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The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they happened.
Biden says doesn’t know ‘for fact’ that no hostages being held in Hamas tunnels
US President Joe Biden speaks during a joint press conference with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House in Washington, on December 12, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
US President Joe Biden is asked about reports that Israel has begun pumping seawater into Hamas tunnels in Gaza.
“With regard to the flooding of the tunnels… There (are) assertions being made that there [are] no hostages in any of these tunnels, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Biden says in response to a question on the matter during a press conference at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.
“I do know that, though, every civilian death is an absolute tragedy, and Israel has stated its intent to match its words with actions,” the American president adds.
White House ‘urgently’ pressing Israel to reopen Gaza crossing for aid deliveries
Illustrative: A fuel truck enters the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, in Rafah in the southern Palestinian enclave, following a truce, on August 8, 2022. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
The Biden administration doubles down on its request that Israel reopen the Kerem Shalom Crossing so that more aid can be delivered into Gaza.
Israel did agree to begin conducting inspections of aid trucks at Kerem Shalom yesterday, but a White House National Security Council spokesperson tells The Times of Israel that this step is insufficient on its own.
“We have made this request for quite some time now, the spokesperson says, noting that US President Joe Biden raised the request during his call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.
“The Israeli government’s answer has been that they can build the capacity of Rafah to get enough humanitarian assistance in, but [we] have definitively reached the conclusion that that is not the case,” the NSC spokesperson says.
“It is a question we are making with a level of urgency and immediacy now, that we would hope for a response from the Israeli government on soon,” the spokesperson adds. “Kerem Shalom should be open indefinitely, but at the least it should be open for as long as there is the humanitarian need.”
Discussing the matter earlier this week, Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility that he would heed the US request, acknowledging that Israel’s international bandwidth to prosecute the war against Hamas is greater when it allows more aid into Gaza.
In the early days of the war, Netanyahu took a different approach, asserting that no aid would be allowed into Gaza, as long as the hostages remain there.
But after a two-week siege and mounting international pressure, Israel agreed to allow aid to come in through Egypt’s Rafah crossing.
It later agreed to allow fuel in as well, with Netanyahu arguing that Israel would have to stop fighting if disease began to spread in the Strip.
However, Kerem Shalom has remained closed since the war’s outbreak, as Jerusalem has sought to “disconnect” from Gaza more directly.
Israel has argued in recent days that it has the capabilities in place to allow in more aid and that the bottleneck is due to Egypt and UN, but the NSC spokesperson appears to reject that argument.
PA envoy hails ‘historic’ UN General Assembly vote for Gaza ceasefire
Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, flanked by representatives of Arab countries, speaks to the press after a UN Security Council meeting on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York on December 8, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the United Nations says the overwhelming vote in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, in which 153 countries backed a downing of arms, marks a “historic day.”
“Today was a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly. And it is our collective duty to continue in this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people,” says the PA Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour.
IDF says aircraft and tanks struck sites in Lebanon, Syria after rocket attacks on north
The IDF says aircraft and tanks completed a series of strikes in southern Lebanon and Syria in response to rocket attacks on northern Israel earlier.
In Syria, the IDF says it hit Syrian Army infrastructure, including an observation post, and in Lebanon, it says it hit a Hezbollah rocket launcher.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon today. Meanwhile three rockets were also fired from Syria, apparently by an Iran-backed group.
כלי טיס וטנקים של צה"ל תקפו לפני זמן קצר מספר תשתיות צבאיות ועמדה צבאית של צבא סוריה בשטח סוריה.
בנוסף מטוס קרב של חיל האוויר תקף לפני זמן קצר תשתית צבאית וכוחות צה"ל תקפו עמדת משגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון pic.twitter.com/Z2UjxBn3xB
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 12, 2023
UAE: ‘Viable two-state solution plan’ needed before we commit to rebuilding Gaza
Israeli troops stand near a crater caused by an airstrike, as smoke rises from Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
The United Arab Emirates will condition its financial and political support for the reconstruction of Gaza after the war on the advancement of a US-backed initiative toward a two-state solution.
“The message is going to be very clear: We need to see a viable two-state solution plan, a road map that is serious before we talk about the next day and rebuilding the infrastructure of Gaza,” UAE Ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh tells The Wall Street Journal.
The remarks fly in the face of those made yesterday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told a top Knesset panel that the UAE and Saudi Arabia would finance Gaza’s reconstruction, even as he continues to reject a return of the PA to Gaza as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Nusseibeh says: “The road map is: the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority and a grouping of countries that have leverage on the both of them sitting around the table and saying, ‘That’s the endgame we’re going to work to. The work starts here. This is the timeline, and it starts now.'”
The Emirati envoy says Egypt, Jordan and several other Muslim-majority countries should also be part of the effort.
Without a road map to a two-state solution, “we’re not going to be as fully invested in the rebuild, and with Israel it will also have an effect. That’s not the trajectory we signed the Abraham Accords on,” Nusseibeh adds.
UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes non-binding resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire
IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo released for publication on December 10, 2023. (IDF)
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza — a call the paralyzed Security Council has so far failed to make.
The body, which includes all 193 UN member nations, votes 153 in favor of the resolution, exceeding the 140 or so countries that have routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, vote against, while 23 abstain.
The US vetoed a similar resolution in the UN Security Council last week.
Poland’s pro-EU gov’t wins confidence vote in parliament, set to be sworn in tomorrow
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addresses supporters at his party headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, October 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Poland’s pro-EU government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk wins a confidence vote in parliament, marking an end to eight years of rule by the conservative populists.
Tusk’s government is approved with 248 votes for and 201 against in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, and is expected to be sworn in by the Polish president during a ceremony tomorrow.
Hamas official: Biden understands that IDF’s operation in Gaza ‘is a crazy act’
IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo released for publication on December 10, 2023. (IDF)
A senior Hamas official in Beirut responds to criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza from US President Joe Biden, saying that “the resistance and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people have made Biden understand that the Israeli military operation is a crazy act.”
“The repercussions [of the war] will be catastrophic on the entity [Israel] and on the results of elections in which Biden might lose his seat in the White House,” Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, says during a news conference.
Iceland musicians call on country to boycott Eurovision if Israel not barred from competing
Iceland's Hatari holds up Palestinian flags during Eurovision in Tel Aviv, May 19, 2019. (YouTube screenshot)
An association of musicians in Iceland is calling for the country not to participate in next year’s Eurovision competition unless Israel is barred from competing.
The Association of Composers and Lyricists says it sent a message to Iceland’s public broadcaster saying it should not compete if Israel is not banned, similar to how “Russia was in the last contest.”
The organization says it feels “a duty to take a stand against war and the murder of civilians and innocent children.”
When Israel hosted the Eurovision in 2019, the Iceland entry, Hatari, infamously flashed a Palestinian flag during the live show, against the competition rules, garnering the nation a sanction from the hosts.
The European Broadcasting Union, which puts on the show each year, has said that Israel will be participating in the 2024 competition, despite calls for it to be barred. Israeli contestant Noa Kirel came in third at the 2023 show in Liverpool, UK.
Biden tells Zelensky no US aid to Ukraine would be ‘Christmas gift’ for Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) speaks to the press as he meets with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2023. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
US President Joe Biden tells visiting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that it would be a “Christmas gift” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin if Congress fails to pass fresh military aid for Kyiv.
Speaking in the Oval Office at the White House, Biden says to Zelensky that “we are going to stand at your side” even as Republicans block a new $60 billion package of assistance for war-torn Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president tells Biden that Ukraine’s troops “prove every day that Ukraine can win.”
US defense secretary to visit Bahrain, Qatar, Israel next week
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in Tel Aviv, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photos/Lolita Baldor)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Israel next week as the Biden administration maintains a near-weekly shuttle of top officials visiting the region to coordinate with Israel in its war against Hamas.
Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryder says in a briefing that Austin will use next week’s visits to Bahrain, Qatar and Israel to advance the Pentagon’s objectives in the war — protecting US forces in the region, supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, securing the release of hostages and ensuring that the crisis doesn’t escalate into a broader regional conflict.
Austin’s trip will come days after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Israel. Last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon was in town and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel the week before that.
This will be Austin’s second trip to Israel since the outbreak of the war.
After Biden critique, IDF spokesman says Israel knows ‘how to explain how we operate’
IDF soldiers seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on December 12, 2023. (IDF)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Israel will be able to explain to the US its operations in the Gaza Strip, and that the military continues to operate in a way where it can distinguish Hamas operatives from civilians.
“We maintain close relations with the United States. We conduct near-daily conversations with the commander of US Central Command, as well as with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff,” Hagari says in response to a question regarding remarks by US President Joe Biden, who said Israel is losing global support due to its “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
Hagari says it is “always right to show them and explain the facts,” when incidents that cause concern occur.
“We know how to explain exactly how we operate, in a precise and intelligence-based manner. We operate to maintain the security of our forces, but we know how to act against the centers of gravity of Hamas,” Hagari says.
“We operate in such a manner that does our best to separate the civilians who are not involved in terror from the terror,” he continues. “The IDF has been doing this since the beginning of the fighting and certainly now in the last days. We will know how to show and present it, certainly to our ally,” Hagari adds.
Report: IDF has begun pumping seawater into Hamas tunnels in Gaza
A Hamas tunnel discovered by IDF troops in northern Gaza's Salatin, close to Jabaliya, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
The IDF has started pumping seawater into Hamas’s underground tunnel system in Gaza, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing “US officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations.”
IDF chief Herzi Halevi said last week that flooding the tunnels is “a good idea, but I won’t comment on its specifics.”
The military has refused to comment on details of its operations to destroy the tunnel infrastructure.
According to the report, the flooding of the Hamas tunnels began sometime last month.
Environmental experts have warned that the move will have long-lasting effects on the groundwater in the Strip.
PMs of Canada, Australia, New Zealand back ‘efforts’ toward Gaza ceasefire in joint statement
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 12, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, they say in a joint statement.
“We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians,” they say in the statement.
They also call for “the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages” and say that while “defending itself, Israel must respect international humanitarian law.”
The statement says they want to see the temporary truce “resumed and support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and lay down its arms.”
“There is no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza,” they add.
Egypt sends 80 trucks of aid to reopened Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection
Trucks with humanitarian aid wait to enter the Palestinian side of Rafah on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip on December 11, 2023. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)
Egypt sent an aid convoy of 80 trucks today to the reopened Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into war-torn Gaza for inspection, according to humanitarian sources in Egypt.
Another 100 trucks were sent to the Nitzana border post, which has been processing all international aid from Egypt’s Rafah border crossing before it is allowed into Gaza.
No new direct crossings will be opened, Israel said earlier today, but the Kerem Shalom crossing would be used to check trucks before sending them in through Rafah.
This morning, the first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom and is now en route to the Rafah Crossing. This crucial step is set to expand the volume of aid reaching Gaza. We trust the @UN did all the adjustments to receive and distribute the aid. pic.twitter.com/Wugsas51kj
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 12, 2023
The IDF says reopening Kerem Shalom will allow it to “double” aid reaching Gaza, as Israel faces mounting pressure for a humanitarian ceasefire.
“Today we screened the first batch of aid trucks for possible Hamas weapon-smuggling at Kerem Shalom before they drove to the Rafah crossing,” government spokesman Eylon Levy says.
“The problem is the bottleneck at the crossing with Egypt and the problem is that Israel is currently inspecting aid quicker than UN agencies on the ground are able to deliver it,” he adds.
3 rockets fired from Syria toward Israel, says IDF
Israeli tanks fire rounds during a drill in the Golan Heights on November 9, 2023. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)
The IDF says three rockets were fired from Syria at the Golan Heights a short while ago.
Two fell short in Syria, while the third landed in an open area, according to the IDF. It says troops responded with artillery shelling at the source of the fire.
Earlier, a number of mortars and anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon at the northern community of Bar’am, causing damage.
Projectiles were also fired at army posts in the area. The IDF says it shelled the launch sites.
In response to earlier Hezbollah attacks on the Lebanon border, the IDF says tanks and an attack helicopter struck a rocket launch site and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group.
UN says satellite images show 18% of Gaza infrastructure destroyed since start of war
IDF soldiers seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on December 12, 2023. (IDF)
The United Nations said Tuesday that its satellite analysis agency UNOSAT had determined that 18 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure had been destroyed since the outbreak of war with Israel, following the unprecedented October 7 assault by Hamas militants.
The estimate is based on an image taken on November 26, the agency said, a 49 percent increase in the total number of structures affected since a previous assessment on November 7.
WATCH: Soldier wounded by grenade kills two Hamas gunmen in Gaza City apartment
IDF soldiers seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on December 12, 2023. (IDF)
A dramatic video released by the IDF shows a reservist of the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit killing two Hamas operatives in an apartment in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood.
This might be the most badass video released by the IDF yet.
Headcam footage shows a reservist of the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom killing a Hamas gunman in an apartment in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, before a grenade is hurled at him by a second operative. The… pic.twitter.com/3MkuyGB1cq
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
The clip from the soldier’s helmet camera shows him killing the first Hamas gunman in a brief exchange of fire, before a grenade is hurled at him.
The soldier, despite being wounded, gets up and rushes at the second operative, killing him from point-blank range.
Biden: PM shackled by hardline coalition partners; Israel losing world support ‘by indiscriminate bombing’
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, November 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government has made it very difficult for the international community to back Israel in the war against Hamas. The president also says Israel is losing global support due to its “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
Netanyahu is “a good friend, but I think he has to change and… This government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden says during a campaign fundraiser in Washington hosted by former AIPAC board chair Lee Rosenberg.
Biden goes on to call out National Security Minister Ben Gvir in particular and says, “This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history.
He says he’s known Israeli leaders for decades and laments that “Ben Gvir and company and the new folks “don’t want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.”
“They not only want to have retribution — which they should — for what Hamas did, but against all Palestinians… They don’t want anything to with the Palestinians.”
He then takes a shot at the Palestinian leadership, without specifying whether he’s referring to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. “The Palestinians have been not governed well at all.”
File: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, right meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Nov. 30, 2023 (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, Pool)
Referring to the rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe that the US unveiled in September, Biden says there remains an “opportunity to begin to unite the region.”
“They still want to do it, but we have to make sure that Bibi understands that he’s got to make some moves to strengthen the [PA].
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future,” Biden says.
He acknowledges that Israel currently faces “an existential threat.”
“Israel has a tough decision to make. Bibi has got a tough decision to make. There’s no question about the need to take on Hamas. None. Zero. They have every right,” he says, indicating that the way Israel goes about it is what is of concern to the US.
“But in the meantime, we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel… [and ensure they have] what they need to defend themselves and to finish the job against Hamas.”
“One of the things that Bibi understands — but I’m not sure Ben Gvir and his war cabinet do,” Biden continues, “is that Israel’s security can rest on the United States. But right now it has more than the United States — It has the European Union, it has most of the world supporting it.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in southern Tel Aviv, September 3, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
“But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden says.
Last month, Biden also used the word “indiscriminate” to describe Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza. However, he was referring to the early stage of the war and indicated that the IDF has been more pin-pointed since. His comments at the fundraiser reveal that he no longer thinks that is the case.
The US president recalls how during one of their many conversations after October 7, Netanyahu sought to justify the deaths of civilians in Gaza by recalling how many of them died in the US response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“You carpet-bombed Germany. You dropped the atom bomb. A lot of civilians died,” Biden quotes Netanyahu as having said.
“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War II to see to it that it didn’t happen again.'”
“Don’t make the same mistakes we made [after] 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan [after] 9/11. There was no reason why we had to do some of the things we did,” Biden said.
FILE – US President Joe Biden is greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Biden still makes a point of referring to Hamas as “animals” who “exceeded anything that any other terrorist group has done… in memory.”
Still, he says that “We have to work toward bringing Israel together in a way that provides for the beginning of… a two-state solution.”
The president shifts subjects at one point to the judicial overhaul that Netanyahu’s government sought to advance before for the war.
“You saw what happened when Bibi tried to change the Supreme Court. Thousands of IDF soldiers said, ‘We’re out. We’re not going to participate. We’re not going to support the military,'” he said, referring to the thousands of reservists who protested the overhaul.
“That wasn’t any outside influence. That came from within Israel,” Biden says.
An earlier version of this report relied on a White House pooler who erroneously quoted Biden as having called on Netanyahu to change his government.
Gallant says IDF troops are operating ‘deep underground’ in Gaza
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) meets with the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, at an army base in southern Israel, December 12, 2023. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reveals that Israeli troops are “operating deep underground” in the Gaza Strip.
“These operations are also being carried out above ground, but there is also a deep descent into the depths, to find bunkers, war rooms, communication centers, ammunition depots and meeting rooms,” Gallant says following an assessment with the 162nd Division. “We will see these things in photographs in the coming days.”
Gallant also says the brothers of Ahmed Ghandour — the former commander of Hamas’s northern Gaza Brigade who was killed in an Israeli strike — are being interrogated by Israel.
“They are already telling us a large part of the stories of the murders of October 7, and other things,” he says. “We are deepening the achievement, [Hamas in] Gaza City is breaking. And soon we will eliminate the entire Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City.”
Biden to meet today in White House with families of US-Israeli Gaza hostages
US President Joe Biden meets with victims' relatives and first responders who were directly affected by the Hamas attacks, October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Joe Biden is slated to meet today with the families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal attack on Israel on October 7, two White House officials say.
It was not immediately clear how many families would be attending the White House meeting in person, or via video conference. Biden has previously met with some family members virtually and spoken to others on the phone, officials say. The officials speak on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s schedule.
Seven Americans remain unaccounted for after Hamas’s onslaught against southern Israel on October 7. The White House has said that at least 31 Americans were killed by Hamas and other terrorist groups during the attack.
Israeli Air Force chief carries out sortie over Gaza Strip in attack helicopter
Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar is seen in an F-15I fighter jet at the Hatzerim airbase, in an image published November 3, 2023. (Amit Agronov/Israeli Air Force)
The head of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, carried out a sortie over the Gaza Strip in an attack helicopter yesterday, striking targets for troops of the 98th Division’s 55th Brigade, the IDF announces.
Among the targets was a site used by Hamas to carry out an attack against troops in the Khan Younis area earlier this week, in which Sgt. Major (res.) Gideon Ilani, 35, of the 55th Brigade’s 2855th Battalion, was killed.
The head of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, carried out a sortie over the Gaza Strip in an attack helicopter yesterday, striking targets for troops of the 98th Division’s 55th Brigade, the IDF announces.
Among the targets was a site used by Hamas to carry out an attack against… pic.twitter.com/twCB8wNMCR
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
“We are together with you in everything, keep it up, we are here above you at your service,” says Bar over the radio in a video released by the IDF.
“We are safe when you are above us. We know how to do the work exceptionally together. Thanks to everyone who is above us 24/7,” responds the commander of the 98th Division, Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus.
IDF retrieves bodies of two hostages from Gaza: Eden Zacharia and Ziv Dado
Eden Zacharia and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado. (Courtesy/IDF)
The IDF announces that it has recovered the bodies of Eden Zacharia and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.
The operation to recover the bodies from the Gaza Strip was carried out by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, and the 551st Brigade.
Israeli troops bring the bodies of Eden Zacharia and First Sgt. Ziv Dado back to Israel from the Gaza Strip, in an image published December 12, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Zacharia, 27, was taken hostage from the Supernova rave near Re’im, and Dado, 36, a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, was killed during the October 7 onslaught. Dado had until recently been declared a “fallen soldier held by a terror group.”
After their bodies were brought back to Israel and identified by medical and rabbinical authorities, their families were notified.
During the operation to recover the bodies, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot — the son of war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot — and Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz were killed, and other soldiers were wounded.
WATCH: Far-right Polish lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candles in parliament
Newly-elected members of Poland's parliament attend the first session of the lower house, or Sejm, in Warsaw, Poland, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A far-right lawmaker in the Polish parliament uses a fire extinguisher to put out the candles on a menorah that was lit for Hanukkah.
Poseł Ekskrement Grzegorz Braun znów zrobił z siebie debila.
Najpierw wynosił z sądu choinki. Dziś w Sejmie zgasił gaśnicą menorę chanukową.
Ten idiota jest niebezpieczny… Mam nadzieję, że nowy rząd dobierze mu się do dupy… pic.twitter.com/i1IXmXPuFh
— Zespół Brauna (@ZespolBrauna) December 12, 2023
The speaker of the parliament, Szymon Holownia, denounces the incident carried out by Grzegorz Braun, and says there will be no tolerance for antisemitic and xenophobic behavior in the Sejm, the Polish parliament.
Braun in the past has falsely claimed that there is a plot to turn Poland into a “Jewish state.”
Zara drops clothing ad after claims it was reminiscent of Gaza body bags
File: People walk outside a Zara shop in Jerusalem on June 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Facing mounting calls for a boycott, Spanish fashion brand Zara has withdrawn a controversial advertising campaign featuring body bags after it sparked online fury over its similarity to war-torn Gaza.
Addressing the controversy, Zara — which is owned by Spain’s Inditex, the world’s biggest fashion retailer — denies the claims but nonetheless removes the controversial images from its website.
“Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created,” says a Zara statement published online.
Why are people boycotting fashion giant Zara? pic.twitter.com/CYruw8q79E
— TRT World (@trtworld) December 12, 2023
In one of the images, a model holds what appears to be a body wrapped in plastic over one shoulder, while in another the shrouded shape lies at her feet as she stands on a set featuring chunks of rubble, broken walls and other signs of destruction.
The campaign sparked a furious backlash on social media where many said it was deliberately poking fun at the devastation in Gaza where Israel has waged a vast campaign since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
In response, Zara said its advertising campaign “was conceived in July and photographed in September.” The idea, it said, was to present “a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craft-made garments in an artistic context.”
World Bank says it will release $20 million in emergency relief for Gaza
A man bikes past a destroyed building bearing an inscription in Arabic that reads 'Omar and Usama Badawi under the rubble' in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 12, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
The World Bank announces that it will provide $20 million in new emergency relief for the people of Gaza as part of an overall $35 million package of support.
The bank says this includes $10 million in new financing for food vouchers and parcels, which is expected to reach an estimated 377,000 people. The assistance will be delivered through the World Food Program.
The World Bank also says its Health Emergency & Preparedness Trust Fund has allocated $10 million, provided by Japan and Germany, for medical care and supplies for humanitarian purposes, to be delivered through UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
Protesters march in Jerusalem demanding release of remaining Gaza hostages
Marchers walk in Jerusalem demanding the release of the remaining some 140 hostages in Gaza, December 12, 2023. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
A cold drizzle falls on hundreds of supporters and families of hostages in Gaza as they gather near the Supreme Court to march to the Prime Minister’s Office to demand the release of the 138 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Holding umbrellas with the ‘Bring Them Home Now’ logo and torches for Hanukkah, the participants call, “There’s nothing more important than bringing every hostage home,” and “Time is up, need a deal on the table.”
“All of them, now!”
“Our hearts are captive in Gaza,” shout the families.
As the marchers face the Prime Minister’s Office, the names of the remaining 138 hostages are displayed on the facade of the building.
White House’s Sullivan says he will discuss war ‘timetable’ with Netanyahu in Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem on January 19, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan says he will speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about timetables for ending major combat in Gaza when he visits Israel later this week.
Sullivan says he will be carrying US President Joe Biden’s thoughts on the matter and will also be looking to hear from Netanyahu and Israeli officials on the issue.
“The subject of how they are seeing the timetable of this war will certainly be on the agenda for my meetings,” Sullivan says during an appearance at a forum hosted by The Wall Street Journal.
Sullivan suggests that at some point Israeli forces will shift toward more focused operations to achieve their objectives.
“It doesn’t have to be that you go from that to literally nothing in terms of putting pressure on going after Hamas targets, Hamas leadership, or continuing to have tools in your toolbox to try to secure the release of hostages,” he says. “It just means that you move to a different phase from the kind of high-intensity operations that we see today.”
Sullivan says he will also speak to Netanyahu about his recent comments that the IDF will maintain open-ended security control of Gaza after the war ends.
“I will have the opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Netanyahu about what exactly he has in mind with that comment, because that can be interpreted in a number of different ways,” Sullivan says. “But the US position on this is clear.”
Navy declares 4th advanced Sa’ar 6-class warship operational, sends one to Red Sea
An Iron Dome missile defense system fires an interceptor from a Sa’ar-6 corvette, at a target during an exercise in May 2023. (Defense Ministry)
The Israeli Navy has declared its fourth and final Sa’ar 6-class corvette operational, more than two years after delivery, amid its use in the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In April, the IDF announced that three of the four Sa’ar 6-class corvettes were declared operational, with the fourth — delivered in August 2021 — being close to that stage.
The two years it took for each ship to be declared operational is considered relatively quick by Navy standards, as the previous class of corvette, the Sa’ar-5, took around 10 years to be declared operational.
The Sa’ar 6-class corvettes are named INS “Magen,” meaning shield; “Oz,” meaning valor; “Atzmaut,” meaning independence; and “Nitzahon,” meaning victory. Each is staffed with around 80 sailors.
The Israeli Navy has declared its fourth and final Sa’ar 6-class corvette operational, more than two years after delivery, amid its use in the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/xJiPoEOrQm
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
Each nearly 2,000-ton ship is outfitted with 20 systems, 18 of which are Israeli-made. The systems include a modified version of the Iron Dome system, known as the C-Dome, as well as the Gabriel V and LRAD missile systems, the latter of which can shoot down cruise and ballistic missiles.
The IDF says the Sa’ar 6-class corvettes are being used to aid the ground forces operating in the Gaza Strip, and to strike Hamas operatives, including dozens of members of the terror group’s naval forces. It says the Navy has killed the majority of Hamas’s naval forces commanders.
The Navy also reveals that it managed to thwart a number of explosive-laden autonomous submarines, or underwater drones, launched by terror groups in the Gaza Strip at Israeli “strategic assets,” referring to off-shore gas platforms. Hamas has carried out such attempts in the past.
A Hamas underwater drone seized by the Israeli Navy, in a handout image published December 12, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Navy’s corvettes are also being used in the Red Sea, amid missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat. The IDF says that for the first time, the INS “Magen” docked at the Eilat port this week.
Netanyahu notes there are disagreements with US over ‘the day after Hamas’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem on November 27, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
In comments seemingly aimed at US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he will not allow Israel to “repeat the mistakes of Oslo,” referring to the Oslo Accords in the 1990s widely seen in Israel as a failure.
After Biden said last night that he largely disagrees with Netanyahu although he supports Israel and its war against Hamas, the prime minister admits that there are disagreements over the vision for a post-war Gaza.
“I deeply appreciate the American support for destroying Hamas and bringing back our hostages,” Netanyahu says in a Hebrew video statement. “After intensive dialogue with President Biden and his people, we received full support for the ground operation and for curbing international pressure to end the war.”
“Yes, there is a disagreement when it comes to ‘the day after Hamas,’ and I hope we will come to an agreement here too,” Netanyahu adds. “I want to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo.”
“It can’t be that after the enormous sacrifice of our citizens and fighters, we will let into Gaza those who teach terror, support terror, finance terror,” the prime minister adds, an apparent reference to the idea of the Palestinian Authority ruling Gaza. “Gaza will not be Hamas-stan nor Fatah-stan.”
Netanyahu has come under criticism today for purported comments comparing Oslo to the Hamas assault of October 7.
Rocket from Lebanon hits building in northern kibbutz; no injuries reported
Damage caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Kibbutz Baram along the northern border on December 12, 2023. (Courtesy)
A rocket fired from Lebanon hits a building in the youth section of Kibbutz Baram along the northern border, according to the local council.
No injuries were reported in the incident. The kibbutz has been largely evacuated since the start of the war.
Germany charges 27 in far-right terror group’s ‘treason’ plot
The Israeli flag flutters in the middle of the European (L) and the German flag in front of the Reichstag building hosting the Bundestag, the German lower house of Parliament in Berlin, while the German Chancellor gave a speech over the Israel-Hamas conflict during a Bundestag session on October 12, 2023. (Odd Andersen/AFP)
German federal prosecutors say they charged 27 suspected members of a far-right “terror group” arrested last year with involvement in a plot to attack parliament and overthrow the government.
“The accused are strongly suspected of membership of a terrorist organization as well as preparation of a treasonous undertaking,” prosecutors say in a statement on the so-called Reichsbuerger group (Citizens of the Reich).
Chief federal prosecutor Peter Frank says some members of the “terrorist organization” intended to use force to enter the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament) and that the group’s preparations were “already at an advanced stage.”
Israeli team visits Cyprus to inspect facilities to be used for shipping aid to Gaza
An aerial view of the harbor of the port of Cyprus's southern coastal city of Larnaca, May 28, 2021. (Amir MAKAR / AFP)
A spokesman for the government of Cyprus says a team of technical experts from Israel is visiting the island nation to inspect infrastructure and facilities that will be used to ship large quantities of humanitarian aid across the Mediterranean to Gaza, once conditions on the ground allow for it.
Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis says the Israeli team’s visit today follows two earlier trips that Cypriot technical experts made to Israel to brief authorities there about the Cypriot initiative.
Letymbiotis repeats that many countries have already expressed their willingness to contribute both in materiel or any other technical assistance required to deliver the aid, using shallow-draft vessels able to reach the shoreline.
An initial shipment is already in storage at Larnaca port, from where ships will set sail for Gaza some 242 miles (390 kilometers) away.
It is understood that officials from Israel and elsewhere will be on hand to monitor as Cypriot customs agents inspect the aid to ensure that nothing is shipped to Gaza that could be weaponized by Hamas to use against Israel.
Harvard announces its president will keep job following backlash over antisemitism
Harvard President Claudine Gay, left, speaks as University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill listens, during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, December 5, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Harvard president Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, the university’s highest governing body announces.
“Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing,” the Harvard Corporation says in a statement following its meeting last night.
Only months into her leadership, Gay came under intense scrutiny following the hearing in which she and two of her peers struggled to answer questions about campus antisemitism.
Some lawmakers, alumni and donors to the the university called for Gay to step down, following the resignation of Liz Magill as president of the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims death toll in Strip surpasses 18,400
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 12, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip claims the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 18,412.
The ministry says there are more than 50,000 wounded.
Israeli military officials have said they believe the overall reported death toll in Gaza is close to accurate, though it does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas gunmen nor between those killed by Israeli airstrikes and those by failed Palestinian rocket launches.
The IDF has said that by its estimate, more than 7,000 of those killed are armed Hamas operatives.
Footage shows drone strike against armed Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli military vehicles enter the Jenin camp in the West Bank during a raid on December 12, 2023. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
The IDF publishes footage showing a drone strike against a group of armed Palestinians who were hurling explosives at troops during a raid in the West Bank’s Jenin earlier today.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry reported four killed in the strike and in clashes with IDF troops.
The IDF publishes footage showing a drone strike against a group of armed Palestinians who were hurling explosives at troops during a raid in the West Bank's Jenin. The Palestinian Authority health ministry reported four killed. pic.twitter.com/0DtjmJQa1Q
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
The IDF says troops detained dozens of suspects in Jenin and seized firearms, explosive devices and other weapons.
It adds that the forces also found and destroyed a bomb-making lab, as well as a command center used by local terror operatives and several tunnel shafts.
Knesset committee approves extra $7.8 billion for 2023 war funding
The Knesset Finance Committee approves for its final readings in the Knesset plenum a supplemental budget for 2023 designed to cover the costs of the fighting in Gaza and on the Lebanese border.
The supplemental budget adds an extra NIS 25.9 billion ($7 billion) to the original 2023 budget, raising it to NIS 510.6 billion ($138 billion), before debt servicing costs.
The supplemental budget will actually provide a total of NIS 28.9 billion ($7.8 billion) in funds for the wars with Hamas and Hezbollah and their associated civilian costs, with the extra NIS 4 billion over the approved spending increases coming from funds redirected from other sources within the general budget.
Some NIS 17 billion of these funds will go towards security costs such as arms procurement and payments for IDF reservists, while NIS 12 billion will finance civilian expenses, including the costs to the state of hosting evacuees from northern and southern Israel, and financial assistance for those injured during the war.
Hearings on the supplemental budget in the Knesset plenum will begin on Wednesday and voting on the budget in its second and third readings are scheduled for Thursday.
France calls for probe into death of Lebanese journalist in apparent Israeli shelling
A journalist's car burns after it was allegedly hit by Israeli shelling in the Alma al-Shaab border village with Israel, south Lebanon, October 13, 2023. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
France says “all light” must be shed on the strike in southern Lebanon on October 13 that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six others, including two from AFP.
“All light must be shed on this tragedy,” a French foreign ministry statement says, adding that international humanitarian law obliged warring parties to “protect civilians, and in particular journalists, who must be able to exercise their profession freely and in complete safety.”
An investigation by Agence France-Presse published on December 7 into the strike pointed to a tank shell only used by the Israeli army in the high-tension border region.
The IDF has expressed sorrow for the death of the journalist, but not confirmed it was behind the strike.
IDF says sirens in Acre caused by interceptor rocket, fear of shrapnel
The siren that sounded in Acre earlier was due to an interceptor missile being launched at rockets fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee, the IDF says.
The rockets were not aimed at Acre, and the siren sounded due to fears of Iron Dome shrapnel falling on the city.
The IDF says it shelled the source of the rocket fire with artillery.
Top Harvard body expected to keep president Claudine Gay amid antisemitism outcry
Claudine Gay addresses an audience during commencement ceremonies, Thursday, May 25, 2023, on the Harvard campus, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay is expected to keep her position following a meeting yesterday of the Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, in the wake of the outcry over her comments at a congressional hearing about antisemitism on campuses amid the Israel-Hamas war, the Harvard Crimson reports.
Citing a source familiar with the body’s decision, the report says the announcement will be made later today.
The Corporation has not commented until now on the scandal that saw Gay face calls from lawmakers and donors to step down.
Gay was one of three Ivy League university presidents to speak before Congress last week alongside counterparts Sally Kornbluth, president of MIT, and Liz Magill, the now-former president of the University of Pennsylvania. They each face fierce backlash for their evasive responses to Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s questioning in which thy refused to explicitly say that calls for genocide of Jewish people violate campus rules on harassment.
A petition this week signed by more than 600 faculty members asks the school’s governing body to resist political pressures “that are at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom” and to allow Gay to continue to lead the school.
Gay, a scholar of politics and African American studies who became Harvard’s first Black president in July, has come under intense scrutiny only months into her leadership following the hearing.
IDF details paratrooper battles in Gaza’s Zeitoun and Shejaiya
The IDF details the latest operations of the Paratroopers Brigade in the Gaza Strip, which has been battling Hamas in Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Shejaiya neighborhoods over the past week.
It says the troops have killed numerous Hamas operatives, detained others, and uncovered and destroyed tunnel shafts and networks during the operations in Gaza City.
A blurred image published by the IDF shows the bodies of three terror operatives near an IDF tank, who had been killed by machine gun fire by soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion amid the fighting.
Troops of the 202nd Battalion also found memory cards with footage taken by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, the IDF says.
The IDF adds that troops of the Kiryati Brigade’s 7421st Battalion — operating as part of the paratroopers’ taskforce — found a lathe used to manufacture rockets, hundreds of explosive devices, dozens of firearms and rockets in the area.
Metal pipes used to manufacture rockets are found by IDF troops in Gaza City, in a handout image published December 12, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Jordanian soldier killed in clash with drug smugglers along Syria border
Fake oranges filled with illegal Captagon pills at the Beirut port in Lebanon, on December 29, 2021. (Anwar Amro/AFP)
Jordanian troops clash with dozens of drug smugglers along the country’s northern border with Syria, leaving several dead including one soldier while another was wounded, the army says.
The smugglers were trying to bring into Jordan “large amounts of drugs” while taking advantage of fog and low visibility, a statement by the Jordanian Armed Forces says. It says some of them were killed and the others fled.
Smugglers have used Jordan over the past years to send highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states. Jordanian authorities have aborted attempts over the past months, including some in which smugglers used drones to fly the drugs over the border.
The Captagon industry has been a huge concern for Jordan, as well as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as hundreds of millions of pills have been smuggled over the years. The drug is used recreationally and by people with physically demanding jobs to keep them alert.
Captagon production has turned into an estimated multi-billion-dollar industry in war-torn Syria.
France says it downed a drone in Houthi-claimed tanker attack
A French frigate shot down a drone that was threatening a Norwegian-flagged tanker in an attack claimed by Houthi rebels off Yemen’s coast in the Red Sea, the French defense ministry says.
The Languedoc frigate, “which was patrolling in the area, intercepted and destroyed a drone directly threatening the Strinda,” the defense ministry says in a statement, adding the warship moved to protect the vessel to prevent an “attempted hijacking.”
Earlier today, the French Navy confirmed that the FREMM Frigate Languedoc successfully downed two UAVs over the southern Red Sea, 110km from the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah. pic.twitter.com/0DZp3NBjXT
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) December 10, 2023
IDF says Kerem Shalom station now inspecting Gaza aid in bid to increase flow
The Israel Defense Forces says that the Kerem Shalom border crossing station is now inspecting aid deliveries to Gaza.
The move is meant to facilitate an increase in the number of aid trucks that can enter Gaza each day. Israel currently inspects the trucks at the smaller Nitzana crossing between Israel and Egypt before they are sent to Rafah.
While Israel will use the Kerem Shalom facilities to inspect the trucks, they will still need to enter Gaza through Rafah.
“This crucial step is set to expand the volume of aid reaching Gaza. We trust the
did all the adjustments to receive and distribute the aid,” tweets Israel’s COGAT military liaison to the Palestinians.
This morning, the first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom and is now en route to the Rafah Crossing. This crucial step is set to expand the volume of aid reaching Gaza. We trust the @UN did all the adjustments to receive and distribute the aid. pic.twitter.com/Wugsas51kj
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 12, 2023
The Biden administration and the broader international community have been pressuring Israel for weeks to open Kerem Shalom, previously Gaza’s main goods crossing. Since the start of the war, all aid has been entering Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah Crossing, which is meant to be primarily for pedestrians.
Rocket warning sirens in northern city of Acre
Rocket warning sirens are sounding in the northern city of Acre and the border town of Shlomi.
Sinrens also sound in Shomrat and Bustan HaGalil.
???? Rocket Alert in Upper Galilee. #Israel
• Upper Galilee — Shomrat, Bustan HaGalil, Acre
• Confrontation Line — Shlomi pic.twitter.com/7pOhVMICNl— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) December 12, 2023
IDF says northern drone alert due to ‘suspicious aerial target,’ interceptors fired
The IDF says drone infiltration sirens that sounded in the Upper and Western Galilee earlier were due to a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
It says several interceptor missiles were fired at the target, and the incident is now over.
No further details are given.
Grave of soldier who fell in Gaza vandalized
The grave of an IDF reserve soldier who fell fighting in Gaza has been vandalized.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Yaacov Ozeri of the 401st Armored Brigade was killed fighting against Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip in early November.
His mother says she found red X’s on the Israeli flags and the IDF symbol on his grave.
Ozeri, 28, was from Kfar Shamai, a moshav in northern Israel, and is buried in nearby Meron.
“It’s a very shocking event, just terrible. Every morning I pass by the cemetery and light a candle for him, and today I discovered that the flags we placed near the grave were defaced with red paint with x’s on the Star of David, and the same x’s were also drawn on the IDF symbol stamped on the tombstone,” his mother, Lilian, tells Channel 12.
קברו של רס"ל יעקב עוזרי, שנפל במלחמה בעזה ונטמן בבית העלמין במירון, הושחת בידי אלמונים. על המצבה סומן איקס, וכן גם על דגלונים שהוצבו על ידה. המשטרה פתחה בחקירה@rubih67 (צילום: סעיף 27א לחוק זכויות יוצרים) pic.twitter.com/mt834ErLii
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 12, 2023
Rockets fired at Sderot, Gaza border communities
Rockets are fired at the southern town of Sderot and surrounding Gaza border communities.
Uproar in Knesset amid revelation that settlement budget boost not going to security
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Finance Committee meeting at the Knesset on December 4, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Pandemonium erupts in the Knesset Finance Committee as opposition MKs discover that none of the NIS 368 million for the Settlements and National Projects Ministry in the updated national budget is designated for security requirements in West Bank settlements, despite statements to the contrary by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and settlements minister Orit Strock.
Finance Ministry officials provide details of the budget increases in committee, including NIS 70 million for social activism groups; NIS 94 million for the Settlements Division of the World Zionist Organization, which builds and develops small towns and settlements around the country and in the West Bank; NIS 32 million in support for pre-military academies, and NIS 98 million for the settlement ministry’s Jewish identity department.
Some NIS 110 million for security needs has been set aside in “reserve” budget items for use in case of necessity, but these reserve funds have yet to be approved by the Finance Ministry’s legal department.
“The finance minister said the money was for security needs. He’s a liar!” yells Yesh Atid MK Naor Shiri.
Labor MK Naama Lazimi denounces the budget for the settlements ministry as “theft,” adding that “nothing in this [budget] itemization is connected to security for Judea and Samaria [the West Bank].”
Hamas says Israeli forces have entered a north Gaza hospital
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says Israeli forces have entered the Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern part of the Strip.
“Israeli occupation forces are storming Kamal Adwan hospital after besieging and bombing it for days,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra says in a statement.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
The hospital is situated near the Jabaliya neighborhood, which has been the scene of intense fighting in recent days.
Israel has gone into several hospitals in northern Gaza, finding widespread evidence that they were being used as bases and command centers by Hamas terrorists.
The IDF has also coordinated the evacuation of these hospitals.
IDF finds more Hamas weapons in Gaza homes
The IDF is continuing to find Hamas weaponry in homes in the Gaza Strip.
Troops of the Nahal Infantry Brigade discovered firearms, RPGs, explosive devices, and equipment inside buildings in a residential neighborhood of Jabaliya, the IDF says, publishing a video of some of the findings.
Some of the weapons were destroyed and others were taken for further investigation, it says.
The IDF says the troops also found an apartment used by Hamas’s Nukhba forces, which was to have been used to attack the soldiers. In the apartment, the troops found documents and laptops which the IDF says contained plans for the October 7 attacks.
The IDF is continuing to find Hamas weaponry in homes in the Gaza Strip.
Troops of the Nahal Infantry Brigade discovered firearms, RPGs, explosive devices, and equipment inside buildings in a residential neighborhood of Jabaliya, the IDF says, publishing a video of some of the… pic.twitter.com/q9xI2n23AK
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
Rockets fired in southern Israel, Gaza border communities
Rockets are fired from Gaza at southern Israel and Gaza border communities.
Warning sirens sound in Ashkelon and surrounding communities and also in Karmia, Zikim, Mefalsim, Netiv HaAsara and Yad Mordechai near Gaza.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
???? Large Rocket Alerts [11:29:29] – 11 Alerts:
• Western Lakhish — Ashkelon Northern Industrial Zone, Ashkelon Southern Industrial Zone, Ashkelon – North, Mavki'im, Ashkelon – South
• Gaza Envelope — Karmia, Zikim, Mefalsim, Netiv HaAssara, Yad Mordechai, Nir Am Shooting Range pic.twitter.com/LfT6QsdS27— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) December 12, 2023
Drone warning alerts sound along northern border
A suspected drone infiltration alarm is sounding in the Western Galilee.
The alerts are activated in the communities of Arab al-Aramshe, Eilon, Ya’ara, Gornot HaGalil, Idmit, Goren, Elkosh, Fassuta, Abirim, and Netua, and Hanita.
The IDF is investigating the cause.
The incident comes amid repeated attacks by the Hezbollah terror group on northern Israel, including launching explosive-laden drones.
Rocket Alerts [11:22:58] – 7 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Hanita, Gornot HaGalil, Eilon, Idmit, Goren, Arab al-Aramshe, Ya'ara#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/DNNckr3ex9
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) December 12, 2023
WHO claims patient died during lengthy IDF checks on north Gaza convoy
Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023. (Mohammed ABED / AFP)
The World Health Organization claims that a patient died in an emergency convoy en route from a Gaza City hospital, during repeated and lengthy Israeli checks.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said over the weekend that the UN health agency and its partners had managed to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to the Al-Ahli hospital and to transfer 19 critical patients.
Providing more details about the mission, he writes on X, formerly Twitter, that the WHO was “deeply concerned about prolonged checks and detention of health workers that put lives of already fragile patients at risk.”
“Due to the hold-up, one patient died en route, given the grave nature of their wounds and the delay in accessing treatment,” he says.
Tedros did not say in his message who carried out the checks, but a WHO spokesman tells AFP they took place at an Israeli army checkpoint.
There is no immediate IDF comment. Israel has repeatedly urged residents of northern Gaza to leave the area as it battles Hamas forces in the area.
Two rockets fired from Lebanon at Israel, IDF shells source
An Israeli artillery unit fires from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, on December 11, 2023 (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP)
Two rockets were fired from Lebanon at an area near the northern community of Malkia, the IDF says.
The rockets landed in open areas, and no sirens sounded.
The IDF says troops are responding with artillery shelling at the sources of the fire.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected in Israel next week
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (R) and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin shake hands while delivering joint statements at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 13, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to visit Israel next week, the Ynet news site reports.
Austin joins a raft of senior US officials visiting the region amid reports the US is pushing Israel to wrap up the war on Hamas in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel last week and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will visit Israel at the end of the week.
The US is also pushing Israel to ensure greater aid enters Gaza and to try and further limit civilian casualties.
Palestinian officials say 4 killed in Jenin drone strike
Israeli military vehicles enter the Jenin camp in the West Bank during a raid on December 12, 2023. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry reports.
The ministry did not provide further details on the fatalities, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society says they were killed in a drone strike on the Old City.
The IDF says it is operating in Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp to detain wanted Palestinians suspected of involvement in terror activities.
It says there have been clashes between troops and Palestinian gunmen and suspects hurling explosives.
A drone strike was carried out against a group of Palestinians hurling explosives at the troops, according to the IDF.
The IDF is aware of several armed Palestinians who were killed and wounded in the clashes and the strike.
Troops have also found firearms and explosives during the raid, according to the IDF.
IDF says deaths of 20 out of 105 soldiers killed in Gaza op were friendly fire, accidents
Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip in an undated photograph released December 12, 2023 (Israel Defense Forces)
Of the 105 soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip during the ground offensive, 20 were killed by so-called friendly fire and other accidents, according to new data released by the IDF.
Thirteen of the soldiers were killed by friendly fire due to mistaken identification, including in airstrikes, tank fire, and gunfire.
One soldier was killed by gunfire that was unintended to hit them, and another two were killed by accidental misfires.
Two soldiers were killed in incidents involving armored vehicles running over troops.
And two soldiers were killed by shrapnel from explosives intentionally set off by Israeli forces.
The military has said it is constantly assessing the ongoing fighting, including the cases of friendly fire, and quickly implementing lessons learned.
Lapid slams Netanyahu for comparing Oct. 7 to Oslo: A wicked political campaign during wartime
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks during a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 20, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid chastises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for comments he reportedly made yesterday that the Oslo Accords caused as many deaths as Hamas’s savage assault on Israel on October 7.
“The State of Israel is at war. We are all going from one funeral to the next, from shiva to shiva. The soldiers are fighting heroically. The heart breaks anew every morning in front of the pictures of those killed,” says Lapid.
“It is impossible to understand the level of disconnect and cynicism of the prime minister, who is conducting a wicked political campaign during wartime whose entire purpose is to absolve himself of responsibility, to accuse others, and to create hatred. The nation deserves alternative leadership.”
Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministry in a closed-door session, Netanyahu reportedly said that the Oslo Accords caused as many deaths as the October 7 attacks, “though over a longer period.”
Houthis claim missile attack on tanker, saying it was loaded with oil bound for Israel
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim responsibility for a missile strike on a Norwegian-flagged tanker a day earlier off Yemen’s coast in the Red Sea.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation against the Norwegian ship Strinda, which was loaded with oil” bound for Israel, military spokesman Yahya Saree says.
IDF knocks out several Gaza rocket launchers
The IDF says it carried out strikes against several Hamas rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip over the past day, including one that was in the middle of firing projectiles at Sderot.
It says troops of the 162nd Division operating in Jabaliya and the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection unit identified rockets being fired toward Sderot, and directed an aircraft to immediately strike the site.
Meanwhile, the Duvdevan unit raided a building used by Hamas operatives and found some 250 mortars, rockets, and RPGs, the IDF says.
Additionally, the IDF says the Navy carried out strikes against Hamas operatives that it had identified shooting at ground forces in Gaza.
חיל האוויר תקף ביממה האחרונה מספר עמדות שיגור ברחבי הרצועה. לוחמי אוגדה 162 בג׳אבליה בשיתוף לוחמי יחידת האיסוף 636 מחיל הגנת הגבולות, זיהו עמדת שיגור בעת שיגור רקטות לעבר העיר שדרות, הכוחות הכווינו כלי טיס שתקף והשמיד את עמדת השיגור>> pic.twitter.com/BZ1W8zDKkt
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 12, 2023
Likud MK rejects Netanyahu comparison between Oct. 7 attacks and Oslo peace process
Likud MK Danny Danon in the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 13, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Likud MK Danny Danon rejects a reported comment made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Oslo Accords caused as many deaths as Hamas’s October 7 attacks, “though over a longer period.”
A number of Hebrew media outlets reported that Netanyahu made the comments yesterday during a closed-door meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Danon, who is a member of the committee, tells the Kan public broadcaster such comparisons are wrong.
“There is no place to compare, both because we are in the middle of a war, and because the events of that black Saturday happened in a number of hours, a number of killed and wounded that Israel has never seen since its founding,” he says.
Netanyahu has been widely seen as trying to shift blame away from himself for the October 7 assault when Hamas caught Israel by surprise and sent some 3,000 terrorists across the border, killing more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking some 240 hostage.
Several Palestinians said killed in drone strike during IDF West Bank raid
An Israel Defense Forces drone carried out an airstrike on a group of Palestinian terrorists during an army raid on the West Bank city of Jenin, killing several people, Palestinian and Hebrew media report.
Forces carrying out an arrest raid came under fire and several explosive devices were detonated.
An Israeli security source told the Walla news site that a cell throwing explosives at troops was attacked from the air.
Both Walla and the Palestinian Wafa news agency said several of the gunmen were killed.
Video from the scene appeared to show ambulances taking away several bodies and injured people.
There was no immediate confirmation from Palestinian medical officials or the IDF.
Jenin, Gazze'nin ikiz kardeşi…
O anlara ait kamara kaydı … https://t.co/sGYTT1bX75 pic.twitter.com/eZ6IxaEonP
— Aksa Haber (@aksahaber) December 12, 2023
Palestinians say 12 killed in Rafah airstrike
A picture taken from the Palestinian city of Rafah shows smoke billowing in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli strike on December 11, 2023 (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Palestinian media reports that 12 people are killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The details cannot be verified and there is no immediate comment from the IDF.
IDF announces death of reservist soldier in Gaza, taking ground op death toll to 105
Master Sgt. (res.) Tzvika Lavi, 30, of the 551st Brigade's 699th Battalion, from Eli, died of wounds sustained during fighting in Gaza in November, the IDF announced on December 12, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces announces the death of a reservist who was wounded last month during fighting in the Gaza Strip and succumbed to his wounds yesterday, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 105.
He is named as Master Sgt. (res.) Tzvika Lavi, 30, of the 551st Brigade’s 699th Battalion, from Eli.
Lavi was wounded on November 20 in northern Gaza, according to the IDF.
The military says three more soldiers, including two reservists from the 7th Armored Brigade, were seriously wounded during fighting in southern Gaza yesterday.
UN General Assembly to vote later on non-binding resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire
UN General Assembly is due to vote later today on a non-binding resolution demanding “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
The United States, one of only five permanent members of the Security Council, used its veto on Friday to halt a draft text calling for a ceasefire.
In a bid to build pressure, Arab countries called for the new special session of the General Assembly following a visit to the Rafah border by more than a dozen Security Council ambassadors this week.
There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, but unlike the Security Council its resolutions are not legally binding.
The draft text, seen by AFP, largely reproduces the resolution blocked in the Council on Friday by the US.
Friday’s resolution demanded a ceasefire but failed to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacres in Israel — in which thousands of terrorists killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostages — or to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself.
A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas ended on December 1 after it was violated by the Gaza terror group.
Norwegian-owned vessel hit with missile off Yemen coast as threats from Houthis grow
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A ship was attacked off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, two private intelligence firms said Tuesday.
The attack on the vessel came as threats have increased from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the area over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though rebel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said an important announcement would be coming soon.
The private intelligence firms Ambrey and Dryad Global confirmed the attack happened near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) later said the ship, a Norwegian commercial tanker vessel called STRINDA, was attacked “by what is assessed to have been an Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen” as it passed through Bab el-Mandeb.
The attack caused a fire and damage but no casualties.
CENTCOM said there were “no US ships in the vicinity at the time of the attack” but that the US Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea responded to the tanker mayday call and provided assistance.
CENTCOM Statement on missile attack in the Bab-el-Mandeb
At around 4 p.m. EST on December 11, the Motor Tanker STRINDA was attacked by what is assessed to have been an Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen while passing through the… pic.twitter.com/OJDoubAU2D— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 12, 2023
The Iranian-backed Houthis have carried out a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and also launched drones and missiles targeting Israel.
In recent days, they have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel, though there was no immediate apparent link between the Norwegian-owned and -operated ship and Israel.
In mid-November, Houthi rebels said they hijacked an Israeli cargo ship traveling through the Red Sea. Israel blamed Iran for the incident and denied that the vessel was Israeli.
US defense officials confirmed that Houthi rebels seized the ship, a vehicle carrier named the Galaxy Leader, in the Red Sea. The rebels descended on the cargo ship by rappelling down from a helicopter, the officials said.
The Bahaman-flagged vessel is registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, who goes by Rami. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.
According to the Israeli military, the ship was sailing from Turkey to India with an international civilian crew, without any Israelis aboard.
This handout satellite picture released by Maxar Technologies on November 28, 2023, shows the recently seized Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader ship, that was captured by Houthi rebels on November 19, next to a support vessel in the southern Red Sea near Hodeida, Yemen. (Maxar Technologies / AFP)
ICRC chief expected in Israel to meet with officials and hostages’ families — report
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, is expected in Israel on Thursday, according to Hebrew media, a week after visiting Egypt and the Gaza Strip for discussions on allowing Red Cross representatives to access the hostages taken from Israel on October 7 and held by Hamas in Gaza for over two months now.
Spoljaric is expected to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, as well as the families of hostages.
Some 138 hostages remain in Gaza of the approximately 240 people taken on October 7. At least 18 among those remaining are dead, according to Israeli defense officials, and terrorists are holding onto their remains.
105 Israeli and foreign hostages were released as part of a weeklong temporary truce deal last month that expired on December 1.
The ICRC has come under fierce criticism in Israel and abroad for not doing more to push for access to the hostages to check on their wellbeing, deliver medications, and facilitate communication with families, per its mandate.
Israel has said that Red Cross visits to the remaining hostages were a stipulation of the truce last month.
In November, Spoljaric met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar for discussions. Her office later said that the “ICRC has persistently called for the immediate release of hostages.”
“Agreements must be reached that allow the ICRC to safely carry out this work. The ICRC cannot force its way in to where hostages are held, nor do we know their location,” her office said.
Spoljaric also met last month with family members of Israeli hostages and with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Health Minister Uriel Menachem Buso in Geneva.
“Families of hostages are living through an incredibly heart-wrenching time and I want to underscore how hard we are advocating on behalf of their loved ones,” she said. “This is a key priority for me, and I know the enormous pain the families are enduring.”
‘I am a Zionist,’ says Biden at Hanukkah event, promises continued military assistance to Israel
US President Joe Biden departs after attending a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
US President Joe Biden is hosting a White House reception tonight to mark Hanukkah, celebrating the festival of lights as he has continued to denounce rising antisemitism in the US and abroad amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking at the reception, the president says the US will “continue to provide military assistance to Israel until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful — they have to be careful. The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight, we can’t let that happen.”
“As I said after the [Oct.7] attack, my commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, and the security of Israel, its right to exist as an independent Jewish state, is unshakeable.
“Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world who is safe,” says the president, to loud applause.
“The warmth and connection I feel to the Jewish community is unquestionable.” Biden added that “I ran into trouble and criticism when I said a few years ago that you don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.”
First lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are also attending the event with nearly 800 guests. Invitees include Holocaust survivors, members of Congress, state and local officials, entertainers, and leaders from across the Jewish religious denominations, the White House says.
Earlier Monday, a group of protesters staged a demonstration outside the White House, as nearly 20 women describing themselves as “Jewish elders” chained their bodies to the fence guarding the White House. Wearing black T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name,” the women chanted “Biden, Biden, pick a side! Cease-fire not genocide!” while reading the names of those killed in Gaza, along with their ages.
Cargo vessel attacked off coast of Yemen in Red Sea — report
A cargo vessel is believed to be on fire off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea amid a suspected attack by Houthi rebels.
The suspected attack occurred about 15 nautical miles from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port city of Mokha late Monday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, run by Britain’s Royal Navy (UKMTO). The ship was reportedly within the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
UKMTO later said it received a report of an “entity declaring itself to be the Yemeni Navy, ordering a naval to alter course to a Yemen port,” and warned other vessels to exercise caution.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have repeatedly attacked vessels in the Red Sea since October 7 when Hamas terrorists launched a shock onslaught on Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 240 hostages. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in Gaza and is three months into a war with the terror organization.
On Saturday, Houthi rebels threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine were allowed into Gaza.
Earlier today, a French frigate shot down two drones in the Red Sea after coming under attack from the unmanned aerial vehicles, the foreign ministry in Paris said, adding that France was acting in self-defense. The French general staff reported that the Languedoc frigate, operating in the Red Sea, had opened fire on two drones heading straight towards it from the Yemen coast, destroying both.
The Houthis have attacked ships they allege have direct links to Israel but the latest threat widens the scope of their targets.
Earlier this month, a US destroyer shot down three drones earlier this month while providing assistance to commercial ships in the Red Sea that were targeted by attacks from Yemen, according to Washington. It condemned what it said was “a direct threat” to maritime security.
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