump, who openly campaigned for last year's Nobel peace prize and has scorned interventionism, now says he is enforcing Washington's right to do what it pleases in his backyard.

- Greenland -

CAIRO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A delegation led by Yemen's main separatist group STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi will travel to Saudi Arabia, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

The visit would come days after STC welcomed a call for dialogue by Saudi Arabia to end a recent military escalation that has opened a major feud between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

(Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din)

The Israeli military launched strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, after warning it would hit what it called Hezbollah and Hamas targets in four villages.

It was the first such warning issued by the Israeli military this year, as Israel continues to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.