Greece, Israel, and Cyprus will step up joint air and naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean in 2026, deepening their defense cooperation, Greek military officials and a senior source said on Monday.

The three eastern Mediterranean nations have drawn closer over the past decade through joint military drills, defense procurement, and energy cooperation, developments closely watched by regional rival Turkey.

Greece’s armed forces general staff (GEETHA) said senior military officials from the three countries signed a joint action plan for defense cooperation last week in Cyprus. It gave no further details.

The deal follows a meeting in Jerusalem between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at which they signed a deal to strengthen maritime security cooperation and advance energy interconnection projects.

A senior Greek official familiar with the matter said the military deal would encompass joint naval and air exercises and the transfer of know-how from Israel to Greece and Cyprus to address both “asymmetrical” and “symmetrical” threats.

“Greece and Israel will intensify joint exercises after the ceasefire in Gaza, with Cyprus participating,” the official said, adding that Greece plans to join Israel’s Noble Dina naval exercise in the coming months in the eastern Mediterranean.

There was no immediate comment from the Cypriot government, but a key opposition party, the Communist AKEL, expressed misgivings. “Mr. Christodoulides proceeds to deepen military-political cooperation with Israel without considering the risks and consequences of this choice,” it said in a statement.

Greece and Cyprus have already purchased missile systems from Israel worth billions of euros. Athens is also in talks to buy from Israel medium- and long-range anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile systems for a planned multi-layer air and drone defense system known as the “Achilles Shield,” estimated to cost about 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion).

This month, the Greek parliament approved the purchase of 36 PULS rocket artillery systems from Israel to bolster defenses along Greece’s northeastern border with Turkey and on Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

The city of Sydney, Australia, changed plans on Monday for its New Year’s Eve celebration to include a projection of a menorah on Harbour Bridge in honor of the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack during Hanukkah, following pressure by Jewish-Australian cultural figures.

Sydney Mayor Clover Moore announced last week initial plans to have the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons illuminated in white with an image of a dove with the word “peace” shortly before 9 pm on New Year’s Eve this Wednesday. The bridge would then, according to the plans, be illuminated again at 11 pm “in a warm light,” and a moment of silence would be held on the ground and during the New Year’s Eve broadcast on the network ABC. Crowds were invited to switch on their phone lights in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community.

The gesture was meant to “show the Jewish community that we stand with them, and that we reject violence, fear and antisemitism,” said Moore. “These moments will provide an opportunity for people to show respect, to reflect on the atrocity, and to say we will not let this hateful act of terror divide us.”

However, plans were changed to include a projection of a menorah on the bridge after more than 30 Jewish-Australian cultural figures published an open letter on Monday that urged Moore to project a more “Jewish-specific symbol” to commemorate the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting on Dec. 14, the first night of Hanukkah. They asked “that the particularism of the victims be acknowledged rather than erased,” according to ABC, which obtained a copy of the open letter.

“We believe this dignity would be afforded to the victims of any other terrorist attack that targeted a specific community. Only when we clearly name the problem of anti-Jewish hatred in Australia can we hope to overcome it,” the letter stated in part. “The selection of this word [peace], coupled with the dove, without any specific reference to the targeting of the Jewish community, prolongs our erasure and obfuscates the problem of domestic antisemitism. We acknowledge the City of Sydney’s plan as a gesture of remembrance, and agree with the need for such a gesture; however, we consider the imagery and word chosen to be insufficient as they do not acknowledge the Jewish particularity of the Bondi massacre.”

Signatories of the open letter included Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, ARIA award winner Deborah Conway, Archibald Prize winner Yvette Coppersmith, and members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The group members also claimed their warnings about antisemitism had been overlooked by “generic calls for peace” during the last two years.

After publication of the open letter, Moore said the Harbour Bridge will project a menorah at 11 pm on New Year’s Eve, ABC reported. The co-creator of the open letter, producer and director Danny Ben-Moshe, applauded the move in a Facebook post on Monday.

US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday for talks on breaking a deadlock over the Gaza ceasefire and addressing Israeli concerns about Iran and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

Speaking to reporters as the two leaders entered Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago beach club in Florida, Trump struck a decidedly supportive tone with Netanyahu.

Trump said he wanted to move to the second phase of the October ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas as soon as possible, but that “there has to be a disarming of Hamas.”

He added that he would be open to supporting another rapid Israeli attack on Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, if that country keeps developing its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

“I feel that if you had the wrong prime minister, Israel would not exist,” Trump told reporters, in remarks full of praise for the Israeli leader.

He said Israeli President Isaac Herzog had told him he planned to pardon Netanyahu of corruption-related charges. He added that he hoped Israel could get along with Syria, despite the presence of Israeli forces in the southern part of the country since former strongman Bashar al-Assad was deposed late last year.

While Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire deal in October, alleged violations have been frequent, and little apparent progress has been made on longer-term goals.

Netanyahu said this month that Trump had invited him for talks, as Washington pushes to establish transitional governance and an international security force for the Palestinian enclave against Israeli reluctance to move forward.

While Washington has brokered three ceasefires involving its longtime ally – between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, and Israel and Lebanon – Netanyahu is wary of Israel’s foes rebuilding their forces after they were considerably weakened in the war.

NEXT STEPS IN GAZA CEASEFIRE PLAN 

Israel and Hamas agreed in October to Trump‘s plan to end the Gaza war, which ultimately sees Israel withdrawing from the territory and Hamas giving up its weapons and forgoing a governing role.

The first phase of the ceasefire included a partial Israeli withdrawal, an increase of aid, and the exchange of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

An Israeli official in Netanyahu‘s circle said that the prime minister would demand that the first phase of the ceasefire be completed by Hamas returning the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza, before moving ahead to the next stages.

The family of the deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, has joined the prime minister’s visiting entourage and is expected to meet officials from Trump‘s administration.

Israel has yet to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, also a condition of Trump‘s plan, saying it will only do so once Gvili’s remains are returned.

Chuck Freilich, a political scientist at Tel Aviv University, said that with an election due in October, Netanyahu was in a tight spot.

“He doesn’t want a clash with Trump in an election year,” Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, said. “[Trump] wants to go forward, and Bibi [Netanyahu] is going to have to make some compromises there.”

TENUOUS TRUCE

Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu‘s office said he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

Rubio said last week that Washington wants the transitional administration envisioned in Trump‘s plan – a Board of Peace and a body made up of Palestinian technocrats – to be in place soon to govern Gaza, ahead of the deployment of the international security force that was mandated by a Nov. 17 UN Security Council resolution.

But Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the deal and look no closer to accepting the much more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase.

Hamas, which has refused to disarm, has been reasserting its control as Israeli troops remain entrenched in about half the territory.

Israel has indicated that if Hamas is not disarmed peacefully, it will resume military action to make it do so.

While the fighting has abated, it has not stopped entirely. Although the ceasefire officially began in October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians — according to Hamas-controlled Gaza health officials — and Palestinian terrorists have killed three Israeli soldiers.

LEBANON CEASEFIRE ALSO TESTED

In Lebanon, a US-backed ceasefire in November 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the powerful Iran-backed Shiite group, beginning in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

While Lebanon has said it is close to completing the mission within the year-end deadline of disarming Hezbollah, the group has resisted calls to lay down its weapons.

Israel says progress is partial and slow and has been carrying out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, which it says are meant to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding.

Iran, which fought a 12-day war with Israel in June, said last week that it had conducted missile exercises for the second time this month.

Netanyahu said last week that Israel was not seeking a confrontation with Iran, but was aware of the reports, and said he would raise Tehran’s activities with Trump.

The Israeli official said Netanyahu was expected to present intelligence on Iranian efforts to build up its arms.

The official did not elaborate on any Israeli demands or actions regarding Iran.

Trump in June ordered US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites but has since then broached a potential deal with Tehran.