BLACKWATER USA | DAILY BRIEF - Blackwater Worldwide

Posted by BW Actual on Dec 4th 2025

Gaza

Israel announced plans to reopen Gaza's border crossing at Rafah to one-way traffic leaving the strip, (half) fulfilling a condition Israel agreed to in its October ceasefire deal with Hamas.
The reopening was news to Egypt, which would be on the receiving end of one-way traffic leaving Gaza through Rafah, and is ill-equipped to handle the influx of refugees likely to flee Gaza once the border reopens. [Egypt would prefer for the crossing to reopen in the other direction, too, so it can evict Gazans living in Egypt.]
The reopening may be delayed anyway: Rafah has seen a resurgence in fighting over the past week, and Israel is more likely to send reinforcements to root out remaining militants in Rafah than to help facilitate border traffic there.
Meanwhile, Hamas returned the body of a Thai hostage abducted and killed during the Oct. 7 attacks, leaving just one deceased hostage's remains in Gaza: those of Israeli police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who was also killed on Oct. 7, 2023.

Lebanon

The U.S. brokered the first direct diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon in over 40 years yesterday.
The neighboring states have officially been at war since Israel came into being in 1948, and Lebanese officials were cautious to clarify that these talks are only pragmatic conversations about easing current tensions - and not the seeds of normalized diplomatic relations with Israel.
Lebanon's Prime Minister clarified that his country was still "far from" normalizing ties with Israel, and reiterated that normalization would be contingent on Israel's long-term commitment to peace.

Afghanistan

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) released its final report yesterday.
Culminating 17 years of efforts to hold the Pentagon accountable for wasteful spending in Afghanistan, SIGAR used its seething final report to excoriate the U.S. government for spending over $148 billion - of which SIGAR says $26 billion was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse - in a vain effort to rebuild Afghanistan under a former government that SIGAR calls "a white collar criminal enterprise."
I, for one, will miss SIGAR's bold reporting. You can read its final report in full here: https://www.sigar.mil/Reports/Article-Display/Article/4346415/sigar-final-report/.

Ukraine

The European Commission (EC) proposed a new, €165 billion ($193 billion) reparations loan for Ukraine that leverages the cash value of frozen Russian state assets held in Belgium.
Belgium is skeptical of the idea because of concerns that Russia could retaliate and pursue Belgian banks for the funds. Kremlin-friendly Hungary also opposes it - as it often opposes measures supporting Ukraine.
Analysts think Belgian reluctance and Hungarian opposition could force the EC into offering Ukraine a more modest - and far less helpful - package instead. As the NYT writes: "In short, European officials may end up offering Ukraine a financial Band-Aid when they had hoped for a financial bazooka."

Venezuela

Yesterday, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro belatedly confirmed that he spoke with Pres. Trump 10 days prior, calling their call "respectful and cordial" and adding: "If that call means that steps are being taken toward a respectful dialogue between our countries, then dialogue and diplomacy are welcome."
That's consistent with other reports suggesting Maduro is open to talks with the U.S. - though he still seems unwilling to agree to the principal U.S. demand that he step down and leave Venezuela.