Dec. 19: Biden says Israel must differentiate between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza

US, NATO, EU and others condemn Houthi attacks on shipping in Red Sea

A group of countries led by the United States — including the members of NATO and the European Union — release a joint statement denouncing the repeated attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, warning they “threaten international commerce and maritime security.”

“The Houthi-led seizure of the Galaxy Leader on November 19 and the detention of its 25-member international crew — who remain unjustly detained — is appalling. Such behavior also threatens the movement of food, fuel, humanitarian assistance, and other essential commodities to destinations and populations all over the world,” the statement says.

It adds: “The undersigned further encourage all states to refrain from facilitation or encouragement of the Houthis. There is no justification for these attacks, which affect many countries beyond the flags these ships sail under.”

The statement calls on the Houthis to immediately release the Galaxy Leader’s crew and stop attacking ships.

Along with member states of NATO and the EU, the other countries that signed the statement are Australia, the Bahamas, Japan, Liberia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and the United States. Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which the Houthis ejected from the capital Sanaa in 2014 as part of the Yemeni civil war, also endorsed the statement.

Biden: Israel faces ‘added burdens’ but must differentiate between Hamas, Palestinian civilians

US President Joe Biden arrives at the White House in Washington on December 19, 2023, as he returns from Wilmington, Delaware. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Speaking at a political event, US President Joe Biden says Israel is dealing with unique challenges in its ongoing war against the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group.

“[Israel] faced a burden that few… countries have to face… a military enemy that says they have one goal: the elimination, the elimination – using terror – of the entire State of Israel,” he says, according to deputy White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton.

“Hamas has no regard — none whatsoever — for whether those students or those civilians live or die. They faced additional burdens, too: Hamas is holding a significant number of hostages, including American hostage,” he adds.

Despite these “added burdens,” Biden says Israel must differentiate between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, urging it to work to minimize non-combatant deaths.

“We are talking to Israel and Arab partners about a political future for the Palestinian people and a two-state solution with Israel’s security guaranteed, where Israel enjoys peace and normal relations with Arab neighbors,” he says.

The US president also repeats his assertion that “one of the reasons Hamas moved when they did is… [because] I was working very closely with the Saudis on the formal recognition of Israel.”

Cyprus foils alleged Iranian plot to kill Israelis, in joint operation with Mossad

Illustrative: Officers stand by a police van after entering the grounds of the courthouse complex in the southwest coastal city of Paphos, Cyprus, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus has disrupted an alleged Iranian plot to target Israeli businessmen with the arrest of two Iranian asylum-seekers who were in contact with another Iranian associated with the Revolutionary Guard, a Cypriot official says.

The official tells the Associated Press the two Iranian men have been in police custody since November 3 and procedures are underway to deport them.

The official, who speaks on condition of anonymity because he’s not allowed to speak publicly about national security matters, says the suspects’ detention was the culmination of a joint operation with Israel’s Mossad security service.

Cypriot security services had been surveilling the two Iranian men for several weeks and detained them just before what authorities believe would have been the arrival of a squad to carry out killings, the official says. The targeted individuals were primarily Israeli businessmen, the official says.

Cypriot authorities say the suspects’ Iranian handler moved in and out of Cyprus through the ethnically divided island nation’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and would cross a UN-controlled buffer zone into the internationally recognized south to establish contact with the two. His identity and whereabouts were not revealed but the official said he worked for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

IDF says Iron Dome intercepted 6 rockets fired from Lebanon, 2 reservists moderately wounded in missile attack

An IDF airstrike was carried out against a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon in response to the attack on December 19, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The IDF says the Iron Dome intercepted six rockets fired from Lebanon at the Yiftah area in northern Israel a short while ago.

Shortly after, an aircraft struck the launcher and cell behind the rocket attack, the IDF says.

The IDF adds that separately, an airstrike was carried out against a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon in response to the attack.

The IDF also releases for publication that two reservists were moderately wounded in a missile attack against an army post near the northern community of Malkia earlier today.

בהמשך להתרעה במרחב יפתח, לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בהצלחה שישה שיגורים משטח לבנון. דקות ספורות לאחר מכן, כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף בשטח לבנון את המשגר ואת חוליית המחבלים שביצעה את הירי>> pic.twitter.com/UCKxlF9IHM

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 19, 2023

Due to another delay, Security Council vote on Gaza resolution won’t be held until Wednesday morning

A general view shows the United Nations Security Council after the vote about a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on December 8, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

A UN Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a surge in humanitarian aid and an urgent halt in the Israel-Hamas war has again been delayed, a diplomat for a country on the panel tells The Times of Israel.

The vote is now slated to take place Wednesday morning.

The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon, but it was postponed until this morning to try to get the US to support the resolution or abstain.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.

The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language is expected to be watered down in a final draft, possibly to a “suspension” of hostilities or something weaker to get US support, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been private.

Security Council resolutions are important because they are legally binding, but in practice, many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.

Hamas chief to visit Egypt Wednesday for Gaza ceasefire talks — source

File: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visits the Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's top Sunni religious authority, in Beirut on June 22, 2022. (Anwar Amro/AFP)

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh is set to visit Egypt on Wednesday for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange with Israel, a source close to the terror group says.

Haniyeh, based in Qatar, will head a “high-level” Hamas delegation to Egypt, where he is due to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and others, the source tells AFP on Tuesday.

The discussions will be “on stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners [and] the end of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” the source says on condition of anonymity.

According to the source, the talks in Egypt will focus on “the delivery of humanitarian aid, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the return of displaced persons to their towns and villages in the north.”

Haniyeh’s visit will be his second to Egypt since the start of the war on October 7, following a trip in early November.

Top US and Egyptian diplomats discuss ‘shared commitment to Palestinian statehood’ in call

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry hold a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, January 30, 2023. (Khaled Desouki/Pool via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken just got off the phone with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the State Department says.

The two “discussed their shared commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” the State Department says, using the same talking point it used in the readout it issued on Blinken’s call yesterday with his Saudi counterpart.

Blinken “also expressed gratitude for Egypt’s essential role in increasing the volume of humanitarian aid and commercial products reaching Palestinians in Gaza, the release of hostages and facilitating the safe cross-border exit of US and other foreign nationals via Rafah,” the US readout says.

“Secretary Blinken and Minister Shoukry discussed the importance of concrete steps to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians in all of Gaza and rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians.”

Islamic Jihad releases video of two more hostages who call on government to bring about their release

Hostages Gadi Mozes (L) and Elad Katzir in a video published by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on December 19, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group publishes a video of hostages Gadi Mozes and Elad Katzir in which they call on Israel’s leadership to urgently act to bring about their release.

Katzir and Mozes were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

Seemingly speaking under duress, the pair in separate clips are heard warning that they could die at any moment due to the IDF’s strikes.

Elad Katzir (L) and Gadi Mozes. (Courtesy)

Jerry Seinfeld tours Kibbutz Be’eri on second day of Israel visit

Jerry Seinfeld tours Kibbutz Be'eri on December 19, 2023. (Noam Lanir/Facebook)

After arriving in Israel yesterday and meeting with the families of the hostages, American comedian Jerry Seinfeld tours Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the dozens of Israeli border communities massacred by Hamas on October 7.

IDF probe reportedly reveals soldiers who shot dead hostages weren’t briefed on Hebrew sign spotted ahead of time

(From L-R) Hostages Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz, who were killed mistakenly by IDF troops in Gaza on December 15, 2023. (Courtesy)

The Kan public broadcaster reveals new details about the probe into the IDF’s mistaken killing of three hostages last Friday.

According to the report, the IDF battalion that was on duty during the incident was not briefed by the unit it was replacing about the latter group’s spotting of a Hebrew sign that read “Help – three hostages” on one of the buildings at the scene.

Moreover, the probe reportedly determined that the IDF sharpshooter who shot dead the first two hostages Alon Shamriz and Samar Talalka did not recognize the white cloth they were carrying. In the briefing he received upon starting his shift, the sniper was told that the entire area was a combat zone and he was allowed to open fire at anyone suspicious.

The probe also found that the killing of the third hostage, Yotam Haim, was particularly egregious, since he managed to flee back into a nearby building after being shot with Shamriz and Talalka.

The battalion commander then shouted at the soldiers to hold their fire but one of them proceeded to shoot and kill Haim after he reappeared from the building a second time.

US announces new batch of sanctions against 10 entities, four individuals behind production of Iranian drones

An Iranian Shahed-129 drone is displayed at a rally in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2016. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

The US Treasury Department announces a new batch of sanctions against 10 entities and four individuals based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia that it says are behind the production of Iranian drones.

The network has facilitated the acquisition of UAV parts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization and its drone program, the Treasury Department says in a statement.

“Iran’s illicit production and proliferation of its deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to its terrorist proxies in the Middle East and to Russia continues to exacerbate tensions and prolong conflicts, undermining stability,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson says.

127 aid trucks enter Gaza today through Israeli and Egyptian crossings, as figure remains down

Humanitarian aid trucks slated for Gaza on December 19, 2023. (COGAT/X)

Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians COGAT says that 127 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza today.

Sixty-seven trucks were inspected at Israel’s Nitzana Crossing before being transferred to Egypt’s Rafah Crossing and ferried into Gaza.

Sixty trucks were inspected at Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing and entered Gaza directly from there.

The number continues to lag behind the figure of 200, which Israel revealed earlier this week it committed to allowing in each day moving forward as part of the hostage deal last month.

Israel blames the UN and Egypt for failing to keep up with the amount of trucks that it is inspecting each day, while they in turn argue that Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza makes it impossible to safely deliver large amounts of aid.

Knesset panel holds hearing on legal status of Hamas terrorists captured by Israel

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee convenes a hearing on December 19, 2023. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Spokesperson’s Department)

A sub-committee of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee convenes for the first time to discuss the legal status of Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 atrocities and who were caught and detained by Israeli forces.

The session of the sub-committee is conducted behind closed doors due to the sensitive nature of the issue, and is attended by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, as well as members of Knesset.

Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman says the panel reviewed the government’s efforts to create a legal framework for holding and putting on trial these terrorists during Tuesday’s session.

“The issue of putting on trial the Nukhba terrorists is very important. It is being dealt with while the war is still being conducted,” says Rothman, who welcomed the participation of MKs from all Knesset factions in reviewing the government’s actions on the issue.

Some 3,000 members of the Hamas terror commando Nukhba forces participated in the massacres, torture and mass rape of Israeli citizens and others on October 7, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and thousands more injured and assaulted.

Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry said on October 17 that Israel was holding some 118 unlawful combatants, in reference to the Nukhba terrorists, although the number in Israeli detention facilities has risen since that date.

The Justice Ministry and State Attorney’s Office have remained tight-lipped as to how these terrorists will ultimately be put on trial.

UN chief attends private screening of IDF-compiled footage from October 7 onslaught

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (right) watches IDF-compiled footage of Hamas's October 7 onslaught on December 18, 2023. (Channel 12)

After considerable pressure from Israel, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday watched the 47-minute IDF compilation of footage from Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. It was screened privately for him at the UN headquarters, Channel 12 reports.

Guterres had not attended previous screenings organized by Israeli officials at the UN, citing scheduling difficulties.

The footage, first screened for foreign journalists in Israel on October 23, includes harrowing scenes of murder, torture and decapitation from the Hamas slaughter in southern Israel, including raw videos from the terrorists’ bodycams.

Netanyahu wraps up meeting with hostages’ families, says he’s committed to their release

Families and supporters of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza attend a rally calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (AP/Leo Correa)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wrapped up his meeting with the families of 15 hostages currently held in Gaza after more than two hours.

His office issues a statement saying the premier is committed to their release.

Many of the hostage families fumed over not being invited to the meeting, with Netanyahu’s hostage envoy Gal Hirsch capping the list at 15 families.

Vote on Security Council resolution for aid surge, ‘urgent, sustainable cessation’ in fighting delayed

French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere (C) raises his hand in favor of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a United Nations Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York on December 8, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

The UN Security Council vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in fighting has been delayed until 5 p.m. EST, as talks apparently remain at a crossroads.

The US has opposed previous resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire and that fail to condemn Hamas.

The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon, but it was postponed until this morning to try to get the US to support the resolution or abstain.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.

The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language is expected to be watered down in a final draft, possibly to a “suspension” of hostilities or something weaker to get US support, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been private.

Security Council resolutions are important because they are legally binding, but in practice, many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.

Reports: Israel looking for next hostage deal to include 30 to 40 women, elderly and sick abductees

Bouquet of Hope project brings yellow flowers to different locations to keep issue of Hamas hostages in the public conversation. (Courtesy: Daniel Tenenbaum)

In what appears to be a coordinated leak by government officials, all three major Hebrew TV networks are reporting Israel’s approach to the recently restarted negotiations for another hostage deal with Hamas.

According to the networks, Israel is seeking for the deal to include women and the elderly. It also wants those of all ages who are physically or mentally ill to be released in this package that it believes can amount to 30 to 40 hostages of the 128 still in Gaza.

Israel is prepared to negotiate the number of days it will agree to hold its fire as well as the number of and type of Palestinian prisoners it would release in exchange for the hostages, the reports say. It is also prepared to expand humanitarian zones as well as the amount of aid it would let into Gaza.

The deal would also include a concession on the military front, Channel 12 says, adding that the military censor barred the network from elaborating further.

“Israel is willing to go a long way to return the hostages. The deal, if it goes through, will be difficult and will demand heavy prices. It’s still a long way off and not sure it will succeed. In any case, the ball is currently in the mediators’ court,” a senior Israeli official tells Channel 12.

While Israeli officials continue to leak details about the hostage negotiations to Hebrew media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly urged the public only to rely on formal government statements on the matter, rather than rumors.

For weeks before the previous deal in late November, Israeli media reports speculated that a deal was imminent when that ended up not being the case. Many of the details regarding the type of deal that was unfolding reported also proved to be wrong.

IDF spokesman says military has deployed additional brigade to southern Gaza’s Khan Younis

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, December 14, 2023. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military has deployed an additional brigade to southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

“In southern Gaza, in the Khan Younis area, we are expanding our operations, and deepening it. We added a full brigade and additional combat engineering forces for operations in the area, to improve our operations,” Hagari says.

On Hamas’s vast tunnel network and other infrastructure that the IDF is working to destroy, Hagari says, “We must dismantle Hamas, and it will take as long as needed.”

Abbas aide: Hamas will not be able to dodge responsibility for what’s happening in Gaza

Palestinian Authority presidential adviser Mahmoud Habbash. (Mahmoud Habbash/Facebook)

In an interview with the Saudi news channel Al Arabiya, a top adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas blasts the Hamas terror group for bringing destruction upon Gaza, and says “that nobody will dodge their responsibility.”

“I tell our people, the price that Gaza has paid is not small, and this calls for an assessment. There will be a hard reckoning, but not for now,” Mahmoud Habbash says.

“We will not get into details, but 100,000 people have been killed or injured in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, and the infrastructure was destroyed. We cannot let this pass, nobody can dodge their responsibilities,” he adds.

In a separate interview with Al Arabiya on Monday, Habbash also accused Hamas of turning its back to the Palestinian reconciliation process which was launched in Egypt in July but did not advance.

In an interview with The Times of Israel earlier this month, Habbash tore into Hamas, saying, “We didn’t want or need this war. What was the point? Did Hamas imagine that it could win?”

‘We were treated like cattle’: Palestinians speak out after mass arrests in northern Gaza by IDF

Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees, in Gaza, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Moti Milrod, Haaretz, File)

Palestinians who were among the hundreds arrested by the IDF in northern Gaza in scenes that went viral earlier this month are speaking out about what they endured.

Palestinians detained in the shattered town of Beit Lahiya, the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya and neighborhoods of Gaza City say they were bound, blindfolded and bundled into the backs of trucks. Some say they were taken to the camp at an undisclosed location, nearly naked and with little water.

“We were treated like cattle, they even wrote numbers on our hands,” says Ibrahim Lubbad, a 30-year-old computer engineer arrested in Beit Lahiya on December 7 with a dozen other family members and held overnight. “We could feel their hatred.”

“My only crime is not having enough money to flee to the south,” says Abu Adnan al-Kahlout, an unemployed 45-year-old with diabetes and high blood pressure in Beit Lahiya. He was detained December 8 and released after several hours when soldiers saw he was too faint and nauseated to be interrogated.

“Do you think Hamas are the ones waiting in their homes for the Israelis to come find them now?” he asks. “We stayed because we have nothing to do with Hamas.”

“There are corpses all over the place, left out for three, four weeks because no one can reach them to bury them before the dogs eat them,” says Raji Sourani, a lawyer with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza. He says he saw dozens of dead bodies as he made his way from Gaza City to the southern border with Egypt last week. Israeli forces are holding one of his colleagues, human rights researcher Ayman Lubbad, in custody.

Returning home brought its own hardship. Israeli soldiers dropped detainees off after midnight without their clothes, phones or IDs near what appeared to be Gaza’s northern border with Israel, those released say, ordering them to walk through a landscape of destruction, tanks stationed along the road and snipers perched on roofs.

In response to questions about alleged mistreatment, the Israeli military says that detainees were “treated according to protocol” and were given enough food and water.

The army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, says that arrests took place in two Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza and that detainees were told to strip to make sure they didn’t conceal explosives.

Hagari says the men are questioned and then told to dress, and that in cases where this didn’t happen, the military would ensure it doesn’t occur again. Those believed to have ties to Hamas are taken away for further interrogation, and dozens of Hamas members have been arrested so far, he says.

The others are released and told to head south, where Israel has told people to seek refuge, Hagari says.

The IDF says those arrested included Hamas terrorists and that all detained were stopped for a reason.

IDF said to twice reach areas where it believes Sinwar was hiding shortly before troops arrived

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters upon his arrival at a meeting in a hall on the sea side of Gaza City, on April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

Channel 12 reports — without citing any sources — that IDF troops in recent days twice reached tunnels in northern Gaza where they believe Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was hiding just before they arrived.

The manhunt for Sinwar continues, with the report indicating that the IDF is closing in on the terror leader.

Senior IDF officer: We’ve managed to ‘break operational abilities’ of Hamas’s northern Gaza City brigade

The commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen (center) walks with other officers in Gaza City's Jabaliya, in a handout image published December 19, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, says his forces have managed to “break the operational abilities” of Hamas’s northern Gaza City brigade, as troops gain full control of the Jabaliya neighborhood.

“The 162nd Division has operational control in Jabaliya,” Cohen says. “Jabaliya is not the Jabaliya it used to be, we killed hundreds of terrorists in Jabaliya and arrested around 500 suspects in terror activities, some of whom took part in the events of October 7,” he says.

According to military assessments, some 1,000 Hamas operatives have been killed by troops in Jabaliya. Another 3,500 Palestinians have been captured by the IDF, of which at least 500 are suspected of being involved in terror, including the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

At least 70 of the estimated 3,000 terrorists who carried out the October 7 attacks lived in Jabaliya, and so far 57 of their homes have been destroyed by the IDF.

The IDF says that some of the terror suspects who surrendered to troops in Jabaliya were holed up in civilian sites, including hospitals and schools.

Many Hamas sites, including training grounds, command centers, weapon production plants and tunnels, have been destroyed in Jabaliya, the IDF adds.

The 162nd Division has also located Hamas intelligence material during the operations in Jabaliya, which has helped further operations in the area.

Cohen says his division has “led to the dismantling of the military capabilities” of Hamas’s northern Gaza City brigade.

Foreign Press Association petitions Supreme Court seeking immediate access to Gaza amid IDF restriction

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, December 16, 2023. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking immediate access to the Gaza Strip for the international media.

The association says multiple requests to the Israeli Government Press Office, the Israeli military and Defense Ministry received “no substantive response.”

In previous wars, Israel has also limited access to Gaza for journalists, but never for so long. Gaza has been completely sealed off since the war’s outbreak.

The only journalists who have been allowed in thus far are the ones being escorted by the IDF.

“Freedom of the press is a basic civil right in a democratic society,” the FPA says in a statement. “We also believe it is in the public interest to get a fuller picture of conditions inside Gaza after 10 weeks of extremely limited and highly controlled access.”

The Foreign Press Association represents 130 media outlets in more than 30 countries, including The Associated Press, that operate in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Gallant: IDF ground op will ‘expand to additional areas’ in Gaza

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) tours the Gaza border, December 19, 2023. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the ground operation will “expand to additional areas” of the Gaza Strip.

“Khan Younis has become the new capital of terror. We will not let up in our action there until we get to the senior Hamas officials,” he says while touring the Gaza border, according to remarks published by his office.

In a statement, Gallant adds that “the ground operation will expand to additional areas,” apparently referring to the Strip’s center or the southernmost city of Rafah.

Gazan father bids farewell to dead children from his hospital bed

A Palestinian woman shows the body of her grandchild to her father after it was killed in the Israel-Hamas war outside a morgue in Rafah, Gaza on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Mahmoud Zoghroub says farewell to his dead children, 17-day-old daughter Aisha and 2-year-old son Ahmed, from his hospital bed.

Wounded in the airstrike that killed his children, Zoghroub grimaced with effort as he pulled himself up to cradle Ahmed, wrapped in a white burial shroud. Zoghroub then wept and fell back again. Aisha, also bundled in white cloth, was placed next to him on his other side. At one point he tapped his heart, seemingly too exhausted to speak.

Aisha’s grandmother, Suzan, said the infant was born on December 2.

The extended family was asleep when an Israeli airstrike hit their apartment building before dawn Tuesday, Suzan Zoghroub says. She says two of her sons had apartments on higher floors, but the family stayed together on the ground floor amid fears of airstrikes.

In all, 27 people were killed in the strike attributed to Israel, hospital officials claim. Suzan Zoghroub says many were members of her extended family.

“They removed us from under the rubble and brought us here,” she says from the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah.

The IDF does not generally comment on individual strikes but insists that it doesn’t target civilians.

Security Council members in intense talks for resolution urging aid surge, halt in fighting

A general view shows the United Nations Security Council after the vote about a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on December 8, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS — UN Security Council members are in intense negotiations on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in fighting, trying to avoid another veto by the United States.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood tells reporters Tuesday morning that negotiations were still underway. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member council, says she hopes the council could vote on a resolution early Tuesday afternoon.

The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon but it was postponed until today to try to get the US to support the resolution or abstain.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.

NEW: @UAEMissionToUN has circulated updated draft resolution on #Gaza aid/monitoring which now "calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities." Other changes… https://t.co/ryjpAvl6nG pic.twitter.com/2UFYhPz3r8

— Rami Ayari (@Raminho) December 19, 2023

In its first unified action on November 15 with the US abstaining, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in fighting, unhindered aid deliveries to civilians and the unconditional release of all hostages.

The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language is expected to be watered down in a final draft, possibly to a “suspension” of hostilities or something weaker to get US support, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been private.

Security Council resolutions are important because they are legally binding, but in practice, many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.

Hamas says it will not hold hostage negotiations while IDF op in Gaza continues

Israeli troops and tanks in the Gaza Strip in a photo released December 19, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hamas reiterates its position “categorically rejecting holding any form of negotiations over a prisoner exchange” amid the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza.

“We are, however, open to any initiative that contributes to ending the aggression on our people and opening the crossings to bring in aid and provide relief to the Palestinian people,” the terror group says in a statement.

The terror group has also conditioned a deal on Israel withdrawing troops from the Strip.

Both conditions are non-starters for Israel.

IDF footage shows elite Air Force unit operating inside Hamas tunnel in Gaza City

IDF footage of troops of the Air Force's elite Shaldag unit operating inside a Hamas tunnel in Gaza City on December 19, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The IDF releases footage of troops of the Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit operating inside a Hamas tunnel in Gaza City.

The Shaldag soldiers operated inside the tunnel to scan it and obtain intelligence.

The IDF says it has discovered some 1,500 tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, and is working to demolish them.

It says that the vast majority of the tunnels have been found in civilian sites, including schools, mosques, hospitals, UN buildings and residential homes.

תיעוד ראשון: כוחות מיוחדים מ'שלדג' פועלים בתוך מנהרת טרור משמעותית של חמאס שנחשפה בלב העיר עזה.

לכל הפרטים והתיעודים:https://t.co/uxXS7n1RN0 pic.twitter.com/z6u6b5ZWnI

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 19, 2023

Netanyahu meeting with hostages’ families who fume that only 15 were invited

Bouquet of hope project brings yellow flowers to different locations to keep issue of Hamas hostages in the public conversation. (Courtesy: Daniel Tenenbaum)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting with 15 representatives of the hostages’ families at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The families were hand-picked by Netanyahu’s hostage envoy Gal Hirsch, who has already come under immense fire for his conduct in the role.

The decision to only allow 15 people into the meeting has infuriated families who say they have been pushing for a meeting for days and are being kept out of the loop.

Gallant blasts ‘irresponsible’ Ben Gvir for threatening IDF chief of staff over suspension of disorderly soldiers

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, center, speaks to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after a Knesset vote in Jerusalem, February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tears into National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after the far-right minister appeared to threaten IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi during a cabinet meeting yesterday.

“Under no circumstances should they be dismissed,” Ben Gvir told Halevi during the meeting, in reference to the army’s decision to suspend several soldiers who filmed themselves singing Hanukkah songs over the loudspeaker system in a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin.

“I will continue to support the IDF and the chief of staff in the face of irresponsible politicians who are trying to create political capital on the backs of the commanders who bear the burden of the war,” Gallant says in a statement.

Gantz: We’re determined to return southern residents to their homes soon; fighting will continue deep inside Gaza

National Unity chair Benny Gantz meets with residents of southern Israel on December 19, 2023. (Courtesy)

National Unity chairman and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz says Israel’s leadership is “committed to ensuring that the process of returning [Gaza border town residents] to their homes soon.”

Gantz makes the statement after touring several communities in southern Israel and meeting with residents there.

The war cabinet minister adds, “Even when we move to the next stage of fighting, IDF soldiers will continue to operate deep in the Gaza Strip until we achieve all our goals.”

“We will continue to hold territory in the Gaza Strip in order to provide security to Israeli towns,” he says, describing the establishment of a security buffer zone in Gaza, which the US opposes.

Gantz adds that the fight will continue until all hostages are returned and the threat of Hamas is removed.

IDF announces death of Sgt. First Class (res.) Maoz Fenigstein, bringing ground op death toll to 132

Sgt. First Class (res.) Maoz Fenigstein, 25, was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on December 19, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the death of a soldier who was killed in the northern Gaza Strip today, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 132.

The soldier is named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Maoz Fenigstein, 25, of the 551st Brigade’s 7008th Battalion, from Susya.

Israel said pushing US to secure deal that will push Hezbollah 6 miles away from border

A picture taken from a position in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon, shows smoke billowing and a fireball erupting following Israeli bombardment on hills close to the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon on December 16, 2023. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)

Israel has reportedly told the US that it wants Hezbollah pushed back six miles from its northern border in a deal that would end ongoing tensions between Jerusalem and the Lebanese terror group.

The idea behind the request is that the terror group would be too far away from the border to be able to fire at Israeli towns or conduct an invasion akin to the massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7.

The Biden administration, led by top Biden aide Amos Hochstein, has sought to reach a diplomatic solution to the ongoing tensions but has yet to make a breakthrough.

Israeli officials told visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Jerusalem couldn’t accept the continued displacement of tens of thousands of citizens from the north, Axios reports.

The Israeli officials told Austin that they don’t want Hezbollah fighters to be able to return to its military posts along the border that the IDF has destroyed over the past two months, Axios says.

Austin told Israeli leaders that he understands their concerns and will try and push for a diplomatic solution.

Impatient ministers said to ask IDF chief: When will we destroy Hamas, kill its leaders?

Illustrative: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on December 10, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In what it characterized as an “infantile” exchange at last night’s security cabinet meeting, Channel 12 quotes several ministers impatiently asking IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi when the IDF will destroy Hamas and kill its chiefs.

Several ministers, the report says, asked Halevi: “When will we see an achievement?” They specified that by “an achievement,” they meant bringing home the hostages, destroying Hamas’s capabilities, and eliminating its commanders.

Halevi, in response, reportedly said: “Hitting the commanders takes time. It took 10 years to deliver the head of [Osama] bin Laden. The best people are working on it here, so it’ll take a lot less time.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin: “We went into Gaza so that it would take 10 years? It’ll take 10 years to destroy Hamas?”

Transportation Minister Miri Regev: “Who’ll be here to see the result?”

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Levin and Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, together: “We will. We’ll be here in another 10 years.”

Regev: “We need it in a lot less than 10 years.”

Ben Gvir snaps at IDF chief: ‘I am a cabinet member. We decide’

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a National Security Committee meeting at the Knesset, November 20, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reportedly snapped at IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi at yesterday’s cabinet meeting over the suspension the army handed down to several soldiers who filmed themselves singing Hanukkah songs over the loudspeaker system in a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Ben Gvir told Halevi that the punishments harms solders’ morale, according to remarks leaked to Channel 13.

Halevi responded that the soldiers’ actions violated the army’s code of conduct and went against the values of the IDF.

“I am a cabinet member, I am a political rank. We decide,” Ben Gvir shot back.

“You are wrong. I will decide what is or isn’t moral behavior in the army. Don’t threaten me,” Halevi responded.

Several other ministers came to Halevi’s defense, telling Ben Gvir not to speak rudely to the IDF chief of staff.

“Ma’am, don’t tell me what to do,” Ben Gvir told National Unity Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton.

“Don’t call me ma’am,” she quickly replied.

This is far from Ben Gvir’s first cabinet meeting scuffle. He got into it with National Unity Minister Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, last month as well.

Petition to delay municipal elections filed by reservists who say January date will harm their campaign

Four reserve IDF officers file a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting that it order Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to postpone the nationwide municipal elections scheduled for January 30, arguing that the date will create severe difficulties for reservists running for municipal office.

The petition requests that the elections be postponed for at least several months or until combat operations have ended.

“It is unthinkable that the right to vote and to be elected is overridden by the merit and obligation of reserve military duty at a time of a multi-front war that has incredible significance for Israel’s future,” the reserve officers state in filing the petition.

The reserve officers are Lt. Col. (Res.) Eldar Sivan who is serving in Gaza and is a candidate for head of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council; Col. (Res) Amir Ellenberg who stationed on the northern border and is a candidate for head of the Lachish Regional Council; Lt. Col. (Res.) Lavi Zamir serving in Gaza and a candidate for head of the Lev Hasharon Regional Council; and Yaron Rozenthal, who is on combat duty in the Gaza Strip and a candidate for head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

The municipal elections were originally scheduled for October 31 but were postponed due to the war with Hamas in Gaza.

The High Court ordered the interior minister to respond to the petition by December 24.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convene a meeting of coalition party heads to discuss further postponing the elections.

“First, this is not a time for politics, it is a time for unity. Secondly, elections held during wartime are detrimental to reservist soldiers who are candidates in the elections,” Smotrich tells Netanyahu.

Gaza hospital chief tells Shin Bet that his medical center was taken over by Hamas, housed a hostage

Director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital Ahmed Kahlot is seen being interrogated by the Shin Bet in a video published on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. (Shin Bet)

The director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabaliya reveals in a Shin Bet interrogation that his northern Gaza hospital was turned into a military facility under Hamas’s control and that at one point it housed a kidnapped soldier.

In footage published on Tuesday by the Shin Bet and IDF, hospital director Ahmed Kahlot tells Israeli forces that Hamas had offices inside the hospital and used it as a base for operational activity.

According to Kahlot, who himself has been a lieutenant colonel in Hamas since 2010, some 16 members of the hospital’s staff – including doctors, nurses and paramedics – are also Hamas operatives who serve in the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terror organization.

He adds that several members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades are also employed in the hospital.

Beleaguered Red Cross chief calls continued Gaza conflict a ‘moral failure’

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger delivers remarks during a press briefing in Avully near Geneva, on June 7, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross tells journalists that the conflict in Gaza is a “moral failure,” as she presses for a ceasefire to end the fighting.

“I have been speaking of moral failure because every day this continues is a day more where the international community hasn’t proven capable of ending such high levels of suffering and this will have an impact on generations not only in Gaza,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric tells journalists in Geneva following trips to Gaza and Israel.

“There’s nothing without an agreement by the two sides, so we urge them to keep negotiating and to keep facilitating the space that we need in order to operationalize the releases (of hostages and detainees).”

Spoljaric has come under immense fire in Israel for failing to do enough to pressure Hamas to allow Red Cross visits to the hostages still in Gaza. She claims public pressure against Hamas won’t work but has made a point of issuing ample criticism against Israel throughout the war.

Hostage families block Defense Ministry entrance for 240 seconds every hour as reminder of those in Gaza

Families of hostages block the exit of the Defense Ministry at 2:29 p.m. on December 19, 2023 (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

A small crowd stands outside the main entrance to the Defense Ministry on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road where families of the hostages set up tents on Saturday night and stand throughout most hours of the day under the shadow of the Azrieli buildings.

At 2:29, several walk into the access road used by cars leaving the Defense Ministry and stand, blocking the cars that are trying to exit the compound.

Under the tent, Nadav Rudeif, whose father, Lior Rudeif, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, briefly explains that they block traffic every hour at the 29th minute, remembering the Hamas attacks that began at 6:29 a.m. on October 7. They block traffic for 240 seconds, marking the number of hostages initially taken by Hamas terrorists on that day.

At that moment, the sister of hostage Yagev Buchshtav speaks about her big brother, a musician who works in sound and builds his own instruments.

Families of hostages block the exit of the Defense Ministry at 2:29 p.m. on December 19, 2023 (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

She speaks about Yagev and his wife Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav, who was freed during the temporary ceasefire, and their five cats and five dogs, the last of which was finally found after it wandered around their community of Kibbutz Nirim for weeks.

Four minutes later, she stops speaking at a nod from Rudeif, and those blocking the road return to the sidewalk as a line of cars exit onto Begin Road, one of Tel Aviv’s main thoroughfares.

“This location helps because we stand here, at the Defense Ministry, where generals and soldiers see us and the security guards already know us,” says Rudeif, adding that he spends about 16 hours a day there.

“The public is returning to regular life and the news has become a kind of white noise for them,” says Rudeif.

“It’s been 74 days and I don’t blame anyone but we can’t let the hostages become part of the white noise.”

“We’re not against you,” says Yagev Buchshtav’s sister, “but we need you to be courageous and bring them home.”

Poll: Over two-thirds of Israelis want elections immediately after war

Central Election Committee workers count the final ballots in the Knesset on November 3, 2022 (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

A new poll from the Israel Democracy Institute finds that over two-thirds of Israelis (69%) believe elections should be held as soon as the war is over — 66% of Jewish Israelis and 84% of Arab Israelis.

Asked how they plan to vote, a majority said they plan to vote for the same political bloc, though many will shift parties within their bloc, particularly those who vote for left-wing parties, the survey finds.

An overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis (91.5%) across all political orientations think the IDF is trying to obey international law and rules of war. By contrast, just under a quarter (24%) of Arab Israelis say the same.

Two-thirds of Israelis think that the government does not have a clear plan of action for the day after the war, the survey shows.

Amid mass international protests and public criticism against Israel for its conduct in the war, 62% of Jewish Israelis think this is due to antisemitism and hatred of Israel, while only 7.5% think civilian casualties and destruction in Gaza is the reason, the survey finds.

Twenty-two percent say both are equal drivers. In contrast, only 10.5% of Arab Israelis attribute the criticism to antisemitism; 52% to civilian casualties and destruction in Gaza, and 11% to both equally.

Herzog: Israel ready for another truce in exchange for hostages, aid can be tripled

President Isaac Herzog meets with a group of foreign ambassadors at his Jerusalem residence on December 19, 2023. (GPO)

President Isaac Herzog tells a group of ambassadors from 80 countries that Israel is prepared for a second pause in the fighting in exchange for the release of more hostages.

The seven-day pause last month brought home some 105 hostages.

Herzog briefed the envoys on the war in Gaza, placing an emphasis on Israel’s humanitarian effort, his office says, urging international organizations to do more to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Gaza.

“The amount of humanitarian aid can be tripled instantaneously,” he claimed, asserting that Israel has been inspecting hundreds of trucks at its Nitzana Crossing each day but that UN agencies and other partners on the ground have failed to keep up, resulting in the entry of just 125 to 100 trucks a day.

The UN has pushed back against this claim, saying that Israeli bombing has made it very difficult to safely deliver the aid. The US argued that the bottleneck was due to Israel’s refusal to reopen its Kerem Shalom Crossing. It coaxed Israel into taking that step, and on Sunday nearly 200 trucks of aid entered Gaza for the first time since the truce.

“You can triple the amount of trucks easily if there was only an effort by the United Nations and its partners. The world has to know that you could have had tens of thousands of tons a day more going into Gaza,” Herzog says.

“The president noted that Israel was not in a war with the Palestinian people, but was fighting its enemy the terrorist organization Hamas,” the Israeli readout says.

““I can reiterate the fact that Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages. And the responsibility lies fully with Sinwar and the leadership of Hamas,” Herzog tells the ambassadors.

Levin says judicial selection panel will hold preliminary meeting next month after delay

The Judicial Selection Committee meets for the first time in over 18 months in Jerusalem, on November 16, 2023. (GPO)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin informs members of the Judicial Selection Committee that the panel will convene on January 11 for a preliminary discussion on appointing two new justices to the Supreme Court, as well as electing a new president for Israel’s top court.

There will not, however, be a vote on candidates in the meeting. Eight further meetings of the committee have been scheduled for February, March and April.

Previous Supreme Court president Esther Hayut retired in October but due to Levin’s lengthy refusal to convene the Judicial Selection Committee a replacement has not been appointed.

Justice Uzi Vogelman became acting president, but he is also scheduled to retire in 2024, meaning there will be two empty seats on the court.

Levin wishes to abandon the seniority system whereby the justice with the greatest number of years on the court is the de facto choice for president, as part of his efforts to give the government greater control over the court.

The coalition has the guaranteed votes of only three members on the panel – Levin himself, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, and Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer – a situation that has reinforced Levin’s reluctance to convene the committee.

Appointments to the lower courts, where there are dozens of open seats on the benches, require a majority of five to four, while appointments to the Supreme Court need a majority of seven.

Pressure due to petitions to the High Court against Levin’s position forced his hand to agree to convene the committee, which he finally did last month.

The committee was supposed to have met last week, but the session was postponed due to scheduled votes on the supplementary state budget in Knesset.

The January meeting will also discuss objections raised by Strock to some of the 14 temporary judges appointed to the lower courts in November.

Netanyahu speaks to India’s Modi about Houthi threat to world shipping

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi (R) attend an Israeli-Indian economic conference in New Delhi on January 15, 2018. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with India’s Narendra Modi about the threat to global shipping posed by repeated attacks in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“The two leaders spoke about the importance of safeguarding the free shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that is threatened by the Houthis at the behest of Iran, and the global interest in preventing harm to international trade, including the economies of Israel and India,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office says.

The statement quotes Modi as saying that freedom of shipping is an essential global need that must be protected.

The two also discussed bringing Indian workers to Israel.

Netanyahu thanked Modi for “India’s support in Israel’s just war to destroy Hamas,” the statement said.

Knesset told country lacks facilities to treat those traumatized by current war

Limor Luria, head of the Defense Ministry's Rehabilitation Department, speaks during a Labor and Welfare Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel lacks the capacity to treat all of those injured and traumatized in the ongoing war, a representative of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division tells lawmakers.

Addressing the Knesset’s Labor and Welfare Committee, Limor Luria says that since the outbreak of the war, her department has dealt with 2,816 new patients, 18% of whom are suffering from mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“If we don’t get additional resources and standards, we won’t be able to take care of everyone,” she declares, adding that despite its commitment to do so, the ministry has not established a separate department for treating soldiers suffering from PTSD.

This is especially worrying because the current conflict is “unlike anything that has happened in the past,” says Idan Kleiman, who heads the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization. “We expect about 10,000 PTSD sufferers.”

Hamas says Gaza war death toll over 19,600

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip outside a morgue in Rafah, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that at least 19,667 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in the Strip since October 7.

According to the ministry, 52,586 people in Gaza have been wounded in more than two months of fighting.

The figures cannot be verified and Hamas does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. It also does not discriminate between those killed by Israel and those killed by the hundreds of rockets it fired that fell short in Gaza.  Israel says it has killed more than 7,000 terrorists inside Gaza.

The war was sparked when Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking some 240 hostages.

IDF carries out airstrike against terror cell on Lebanon border

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a cell operating on the Lebanon border, close to Hanita.

Tanks also shelled a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon, and artillery shelled an area on the border near Yir’on to “remove a threat.”

Meanwhile, the Iron Dome intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, setting off sirens in several communities, the IDF adds.

Meta’s call to remove 2 videos of Israel-Hamas war is reversed by Oversight Board

A car passes Facebook's new Meta logo on a sign at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on October 28, 2021. (Tony Avelar/AP)

A quasi-independent review board is recommending that Facebook parent company Meta overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war.

In both cases, Meta ended up reinstating the posts — one showing Palestinian casualties in an apparent strike on the al-Shifa hospital and the other, an Israeli hostage pleading for her life — on its own, although it added warning screens to both due to violent content. This means the company isn’t obligated to do anything about the board’s decision.

That said, the board also said it disagrees with Meta’s decision to bar the posts in question from being recommended by Facebook and Instagram, “even in cases where it had determined posts intended to raise awareness.” And it said Meta’s use of automated tools to remove “potentially harmful” content increased the likelihood of taking down “valuable posts” that not only raise awareness about the conflict but may contain evidence of human rights violations. It urged the company to preserve such content.

The Oversight Board, established three years ago by Meta, issued its decisions today in what it said was its first expedited ruling — taking 12 days rather than the usual 90.

IDF carries out drill in West Bank settlements, northern communities mirroring Oct. 7 attack

The Israel Defense Forces recently carried out a drill simulating a potential massive attack on West Bank settlements and communities in northern Israel bordering the Green Line, similar to the October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.

The drill, which took place sometime in the past week, was first reported by Channel 12 news and later confirmed to The Times of Israel.

According to military sources, the drill is part of a series of various scenarios that the IDF is preparing for in the West Bank, in light of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians and 240 taken hostage.

Troops uncover Hamas weapons caches, manufacturing plants in northern Gaza

A Hamas weapons cache found in northern Gaza in a photo released on December 19, 2023 (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the 261st Brigade’s 6651st Reconnaissance Battalion operating in northern Gaza’s Atatra and Jabaliya located Hamas weapons caches and manufacturing plants, the IDF says.

The IDF says the troops recovered a large number of firearms, rockets, and explosives.

The troops also raided nearby homes of Hamas operatives, locating further weapons there, and intelligence materials, the IDF says. The soldiers also found pictures of children in Hamas uniform, posing with weapons.

Pictures showing children in Hamas military uniforms, posing with weapons discovered by IDF troops in northern Gaza in a photo released on December 19, 2023 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says the 6651st Battalion has ambushed and killed dozens of Hamas operatives in recent days. In one of the battles on Sunday, Master Sgt. (res.) Daniel Yacov Ben Harosh, 31, was killed.

Drone infiltration alert sounds in northern Israel

A drone infiltration alert sounds in northern Israel.

Alerts sound in communities across the Upper Galilee, including Ayelet HaShachar, Mishmar HaYarden and Sde Eliezer.

The Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon has sent several explosive-laden drones across the border, but there have also been several false alarms.

The terror group has also carried out dozens of missile and rocket attacks in recent weeks.

Medics say no reports of injuries or direct hits in rocket fire on Tel Aviv

The Magen David Adom rescue service says it has not received any reports of direct hits or injuries during the rocket fire on the Tel Aviv area.

MDA says it’s continuing to carry out searches in the area.

Rockets fired at central Israel; Tel Aviv targeted for first time in a week

Rockets are fired from Gaza at central Israel, the first to target the Tel Aviv area in a week.

Warning sirens sound in southern Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Bat Yam. Sirens also sound in Rishon Lezion, Kfar Chabad and Beit Dagan.

Five rockets were fired, with one intercepted.

Hamas claims responsibility for firing the rockets.

Rocket Alerts [13:01:04] – 7 Alerts:

• Shfela (Lowlands) — Tzafria, Kfar Chabad, Rishon LeZion – East, Rishon LeZion – West, Beit Dagan
• Dan — Bat Yam, Tel Aviv – South and Jaffa#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/mdo4Zzhqtm

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) December 19, 2023

Reservists suspended for mocking Palestinian detainees in West Bank

The Israeli army suspends a group of soldiers recorded smoking a water pipe and joking in front of Palestinians who were detained and blindfolded.

The video, which was uploaded to social media and has garnered millions of views in the past two days, shows soldiers laughing and eating snacks as at least seven Palestinians are sitting blindfolded in the same room in the West Bank city of Jenin.

“The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is deplorable and stands in stark contrast to the values of the IDF,” a spokesperson says. After a disciplinary hearing, the reserve duty soldiers were suspended until further notice, the spokesperson adds.

Israeli soldiers mock blindfolded and detained Palestinians in Jenin in video posted on social media, smoking hookah and eating chips pic.twitter.com/w8VLmbBUC4

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 19, 2023

In first, Singapore ambassador to Israel presents credentials to Herzog

Newly arrived Singaporean Ambassador Ian Mack, left, presents his credentials to President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on December 19, 2023 (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Singapore’s new ambassador to Israel Ian Mak presents his credentials to President Isaac Herzog today, marking the first time the island nation has posted an envoy to Israel despite a 54-year-long relationship.

Israel and Singapore have close diplomatic and military ties, with Israel being a major arms supplier to the country.

Mak was one of three envoys to present their credentials today, along with new ambassadors from North Macedonia and Ecuador.

Since the beginning of the war with Hamas, Israel has seen eight ambassadors depart, with some of them having been recalled in protest.

With many of those recalled for consultations being from South American countries, the presentation of the charter by the Ecuadorian ambassador Maria Veronica Abed Rojas is a positive sign for Israel.

Knesset probes FM Cohen handing out diplomatic passports to Likud bigwigs

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen address the press at United Nations Headquarters, accompanied by family members of individuals kidnapped by Hamas, on October 24, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/AFP)

Members of the Knesset State Control Committee demand answers from representatives of the Foreign Ministry, following reports that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen ordered diplomatic passports to be issued to prominent members of his Likud party against the advice of counsel from professional staff in his office.

A panel of ministry professionals adjudicating Cohen’s requests for the diplomatic passports ruled against issuing them, but Foreign Ministry Director General Ronen Levy overruled the committee, informing members that he was doing so on specific instructions from Cohen, according to the Haaretz daily.

Committee chairman MK Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) calls on officials to act with greater transparency in granting diplomatic passports to non-diplomatic personnel by releasing a list of criteria for granting diplomatic passports — stating that for the minister to override a decision of the ministry’s exceptions committee, which decides such matters, “doesn’t look good.”

Addressing lawmakers, Levy’s deputy Yossi Dayan, a former Likud activist, complains the ministry leadership has been subjected to a “media lynching” following the Haaretz report, and argues that the issuance of the disputed passports is within the minister’s authority and was conducted within the bounds of the law.

Raising the example of passport recipient Tamir Idan, Dayan says that the chairman of the Sdot Negev Regional Council is involved in a ministry agricultural project which is “very significant.”

Asked how many diplomatic passports are currently extant as a result of Cohen overriding the committee, Foreign Ministry representatives told lawmakers that there were fewer than 10.

France to sanction ‘extremist’ settlers

IDF soldiers scuffle with settlers from the Einav settlement trying to storm the town of Deir Sharaf in the Nablus governorate of the West Bank on November 2, 2023, after an Israeli was killed when his car came under fire. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

France will sanction certain extremist Israeli settlers, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says, denouncing “unacceptable” violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

France “has decided to take measures… against certain extremist Israeli settlers,” Colonna says at a joint press conference with her British counterpart David Cameron after she traveled to Israel and the West Bank. “I was able to see for myself the violence committed by certain of these extremist settlers. It’s unacceptable.”

The US and UK implemented similar steps last week.

Palestinians say 28 people killed in Rafah strikes

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, December 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

A strike on a home in Rafah killed at least 25 people, including women and children, and another strike killed at least three people, according to Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arrive at two local hospitals earlier in the day.

The IDF has not commented specifically but said one of its strikes on the southern Gaza city killed a top Hamas money launderer.

It was not immediately clear if this was the same strike.

IDF shells sites in Lebanon after rocket fire

This picture taken from the Israeli side of border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing following Israeli strike around the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab on December 18, 2023 (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The IDF says it shelled sites in southern Lebanon with artillery this morning, amid repeated skirmishes with Hezbollah.

It says that one rocket was fired from Lebanon at Metula a short while ago, which landed in an open area.

Troops are shelling the launch site, the IDF adds.

Poll indicates most Americans oppose Biden’s handling of Israel-Hamas war

U.S. President Joe Biden, center left, pauses during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center right, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. At left: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken; at right: Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, second right and lawmaker Benny Gantz, right. (Miriam Alster/Pool Photo via AP)

A poll published today indicates that most Americans are opposed to US President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

The New York Times/Siena College poll finds that 57% of Americans disapprove, 33% approve, and the rest did not know.

The poll also finds a split between younger voters and older ones. The poll finds that among people between 18 and 29 years old, nearly three-quarters disapprove of the way Biden is handling the conflict.

Americans are also split on what course Biden should pursue. Some 44 percent said Israel should end its military campaign; whereas 39 percent said Israel should push on.

Forty-eight percent of all voters said they believed Israel was not taking enough precautions to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

The poll also found that 48% believe that former president Donald Trump, Biden’s likely challenger in next years election, would do a better job of handling the Israel-Hamas conflict. Just 38% believe Biden will do a better job.

IDF says top Hamas money man killed in Gaza airstrike

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

The IDF and Shin Bet security agency announce that a Gazan man involved in transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hamas’s military wing was killed in an airstrike.

According to a joint statement, Subhi Farwanah and his brother worked to transfer funds, using a currency exchange store, to Hamas and its military wing over the last few years.

Farwanah was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Rafah, according to the IDF.
The statement says Hamas’s military wing depends on funds, via money exchangers, to be able to fight.

The money exchangers receive funds from Iran and other countries abroad, and launder them for Hamas while avoiding international financing systems, according to the Shin Bet.

“Farwanah was one of the few and prominent money exchangers who was able to transfer to the military wing of Hamas the amount of money needed for the fighting,” the IDF and Shin Bet say.

The statement says Farwanah transferred tens of millions of dollars to Hamas over the last few years, as well as during the ongoing war, “knowing that the funds are essential to the continued ability of the [military wing of Hamas] to fight.”

Houthis vow to defy international coalition, keep up Red Sea attacks

A Yemeni man carries a gun as he takes part in march to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on December 2, 2023. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they would not halt attacks on Red Sea shipping despite the announcement by the United States of a new maritime protection force.

“Even if America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world, our military operations will not stop… no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti says on X, formerly Twitter.

Troops find explosive device hidden in Gaza health clinic

Israeli troops and tanks in the Gaza Strip in a photo released December 19, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit discovered an explosive device hidden inside a health clinic in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, the IDF says.

Also in Shejaiya, the IDF says troops of the Bislamach Brigade located many weapons belonging to Hamas operatives.

In another area of Gaza City, the 179th Brigade located and destroyed a tunnel shaft near the coast. After the tunnel was exploded, the troops identified a group of Hamas operatives fleeing to a nearby building, which was later struck by a fighter jet, according to the IDF.

In southern Gaza, the IDF says troops of the 55th Brigade raided Hamas sites in Khan Younis, killing an operative who fired an RPG at them. A weapons depot was also found by the soldiers.

The IDF says the Navy has also continued to carry out strikes in Gaza, including buildings along the coast used by Hamas operatives and vessels.

צוות הקרב החטיבתי 55 ביצע פשיטות משולבות על תשתיות טרור בחאן יונס ובמהלכן חיסלו הלוחמים בירי מחבל אשר שיגר נ"ט מסוג RPG לעבר הכוח. הלוחמים איתרו מחסן אמצעי לחימה ובו מטעני חבלה, נשקים ורימונים>> pic.twitter.com/FDbrqyJMFw

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 19, 2023

Foreign Ministry issues travel warning for the Maldives

Illustrative: Foreign tourists arrive in a resort in the Kurumba island in Maldives, February 12, 2012. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)

The Foreign Ministry issues a travel warning to Israelis against visiting the Maldives, citing increased anti-Israel sentiment during the war with Hamas.

The warning comes “due to the heightened anti-Israel atmosphere, including public comments by officials.”

The statement recommends that Israelis refrain from visiting at this time and those already there should consider leaving.

The warning notes that should Israelis need help, the Foreign Ministry would “find it difficult to provide assistance.”

Israel does not have diplomatic ties with the Muslim-majority nation, but Israelis have been allowed to visit the country famed for its island atolls.

As part of a broader travel warning issued in the wake of the war, Israel cautioned its citizens from visiting the Maldives along with other Muslim nations.

UK maritime group reports shipping ‘incident’ at entrance to Red Sea

A UK maritime group reports a shipping “incident” at the entrance to the Red Sea in another possible attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO), run by Britain’s Royal Navy, says it received a report from a vessel traveling some 90 miles northeast of Djibouti.

It says authorities are investigating and further details will be provided shortly.

The report comes a day after the United States announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea, with Britain, France, Bahrain and Italy among countries joining the “multinational security initiative.”

UKMTO WARNING 016/DEC/2023

INCIDENThttps://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/dwDdqBrXhz

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 19, 2023

Iran says gas stations working again after suspected cyberattack

People wait at a gas station in Tehran on December 18, 2023, as fuel distribution across 70 percent of Iran's gas stations was disrupted due to a 'possible sabotage, state media reported. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

All fuel stations in Iran were reportedly working this morning, a day after a suspected cyberattack took 70% of them offline.

Jafar Salari Nesab, the CEO of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, tells Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA that all the gas stations are working, but some still had issues with the payment system and only 60% are currently able to accept fuel cards.

He says he hoped all the issues would be solved by the end of the day.

An Israeli-linked group known as “Gonjeshke Darande,” or “predatory sparrow,” claimed the attack, saying it had disabled “a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran.”

The group claimed to have gained access to the payment systems of the impacted gas stations, as well as each station’s central server and management system.

Daughter of man in Hamas hostage video: They won’t last much longer

From left: Chaim Peri, Amiram Cooper, and Yoram Metzger, three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza who appeared in an undated propaganda video released by the terror group on December 18 (pictures courtesy; combo photo: Times of Israel)

The daughter of hostage Chaim Peri, 79, who was seen in a Hamas propaganda video released yesterday, says it is encouraging to see a sign of life from her father after so many days in captivity, but she worries the elderly won’t survive much longer.

Peri, who was abducted by Hamas from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home, is seen speaking in the video alongside fellow Nir Oz residents Amiram Cooper, 84, and Yoram Metzger, 80.

“It was very emotional to see dad after 73 days,” his daughter Noam tells Army Radio.

“But we are really worried. This doesn’t change what we have been saying the whole time, they won’t last very long there. They don’t have time, every day in captivity endangers their lives.”

IDF demolishes home of Palestinian suspected of killing man and son in West Bank terror attack

An undated photo shows Shay Silas Nigreker, 60 (right) and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir, who were killed in a terror attack in the West Bank town of Huwara, August 19, 2023. (Courtesy)

IDF troops demolished the West Bank home of a Palestinian man suspected of killing an Israeli father and son in a terror attack in August, Hebrew media report.

Troops went into the town of Aqraba and destroyed the home of Osama Bani Fadl, who had been arrested for gunning down Shay Silas Nigreker, 60, and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir, residents of Ashdod, at a carwash in the town of Huwara, south of Nablus.

Bani Fadl was arrested in a raid on Jenin in November. He was found hiding in an attic space, above a door hidden behind a double wall, footage released by the IDF showed. He was found hiding with an M-16 rifle, magazines, and a Hamas flag.

Israeli authorities often take punitive action such as home demolitions even before a conviction in cases of terrorist attacks. Jerusalem defends the practice of razing the family home of attackers as a deterrent against future assaults and officials have argued that speed is essential, claiming that the deterrent factor degrades over time.

Over the years, a number of Israeli defense officials have questioned the efficacy of the practice and human rights activists have denounced it as unfair collective punishment.

IDF announces deaths of 2 soldiers, raising Gaza ground op toll to 131

Master Sgt. (res.) Daniel Yacov Ben Harosh, 31, left, and Captain (res.) Rotem Yosef Levy, 24, right, were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on December 18, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the deaths of two soldiers killed in Gaza, raising the number of slain troops since the ground operation in Gaza began in late October to 131.

They are:

Master Sgt. (res.) Daniel Yacov Ben Harosh, 31, of the 551st Brigade’s 6551st Battalion, from the West Bank settlement of Alon, who was killed fighting in northern Gaza yesterday.

Cpt. (res.) Rotem Yosef Levy, 24, deputy commander of the Combat Engineering Corps’ Yahalom unit, from Oranit, who was also killed in action in northern Gaza yesterday.

In addition, the military says two soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion were seriously wounded yesterday in fighting in southern Gaza.

Canadian youth to face new charges in alleged terror plot targeting Jews

OTTAWA — A Canadian youth facing terrorism-related charges for allegedly targeting Jewish people last week faced additional charges Monday including possession of explosive substances, according to a source close to the case.

The suspect, who cannot be identified due to their age, was already facing two charges for facilitating and directing “terrorist activity” against Jews in the city of Ottawa.

The three new charges state that the young person was in possession of explosive substances at the time of the arrest on Saturday, including acetone, an oxidizer and metal ball bearings, with intent to “endanger life.”

The suspect made a brief videotaped appearance at the Ottawa courthouse on Monday.

At the time of the youth’s arrest, Canadian federal police said they were noticing a “disturbing trend” of violent extremism among some Canadian young people.

Five young people have been arrested for terrorism-related offenses since June, it added.

“I was shocked to learn the details of a planned attack against Ottawa’s Jewish community,” the capital’s Mayor Mark Sutcliffe posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group representing Jewish organizations across Canada, said on X that it was grateful that authorities were able to “foil the threat & that no one was hurt.”

An increasing number of antisemitic acts have been reported in Canada since October 7, when Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, and took about 240 hostages.

In November, two Jewish schools in Montreal came under fire, one of them twice, without injury. Molotov cocktails also hit a synagogue and a Jewish community center in the city.

Antisemitic attacks and harassment have increased sharply since the October 7 attacks.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iran accused of illegally testing missiles, sending drones to Russia, enriching uranium

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Western powers in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran on Monday of developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level for a country without a nuclear weapons program — all in violation of a UN resolution endorsing the deal.

Iran and its ally, Russia, dismissed the charges by Britain, France and Germany, strongly supported by the United States, which pulled out of the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018.

The six-party agreement was aimed at ensuring that Iran could not develop atomic weapons. Under the accord, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for the peaceful use of nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

The sharp exchanges came at the Security Council’s semi-annual meeting on the implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal.

Both Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Iravani and Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia blamed the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA, Western sanctions and an “anti-Iran” stance for the current standoff.

Iravani said Iran is allowed to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Nebenzia rejected alleged evidence that it was using Iranian drones in Ukraine.

At the council meeting, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo stressed that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres still considers the JCPOA “the best available option to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful.”

She urged Iran to reverse course, as did the three European countries who issued a joint statement quoting the IAEA as saying Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium now stand at 22 times the JCPOA limit.

“There is no credible civilian justification for the state of Iran’s nuclear program,” the UK, France and Germany said. “The current trajectory only brings Iran closer to weapons-related capabilities.”

The Europeans and US Minister Counselor John Kelley stressed that they would use all means to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

As for the future, Kelley told the council: “Iran should take actions to build international confidence and de-escalate tensions and not continue nuclear provocations that pose grave proliferation risks.”

After delay, UN Security Council to vote today on Gaza ceasefire resolution

The UN Security Council is expected to vote today on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for a halt to hostilities in Gaza, after delaying the vote Monday afternoon to avoid a second US veto.

The council said Monday’s 5 p.m. vote was pushed back until Tuesday morning, and diplomats said negotiations were taking place to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain or vote “yes” on the resolution.

The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza, the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” and to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of Gazan civilians in need of food, water and medicine.

But this language is expected to be watered down to a “suspension” of hostilities or similar language to get US support, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private.

Like the resolution vetoed by the US on October 9, the new draft text too does not explicitly name Hamas but does vaguely condemn “all indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”

The importance of a Security Council resolution is that it is legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on December 9.

The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec. 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.

US CENTCOM confirms two vessels attacked by Houthis in Red Sea

Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen publish a video showing how the group hijacked an Israeli-linked shipping vessel in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

US CENTCOM confirms that there were two Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea yesterday (Monday).

The attacks on the Norwegian-owned chemical/oil tanker Swan Atlantic and the bulk cargo ship M/V CLARA on Monday were the latest in a flurry of maritime incidents that have been disrupting global trade in an attempt to pressure Israel over its war against Hamas, following the Palestinian terror group’s surprise attack on October 7 when thousands of terrorists massacred 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 240 hostages.

CENTCOM says Swan Atlantic “was attacked by a one-way attack drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” and the “USS CARNEY, the closest US warship, responded to assess damage” in the southern Red Sea.

At approximately the same time on December 18, at approximately 9:00a.m. Sanaa time, M/V CLARA reported an explosion in the water near their location. There was no request for support or report of damage.

There were no injuries reported during either incident.

In a statement Monday, the Houthis said they had carried out a “military operation against two ships linked to the Zionist entity” using naval drones, as part of their campaign to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, which it has vowed to destroy.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea, imperiling a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade

The Houthis vowed to “continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports… from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas” until more food and medicine is allowed into Gaza.

But the Swan Atlantic’s owner, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a statement the ship was carrying biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island.

It said the vessel has “no Israeli link” and was managed by a Singaporean firm, adding that the Indian crew were unharmed and the vessel sustained limited damage.

Three US warships — the USS Carney, the USS Stethem and the USS Mason, all Navy destroyers — have been moving through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait daily to help deter and respond to attacks from the Houthis.

Early on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships the Red Sea.

“This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Austin said in statement released just after midnight in Bahrain. “Therefore today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative.”

The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain will join the US in the new mission, Austin announced. Some of the countries will conduct joint patrols while others provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Blinken notes US commitment to establishing Palestinian state in call with Saudi counterpart

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscores the Biden administration’s commitment to establishing a Palestinian state during a phone call with Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Blinken also stressed “the importance of urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing the further spread of the conflict,” according to a US readout.

The top US diplomat “condemned continued attacks by the Houthis on commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea and urged cooperation among all partners to uphold maritime security,” the State Department says.

In Israel, Jerry Seinfeld meets with freed hostages, families of abductees in Gaza

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld arrived in Israel this morning, and met tonight with families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip as well as with hostages recently released from captivity since Hamas’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel.

Channel 13 reports that the meeting lasted two hours longer than scheduled, and Seinfeld was “sensitive” and “caring.”

ג'רי סיינפלד נפגש עם משפחות החטופים בת"א – ויצא עם הדיסקית על צווארו

עדכונים שוטפים – https://t.co/0bQRHYfDev pic.twitter.com/DmXL1q4pHJ

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) December 18, 2023

Seinfeld, wearing a symbolic dog tag around his neck meant to draw attention to the plight of the hostages, waved to a camera as he got into a van following the meeting, but did not comment.

The channel says the Jewish-American entertainer plans to visit the southern border region and possibly meet with Israeli soldiers.