Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hamas war
  • 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    • The IDF withdraws five brigades, consisting of thousands of soldiers, from the Gaza Strip and says the war will enter a "different mode of operations". (Al Jazeera)
  • At least 27 rockets are fired by Hamas shortly after midnight at cities and towns in central and southern Israel. (Times of Israel) (Ynet)
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • The Republic of Artsakh officially ceases to exist, in accordance with a decree signed by former president Samvel Shahramanyan. (Interfax)
• Six people are killed during an ambush in the Abyei region, an area disputed between Sudan and South Sudan. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Public Domain Day
  • 2024 in American public domain
    • The animated short film Steamboat Willie, the German-language version of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, and other works published in 1928 enter the public domain in the United States. (Mashable)
• The Sheikh Zayed Festival at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates breaks four Guinness World Records for a hour-long fireworks display and drone show during the New Year celebration. (Gulf News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Noto earthquake
  • A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, killing 55 people. A tsunami warning is issued for multiple prefectures along the Sea of Japan. (Reuters)
• One person is killed and 21 others are injured in a fire at a bar in Graz, Austria, that was hosting a New Year's party. (AP)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Ethiopia, Foreign relations of Somaliland
  • Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use 20 km of coastline, including the port of Berbera, in exchange for eventual recognition of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, which would make it the first country to do so. (Reuters)
• Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates formally join the BRICS group as new members. (Tehran Times)
• War in Sudan (2023–present)
  • Former Prime Minister of Sudan Abdallah Hamdok, leader of the pro-civillian Sudanese Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces, meets the leader of the Rapid Support Forces Hemedti in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for peace talks. (All Africa)

Law and crime

• 2023 Israeli judicial reform
  • Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. Knesset
    • The Supreme Court of Israel votes 8–7 to strike down the " reasonableness" bill passed by the Knesset in July. (BBC News) (Times of Israel)
• LGBT rights in Estonia
  • Same-sex marriage in Estonia
    • Estonia becomes the 36th country in the world where same-sex couples can marry. (Postimees)
• Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus and three people that worked at his company Grameen Telecom are sentenced to six months in prison for violating Bangladesh's labor laws. (Al Jazeera)