The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they happened.

UNGA okays measure asking ICJ to weigh in on Israel’s aid obligations to Palestinians

The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution asking the UN’s highest court to state what Israel’s obligations are in Gaza and the West Bank to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival of Palestinian civilians.

Thursday’s vote on the Norwegian-sponsored resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice is 137-12, with 22 abstentions. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, voted against the resolution.

In a nonbinding opinion in July, the court condemned Israel’s presence in areas captured during the 1967 Six-Day War as unlawful and called on Israel to end its military presence in those areas and halt settlement construction immediately.

The resolution seeks the ICJ’s guidance on additional questions about its July ruling, including what Israel’s obligations are “to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”

US said to demand Israel declare it is not deliberately starving Gazans

Palestinians stand in line for a food portion at a distribution center south of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17, 2024 (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
Palestinians stand in line for a food portion at a distribution center south of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17, 2024 (Bashar Taleb/AFP)

The Biden administration’s Middle East aid envoy Lisa Grande reportedly made demands of Israel regarding the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, in a harsh phone call with Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, COGAT chief Gen. Ghassan Alian.

Channel 12 news reports that Grande demanded during the call that Israel declare it is not following a policy of deliberately starving Gazans amid the ongoing war, which was sparked by Hamas’s brutal massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

She also demanded that Israel cancel all civilian evacuation orders, allow Palestinians who have been evacuated to return to their homes, and present a comprehensive plan to reduce harm to civilian infrastructure, according to the report.

Channel 12 cites US officials as saying that it was a constructive call, though it caught Alian off guard — especially given Israeli efforts in recent months to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“There are some in our administration who believe the harm to civilian infrastructure is not proportionate,” Grande reportedly said during the call.

“Stunned” by the call, Alian was said to respond: “What kind of proportionality is expected from the IDF when it is acting against a terrorist organization whose deliberate modus operandi is to fight from inside civilian areas and civilian and humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, residential buildings, UN facilities, and others, while simultaneously keeping 100 hostages in these areas.”

“I am astounded that you raise the notion that we are following a policy of deliberate starvation. We are bringing in aid on a wide scale and without limitation, and there has been an increase in the inflow of aid since October, especially in November,” the COGAT chief said, according to Channel 12.

The International Criminal Court in the Hague has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly using starvation as a method of war against the Palestinians.

Israel has persistently claimed that it has facilitated the transfer of tens of thousands of aid trucks with enough food to provide for Gaza’s nutritional needs, and has blamed the UN for not scaling up its logistics and distribution operations.

Blinken says he hopes Trump will continue efforts on Saudi-Israel normalization

NEW YORK – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voices hope that President-elect Donald Trump will pick up his work to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, acknowledging a historic deal will not happen under Joe Biden’s administration.

Blinken until recently was still voicing hope at reaching an agreement, which he had dangled as an incentive for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show moderation in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

“The work that we’ve done on putting in place the elements of that deal, including what we and Saudi Arabia would do together, what they would do with Israel, all of that is now there,” Blinken says in an interview with MSNBC.

He offers rare praise for Trump’s record in shepherding the 2020 Abraham Accords in which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco forged ties with Israel, its first normalization with the Arab world in decades.

“Now the opportunity is there — and I know this is something that the president [Trump] will be focused on -– to broaden that out with the Saudis,” Blinken says.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF soldier cautioned to flee Sri Lanka after anti-Israel group demands his arrest for allegedly killing Gaza civilian

An Israeli soldier visiting Sri Lanka had to flee the country after he was identified by a pro-Palestinian organization, Channel 12 reports.

Yesterday, the Hind Rajab Foundation posted a picture of the soldier, Gal Ferenbook, and said that it had appealed to Sri Lankan authorities, the International Criminal Court, and Interpol, demanding his arrest over the killing of a civilian in Gaza.

According to the organization, Ferenbook posted a video on his Instagram account on August 9 showing what it claims is a dead Palestinian civilian. Ferenbook laughs as another soldier calls him “the Terminator.”

Ferenbook received an urgent call from Israeli authorities telling him to leave Colombo before he was arrested, Channel 12 reports.

Other similar incidents have taken place abroad, according to the report, including in Cyprus.

“The IDF does everything it can and uses all available means to protect its service members at home and abroad,” says the IDF.

The military refuses to indicate whether Ferenbook will face disciplinary or criminal proceedings upon returning to Israel.

Putin revives antisemitic trope, accusing Jews of tearing apart the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin uses antisemitic rhetoric during his lengthy end-of-year press conference, accusing people including “ethnic Jews” of tearing apart the Russian Orthodox Church.

“These people that are attacking the church, they are not atheists,” Putin says, addressing a question posed at the press conference. “They are absolutely faithless people, Godless people. Well, ethnically, many of them are Jews, but you haven’t seen them visit any synagogue.”

Putin’s characterization of Jews in this way can have dangerous consequences, says Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis.

“This is just one example of his regime’s explicit and virulent antisemitism, which has intensified following his 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the 2023 events of October 7th,” Goldschmidt says. “This is all reminiscent of Stalin’s “Fight against Cosmopolitanism” and the “Doctors’ Plot” of 1948–53, the brutal antisemitic campaign in the Soviet Union, resulting in the arrest and killing of much of the Soviet Jewish leadership in the Soviet Union.”

“We cannot emphasize enough the dangerous effect of such statements in a semi-totalitarian society,” Goldschmidt continues. “As a representative of Jewish communities across Europe, and someone who was forced to flee my home and community in Moscow, I call on Europe and the free world to unequivocally condemn President Putin’s dangerous propaganda before it spreads further.”

The Russian Orthodox Church is widely criticized by international watchdogs for its close relationship with the Russian government. The Council of Europe recently labeled the church a propaganda tool of the Kremlin, and several European countries have expelled church officials due to security concerns.

US slaps new sanctions on Iran, Houthi-related entities including individuals, companies, vessels

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran and Houthi-related entities, according to the Treasury Department website which lists several individuals, companies and vessels.

The sanctions target three vessels involved in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals, which generates billions of dollars for Iran’s leaders, supporting Tehran’s nuclear program, development of ballistic missiles, and financing of proxies including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, the Treasury says.

“The United States is committed to targeting Iran’s key revenue streams that fund its destabilizing activities,” Bradley Smith, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says in a release.

The sanctions come after the Israeli military carried out a series of intense airstrikes that shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early this morning, in a preplanned operation that coincided with the Houthis firing a missile that hit a school in central Israel.

Workers walk through the rubble of a destroyed school building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2024, after the campus was hit by a Houthi missile fired from Yemen. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Smith says Iran relies on a “shadowy network” of vessels, companies, and facilitators for those activities.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The vessels targeted are the Djibouti-flagged crude oil tanker MS ENOLA, owned by Journey Investment company, the San Marino-flagged MS ANGIA, and the Panama-flagged MS MELENIA. The last two tankers are managed and operated by Liberia- and Greece-registered Rose Shipping Limited.

The sanctions block all property and interests in the United States of the designated parties, and US persons and entities dealing with them could be exposed to sanctions or enforcement actions including fines.

The Treasury says it also imposed sanctions on 12 individuals to pressure procurement and financing schemes by the Yemen Houthi group. Those include Hashem Ismail Ali Ahmad al-Madani, the head of the Houthi-aligned central bank in Sanaa, for their alleged roles in trafficking arms, laundering money, and shipping illicit Iranian oil for the benefit of the Houthis.

IDF drone strike in West Bank earlier today killed senior terror operative Shin Bet says was financed by Iran

An IDF drone strike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem earlier today killed a senior terror operative who the Shin Bet says was being financed by Iran, alongside three other Palestinian gunmen.

According to the Shin Bet, the target of the strike was Tariq al-Doush, who is identified as one of the commanders of a terror network in Tulkarem.

The Shin Bet says that al-Doush worked to recruit operatives in the past year to carry out attacks, who would be armed with Iranian financing via operatives in Lebanon.

The operatives in Lebanon who were in contact with al-Doush are members of the Makdah family, who the Shin Bet has accused in the past of working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to advance terror attacks in the West Bank.

The network that al-Doush headed was involved in several shooting attacks against IDF troops, checkpoints, and Israeli towns near the West Bank security barrier, the agency says.

The Shin Bet says the network planned to carry out attacks in Israel as well.

Alongside al-Doush, three other gunmen were killed, including Dosem al-Awfi, who the Shin Bet says is a prominent member of the Tulkarem terror network.

IDF chief set to receive initial findings of probe into top brass actions in the hours before Hamas massacre

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi holds an assessment at the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba, October 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi holds an assessment at the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba, October 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces is set to present to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and the General Staff tomorrow the initial findings of its probe into the functioning of the top IDF echelons on the night of October 6-7, 2023.

The General Staff will then discuss the findings.

According to Channel 12, the probe indicates that Halevi should have held a wider situational assessment that night, rather than narrower consultations, which would have better highlighted what was going on, and could have led to different, better decisions in the hours ahead of the Hamas invasion and massacre.

Nonetheless, the TV report says, the probe — which has not yet been completed — says there was no definitive information that the Palestinian terror group was about to carry out its brutal onslaught.

UN General Assembly seeks ICJ opinion on Israel’s aid obligations to Palestinians

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approves a resolution asking the International Court of Justice to assess Israel’s obligations to assist Palestinians, amid accusations Israel is restricting the amount of aid entering Gaza.

Israel has claimed throughout the ongoing war that it has facilitated the transfer of tens of thousands of aid trucks with enough food to provide for Gaza’s nutritional needs, and has blamed the UN for not scaling up its logistics and distribution operations.

The UN’s full membership votes to request an ICJ advisory opinion which, though not binding, can serve to heighten pressure on countries — as happened in July when it voted that should Israel entirely pull out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem within a year.

The resolution seeking the advisory opinion from the UN’s top court is brought by Norway, and co-sponsored by Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia among others. It wins backing from 137 countries, while 12 object, and 22 abstain.

The ICJ will be asked to consider what Israel is obliged to do to “ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon decries the move, saying, “The ICJ now has been weaponized… its advisory opinions undermined to attack Israel” and calling the process an “endless loop of bias.”

Houthis claim 9 civilians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Yemen overnight

Yemeni firefighters douse oil tanks with water at a power station that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on December 19, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
Yemeni firefighters douse oil tanks with water at a power station that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on December 19, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The head of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claims Israeli airstrikes at the Hodeida port and in the rebel-held capital Sana’a killed nine civilians.

“The Israeli enemy targeted ports in Hodeida and power stations in Sana’a, and the Israeli aggression resulted in the martyrdom of nine civilian martyrs,” Abdul Malik al-Huthi says in a lengthy speech broadcast by the rebels’ Al-Masira TV.

The preplanned IDF operation coincided with the Houthis firing a missile that hit a school in central Israel early this morning.

Israeli military sources said the strikes were aimed at paralyzing all three ports used by the Houthis on the coast of the country. It was the third time Israel has struck Yemen in response to Houthi attacks, including a July strike after a drone killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.

Syrian villagers near Golan Heights claim IDF blocking farmers from their fields

A Syrian man waves a white flag, as he approaches Israeli soldiers at their new position at an abandoned Syrian military base, in Maariyah village near the border with Israel in southern Syria, December 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Syrian man waves a white flag, as he approaches Israeli soldiers at their new position at an abandoned Syrian military base, in Maariyah village near the border with Israel in southern Syria, December 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents of the southern Syrian town of Maariyah claim the Israeli military has set up a position in an abandoned army base and is preventing local farmers from accessing their fields.

Associated Press journalists who visited the area say they saw the Israel Defense Forces troops from a distance and watched a resident waving a white flag approach to speak with them.

The village, on the western edge of Syria’s southern Daraa province, is near the Golan Heights, but outside of a buffer zone established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel.

Maariyah resident Abdel Raouf Issa says the IDF penetrated about 1 kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) into the village and “is demanding that we hand over all weapons to the occupation. We told them that we have no weapons at all.”

“They prevented us from farming. They prevented us from moving,” he says. “We call on the United Nations to remove the occupation as soon as possible.”

The IDF says in a statement that it is “operating within the buffer zone and in several additional locations in its proximity to ensure the security of Israel’s northern border.” It declines to comment on specific locations where troops are deployed.

Israel entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone hours after rebel groups in Syria took Damascus on December 8, stressing that it was a temporary defensive move that would last only until security was guaranteed along the frontier.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would stay there until another arrangement is in place “that ensures Israel’s security.”

‘No free nation without free women’: Hundreds of Syrians protest in central Damascus, calling for democracy

DAMASCUS – Hundreds of Syrians protested today in central Damascus calling for democracy and women’s rights, more than a week after an Islamist-led rebel alliance ousted President Bashar al-Assad, AFP correspondents report.

“We want a democracy, not a religious state,” men and women demonstrators chant in central Damascus’s Ummayad Square, as well as “Free, civil Syria” and “the Syrian people are one,” while some protesters hold signs including “No free nation without free women.”

Rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive from their northwest Syria bastion last month, sweeping swathes of territory from government control and taking the capital on December 8, toppling Assad.

Rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and proscribed as a “terrorist” organization by several Western governments, HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric by assuring protection for the country’s many religious and ethnic minorities.

It has appointed a transitional leadership to run the country until March 1.

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air set to resume flights to and from Israel tomorrow

A Wizz Air flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, July 22, 2019. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
A Wizz Air flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, July 22, 2019. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air is set to resume flights to and from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport tomorrow.

Wizz Air announced last month that it would start operating a route from Tel Aviv to Larnaca with 4 flights per week on December 20. The low-cost carrier is offering the first 1,000 flight tickets to Larnaca for 50 euros (NIS 192) per one-way ticket.

More routes are scheduled to resume on January 15.

In October, Wizz Air canceled all its flights to and from Israel until January 15 amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, exacerbating the crisis in wartime air travel to and from the Jewish state.

Right-wing minister, MKs attend event at Sderot lookout to plan future Gaza settlements — reports

Right-wing lawmakers and settler activists reportedly visited a lookout in the southern city of Sderot that overlooks the Gaza Strip earlier today, to discuss potential locations for future Israeli settlements in the Palestinian enclave.

The Haaretz daily reports that MK Limor Son Har-Malech of Otzma Yehudit and and MK Zvi Sukkot of Religious Zionism led the tour, which was dubbed, “A tour overlooking Gaza.”

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu posts a photo of himself at the event on X, writing, “I can see in my mind the State of Israel giving land and houses on the Gaza coast to everyone who took part in the resurrection of the People of Israel from a difficult time.”

Prominent settler activist Daniella Weiss, who is leading efforts to resettle northern Gaza, was also said to take part in the event.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that Israel intends to resettle the Strip. However, his pro-settler coalition partners, and members of his own Likud party, have spoken in favor of the idea.

WATCH: IDF releases footage from overnight airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen, aerial refueling

The military releases footage from the overnight airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis, in response to the Iran-backed group’s missile and drone attacks on Israel.

According to the IDF, 14 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers and dropped over 60 munitions on Houthi “military targets” along Yemen’s western coast and near the capital Sanaa.

The targets included fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats used at the Houthi-controlled ports.

The military says the destruction of the targets is a major blow to the military operations of the Houthis.

The videos released by the IDF show the strikes, as well as aerial refueling amid the operation.

Video cap: Footage released by the IDF shows Israeli airstrikes in Yemen and aerial refueling operations, early December 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Report: Police probing possibility that stabbing of Jerusalem woman earlier today was a terror attack

Police investigate the scene of a stabbing in Jerusalem, December 19, 2024. (Israel Police)
Police investigate the scene of a stabbing in Jerusalem, December 19, 2024. (Israel Police)

Police are reportedly investigating the possibility that a stabbing in Jerusalem earlier today that left a 60-year-old woman seriously injured was a terror attack.

Channel 12 reports that the Shin Bet security agency is also involved in the investigation.

The woman was found seriously injured, with bruises and stab wounds, in her apartment in central Jerusalem, according to an earlier Israel Police statement.

Putin says he’s ready to meet Trump ‘any time’ to talk Ukraine peace deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s ready for talks at “any time” with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to strike a Ukraine peace deal within hours of coming to office.

Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has stoked fears in Kyiv that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.

Holding his annual end-of-year press conference, the 72-year-old Kremlin leader says his troops hold the upper hand across the battlefield and he only regrets not starting the offensive earlier.

But he is forced to admit he doesn’t know when Russia will take back the western Kursk region where Ukrainian troops launched an incursion in August.

The traditional annual question and answer sessions are largely a televised show while also being a rare setting in which Putin is put on the spot with some uncomfortable questions.

Putin speaks for just under four and a half hours.

Asked about Trump’s overtures regarding a possible peace deal, Putin says: “I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He isn’t saying anything about it. I haven’t talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time.”

IDF notes decrease in incidents of terrorism against both Palestinians and Israelis in West Bank in past year

Israeli settlers flash middle fingers from rooftops as they taunt Palestinian locals near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as they mark a yearly Jewish religious event in Hebron in the West Bank on November 23, 2024. (Hazem Bader/AFP)
Israeli settlers flash middle fingers from rooftops as they taunt Palestinian locals near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as they mark a yearly Jewish religious event in Hebron in the West Bank on November 23, 2024. (Hazem Bader/AFP)

The IDF has identified a decrease in the number of incidents of Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank this past year compared to the previous.

Still, some of the incidents of “nationalistic crime” — attacks by settlers against Palestinians — this year have been among the most grave in recent memory, according to military officials.

Throughout 2024, the IDF and Shin Bet recorded 663 incidents of “nationalistic crime,” compared to 1,045 last year. In 2022, the military recorded 947 incidents, and in 2021, 446.

This year, there were several cases of Israeli settlers killing Palestinians in the West Bank, including during attacks by mobs on Palestinian villages.

The IDF has similarly recorded a decrease in the number of Palestinian terror attacks carried out against Israelis in the West Bank and in Israel, including knifings, shootings, and car-rammings.

In 2024, the military counted 254 terror attacks, compared to 847 in the year prior. In 2022, it recorded 342, and in 2021, the number was 91.

Israeli security forces and paramedics are seen following a deadly terror shooting attack targeting a bus in the West Bank, early December 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean); inset: Yehoshua Aharon, 10, who was critically hurt in the attack and died following it (Courtesy)

There has also been a major decrease in the number of stone-throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks by Palestinians, with the IDF recording 1,188 such incidents this year compared to 3,256 last year, 3,779 in 2022, and 8,633 in 2021.

The IDF says it has killed 787 Palestinian terror operatives in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught. Some 70% of them were armed with a gun, according to the military.

In all, some 820 Palestinians were killed during that time, with 4% of them being civilians who were not gunmen or rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.

Over 100 airstrikes were carried out by the IDF in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, including five carried out by fighter jets.

Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, October 4, 2024. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The IDF says it killed 479 terror operatives in the West Bank this year, 504 in 2023, 155 in 2022, and 77 in 2021.

The IDF has also detained 2,868 wanted Palestinians this year and another 3,026 in 2023. In total since October 7, the IDF says over 6,000 were detained, including 2,350 members of Hamas.

Also in the past year, 37 Israelis were killed in terror attacks carried out in the West Bank or by West Bank Palestinians inside Israel, according to the IDF’s data. In 2023, the military recorded 41 deaths in Palestinian terror attacks, 32 in 2022, and just 3 in 2021.

The IDF says it has captured some 1,042 weapons in the West Bank in the past year, including those smuggled into the territory from the border with Jordan. In 2023, a similar number of weapons, 1,065, were captured. According to the military, 1,499 weapons were seized since October 7, 2023.

In 2022 the IDF recorded 970 captured weapons, and in 2021, just 458.

Military officials: IDF supports a stronger PA so it can combat West Bank terrorism

A Palestinian Authority security officer clutches his gun amid a major raid against members of terror groups in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, December 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
A Palestinian Authority security officer clutches his gun amid a major raid against members of terror groups in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, December 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Despite rhetoric from some Israeli ministers, the Israel Defense Forces says it supports strengthening the Palestinian Authority for it to combat terrorism in the West Bank, especially in its north, military officials say.

In recent days, the PA has been carrying out an operation against terror groups in Jenin, including killing and detaining members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, seizing weapons, and neutralizing explosive devices. The crackdown came after terror operatives stole two PA vehicles and paraded them through Jenin last week.

The PA has a relatively strong presence in the southern and central West Bank, where it can maintain order. But in the northern part of the territory, especially the refugee camps in the Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarem area, it has struggled to exercise authority against the terror groups there.

Military officials say the PA showed some courage this week when its members entered Jenin, including the refugee camp there. The IDF hopes that such operations will continue, and it will do what it can to help the PA carry them out successfully, as this also benefits the army.

In the past, the PA would not enter the northern West Bank refugee camps after the IDF had recently operated there. It reached the point where for months at a time the military would not carry out operations inside the refugee camps, in an attempt to allow the PA to carry out actions there, with little success. Now, the IDF and PA have been operating in the refugee camps within a few days of each other.

The IDF’s efforts to strengthen the PA are not a rogue move, but a directive from the Israeli government. This is despite statements from government ministers in support of weakening the PA.

The military also supports increasing the number of permits for West Bank Palestinians to work in settlements and inside Israel, after they were nearly all revoked following the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught. Currently, some 10,000 West Bank Palestinians have work permits, and the vast majority of them are working inside settlements or industrial zones in the West Bank.

The military sees the work permits as a significant method of easing the pressure on the economically depressed territory.

High Court demands answers on ‘starvation’ of security prisoners; Ben Gvir: ‘A shield for Hamas terrorists’

The High Court of Justice issues an order against the state over its policies regarding nutrition for security prisoners held in Israeli jails, which human rights groups allege have resulted in their starvation since the outbreak of war following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

The court instructs the state to explain “why it should not take steps to guarantee that security prisoners will be provided with food that enables basic conditions of existence” following a petition against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the acting head of the Israel Prison Service over the issue.

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Gisha organizations, which filed the petition in April, testimony from prisoners and security detainees has indicated that the prison service has been “deploying a policy of starvation towards Palestinian prisoners and detainees” since October 7.

“Recently released prisoners testified that they suffered from constant and extreme hunger and very poor quality of food,” ACRI and Gisha alleged in their petition, submitting testimony from a diabetic prisoner who allegedly ate toothpaste to raise his blood sugar level, and from prisoners “who lost tens of kilograms in weight in recent months.”

The petition demands that security prisoners be provided with “food in the quantity and composition suitable for maintaining their health and identical to that supplied to the other prisoners.”

Ben Gvir in response accuses the High Court of acting as “a shield for the [Hamas] Nukhba [terrorists] and sick human beings who slaughtered, raped, burnt and kidnapped our sons and daughters with Nazi cruelty.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrives at the the Tel Aviv District Court ahead of the testimony of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the trial against him, December 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

The far-right minister insists the IPS fulfills the law and gives “the minimum necessary according to the law, and not a gram more,” adding that on his watch “the era of parties, marmalade, and mutton has ended… terrorist jails won’t be hotels anymore.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is embroiled in a severe fight with the judiciary, also criticizes the court, accusing the three justices who issued the order of “worrying over prisoner conditions,” adding “does anyone else think it’s possible to continue like this?”

’60 Minutes’ to air interviews with Mossad agents who led pager attacks on Hezbollah

People gather outside Beirut's American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in an attack on Hezbollah fighters blamed on Israel, in Beirut, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)
People gather outside Beirut's American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in an attack on Hezbollah fighters blamed on Israel, in Beirut, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)

CBS’s “60 Minutes” is set to air an investigative report on a string of coordinated attacks on communications devices held by Hezbollah members in September.

The report will feature interviews with recently retired Mossad agents who led the plot against the Iran-backed terror group, the show writes on X,” including “how they executed the operation, sharing never-before-known details of the 10-year undercover op.”

The attacks, in which thousands of devices simultaneously exploded in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, dealt a deadly blow to the terror group, and kicked off an escalation that continued with the assassination of almost all of its leadership, including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and a limited Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in November confirmed for the first time that Israel was behind the operation.

FM Sa’ar: Irish government is made up of ‘antisemites and obsessive anti-Israelis’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar gives a press conference on November 28, 2024, in Prague, Czech Republic. (Michal Cizek / AFP)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar gives a press conference on November 28, 2024, in Prague, Czech Republic. (Michal Cizek / AFP)

The Irish government is made up of “antisemites and obsessive anti-Israelis,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tells a gathering of Israeli influencers and public diplomacy experts in Jerusalem.

Tensions between Ireland and Israel have spiraled in recent weeks, as Dublin joined the International Court of Justice genocide case against the Jewish state, and Sa’ar announced he would be closing Israel’s embassy in the EU country.

“You can see from the statements in Ireland that they are under great pressure,” says Sa’ar. “We presented them to the entire international community exactly as they are: antisemites and obsessive anti-Israelis.”

Sa’ar also points at recent statements from US senators –including North Dakota Republican Kevin Cramer — who panned Ireland for remaining neutral in World War II.

He says the diplomats in the ministry supported his decision to close the embassy, and that there was no hope of Ireland changing its hostile stance toward Israel. “It’s just spending our limited resources in the most incorrect place.”

Sa’ar also blasts the response of Irish President Michael Higgins to him calling the Irish government antisemitic earlier this week.

“You even saw all the lies in their president’s response. It is simply amazing. He could have played it safe and attacked us with things that are harder to refute. But no. He simply made up absurd things like ‘they are trying to establish settlements in Egypt.'”

IDF: Fighter jets struck Hamas cells at command centers in two former schools in Gaza City

Israeli fighter jets struck groups of Hamas operatives at command centers embedded within two former schools in Gaza City a short while ago, the military says.

According to the IDF, the Hamas members were using the al-Karama and Shaaban schools in the Tuffah neighborhood to plan and carry out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel.

The schools were serving as shelters for displaced Palestinians. Palestinian media report at least 15 dead in the strikes.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate harm to civilians in the strikes, including by using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

IDF delays estimate for northern residents to return home from February to March — report

House destroyed by a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile in Kiryat Shmona on December 1, 2024. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
House destroyed by a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile in Kiryat Shmona on December 1, 2024. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)

The IDF estimates that northern residents who have been evacuated since Hezbollah began cross-border attacks on October 8, 2023, will be able to return to their homes in three months, Channel 12 reports, weeks into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon-based terror group.

The report notes that the updated timeframe isn’t far from the original plan, which was to allow residents of northern border communities to go home on February 1, 2025.

Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.

Since the ceasefire came into effect at the end of November, the communities have begun rebuilding and repairing damage from the Hezbollah attacks.

Earlier today, IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin said that the military was continuing to enforce the truce.

“We are determined to take our fate into our own hands and enforce the [ceasefire] agreement and remove the threat to the border — just like we did today, yesterday, and every day since the agreement was signed,” he said, according to a statement.

UN’s Guterres says Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure ‘must stop’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during a visit in Pretoria, South Africa. December 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Shiraaz Mohamed)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during a visit in Pretoria, South Africa. December 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Shiraaz Mohamed)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Israeli airstrikes on Syria are violations of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “must stop.”

Israel launched a major campaign after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 to destroy the Syrian military’s strategic capabilities, in a bid to prevent assets from falling into the hands of hostile elements. Targets have included chemical weapons sites, missiles, air defenses and air force and navy targets.

“Syria’s sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity must be fully restored, and all acts of aggression must come to an immediate end,” Guterres tells reporters.

Israel also entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights just hours after the rebels took Damascus. Israel has said it will not become involved in the conflict in Syria and that its seizure of the buffer zone established in 1974 was a temporary defensive move that would last only until it could guarantee security along the frontier.

“Let me be clear: There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than UN peacekeepers – period. Israel and Syria must uphold the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which remains fully in force,” Guterres says.

He adds that the UN is focused on facilitating an “inclusive, credible and peaceful” political transition in Syria and getting aid moving to combat one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

Guterres also names Mexican lawyer Karla Quintana to head the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria and says her team must be allowed to carry out their mandate fully.

The International Commission on Missing Persons in The Hague has said it had received data indicating there may be as many as 66 as-yet unverified mass grave sites in Syria. More than 150,000 people are considered missing, according to international and Syrian organizations.

Members of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) take part in a search for prisoners at the Saydnaya prison, in the town of Saydnaya about 28 kilometers north of Damascus on December 16, 2024. (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP)

Suspicious envelope found at Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem during security sweep

A suspicious envelope was found at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem during a security sweep, says the ministry.

“Following the discovery of the envelope, security forces were called and the envelope was taken for further processing by the Israel Police,” according to the Foreign Ministry. “The incident has ended.”

Two teenage girls sentenced to 18 months of youth rehab for antisemitic rampage in London’s Stamford Hill

Two teenage girls have been sentenced to 18 months of youth rehabilitation after carrying out a series of antisemitic attacks on Jewish women and girls in north London’s Stamford Hill last December.

The teens, who could not be named because of their age, targeted the victims in four separate incidents over the course of half an hour in December 2023, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says. One attack left a woman unconscious.

The pair were convicted of attempted robbery, religiously aggravated harassment, and actual bodily harm, with one facing an additional charge of attempted theft. Both were also placed under curfew wearing electronic tags for six and three months, respectively, and were ordered to undertake a rehabilitation activity requirement for 30 and 45 hours.

The sentence’s scope reflects that the attacks were largely motivated by hate, CPS says.

“The evidence in this case proved that the two teenagers targeted most of the victims because they were Jewish,” says Senior Crown Prosecutor Jagjeet Saund.

“Key witness testimony proved that the defendants were mocking them, using antisemitic language, making it plainly obvious that these attacks were hate crimes,” Saund says. “There is no place for such intolerance and hatred, and the Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work closely with the police to ensure those who spread hate, prejudice and hostility are prosecuted.”

Stamford Hill is home to the largest Hasidic community in Europe.

IDF: Rocket sirens in Gaza border communities a short while ago were false alarms

The IDF says rocket sirens that sounded a short while ago in communities near the Gaza Strip were false alarms.

IDF says it demolished Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, some aimed at Israel

The IDF says it demolished rocket launchers and weapons at Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon

During operations carried out by the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, the IDF says troops found anti-tank missiles, an artillery piece, explosive devices, and rocket launchers.

Some of the launchers found by troops were aimed at Israel, the military adds.

IDF: Suspected drone downed over Mediterranean before entering Israeli airspace

A suspected drone was intercepted over the Mediterranean Sea a short while ago, the military says.

According to the IDF, the “suspicious aerial target” was shot down before entering Israeli airspace, and no sirens sounded according to protocol.

Eyewitnesses in central Israel report seeing an interceptor missile launched from the coast and heading out toward the sea.

Netanyahu holds security briefing with Lapid, will meet top aides later

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, left, is briefed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 10, 2023. (GPO)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, left, is briefed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 10, 2023. (GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security consultation with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Prime ministers are obliged to provide updates to the opposition leader once a month.

Netanyahu will hold a security meeting with top aides later in the day, expected to largely focus on the emerging hostage-truce deal with Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu says strikes against Houthis helping ‘entire world’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks after Israel carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on December 19, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks after Israel carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on December 19, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

After the IDF carries out intense early morning airstrikes in Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a key port city, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is protecting the world from the Houthis.

“They are not only attacking us,” he says in a video statement. “They are attacking the entire world. They are attacking international shipping and trade routes.”

“When Israel acts against the Houthis, it acts for the entire international community,” he argues, adding that the US and many others “understand this well.”

Netanyahu says that the Houthis “are learning and they will learn the hard way that anyone who attacks Israel pays a very heavy price.”

Putin says Israel is main beneficiary of events in Syria, doubts IDF will withdraw troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, December 19, 2024. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, December 19, 2024. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Israel is the main beneficiary of the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria and casts doubt on Israel’s plans to withdraw troops from a buffer zone once the situation stabilizes.

Putin condemns Israel’s seizure of territories in Syria and said he feels that Israel has no intention of withdrawing its troops from Syria.

“We hope that Israel will at some point leave the territory of Syria. But now it is bringing in additional troops,” Putin says at his annual end-of-year press conference.

Israeli forces moved into a buffer zone on the border once Assad fell and his troops fled the area. Israel says that the move is temporary until the situation in Syria stabilizes and it is clear there is no threat.

Four Israelis arrested for crossing into Lebanon

IDF troops patrol along the Israeli-Lebanon border in northern Israel, December 2, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
IDF troops patrol along the Israeli-Lebanon border in northern Israel, December 2, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Four Israeli civilians who illegally entered Lebanon were apprehended by Israeli soldiers a short while ago, police say.

Israel Police say that they received reports from the IDF that four suspects were detained by troops inside Lebanon after they crossed the border.

The IDF handed over the suspects, from Ashdod, Beit Shemesh, and Hatzor Haglilit, to police officers in Israel for questioning.

“The suspects are currently being interrogated, and according to the findings of the investigation it will be decided on the continuation of the legal process in their case,” police say.

Police note that crossing the border illegally is punishable with up to four years in jail.

According to Army Radio, the four Jewish Israelis were attempting to reach the tomb of Rav Ashi, the burial place of a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, which is located on the border between Israel and Lebanon near Manara, partially inside an IDF post.

Nazareth resident, 19, charged with spying for Hezbollah during war

The Shin Bet and the Israel Police say that they have arrested and charged a 19-year-old resident of the northern city of Nazareth with spying for Hezbollah during the war.

The man, identified as Mohammad Sa’adi, was detained last month after a probe found that he had contacted Hezbollah several times and asked to join the group and fight for it.

He also contacted the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar station and sent it photos and videos during the course of the conflict, the statement says.

During the war, Sa’adi sent Hezbollah information on rocket impact locations, aircraft movements, and IDF troop locations.

Charges were filed against Sa’adi today accusing him of being in contact with a foreign agent.

Palestinian say 2 killed, including woman, 80, in IDF raid near Nablus

Palestinian officials say that Israeli forces killed two people, one of them an 80-year-old woman, and injured several others during a raid near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was looking into the reported deaths.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah says Halima Abu Leil, 80, was fatally shot in the chest and leg during a raid in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed her death after transporting her to the hospital.

Later, the ministry announces the death of a second Palestinian, a 25-year-old man.

At least four others were injured during the raid, including two young men aged 21 and 22, a 65-year-old man who suffered gunshot wounds, and another individual injured by bullet shrapnel.

Katz orders Halevi to present Oct. 7 probes by end of January, says no appointing new generals until then

Defense Minister Israel Katz (center) during a visit to Northern Command with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (2R) on November 13, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz (center) during a visit to Northern Command with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (2R) on November 13, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has ordered IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to present all of the investigations into the October 7 onslaught by the end of January, and until then, he will not approve the appointments of new generals.

In a statement issued by Katz’s office, the defense minister instructed Halevi to show him all of the October 7 investigations that have so far been completed.

“It is the duty of the IDF to finish the investigations as soon as possible to present them to the families and the public in Israel, and to draw lessons and the necessary conclusions,” the statement says.

Halevi has previously indicated that he will resign upon the completion of the October 7 probes.

Katz will not approve any  appointments of new major generals in the IDF until he reviews the investigations, “and will learn and understand their meaning and possible effect on the candidates for promotion,” his office adds.

Palestinians say four killed, three injured in West Bank drone strike

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says four people were killed and three were seriously injured in an Israeli drone strike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem.

The IDF confirmed carrying out a strike but gave no further details.

Rights group says it recorded 113 incidents of harassment against Palestinians during olive harvest

Israeli Border Police officers preventing Palestinian farmers from harvesting olives near the town of Deir Istiya, West Bank, November 1 2024. (Photo: Omer Sharvit)
Israeli Border Police officers preventing Palestinian farmers from harvesting olives near the town of Deir Istiya, West Bank, November 1 2024. (Photo: Omer Sharvit)

The Yesh Din organization reports that it recorded 113 incidents of violence and harassment by settlers and IDF soldiers against Palestinian olive growers and laborers during this year’s olive harvest season, from October 1 to November 15.

The olive industry is an important component of the Palestinian economy and constitutes a key part of household income for tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of the West Bank.

According to Yesh Din, which campaigns against the Israeli West Bank settlements, in 101 of the incidents settlers carried out the violent attacks, and in 12 incidents IDF soldiers alone were involved.

Among the total number of incidents were 68 instances in which settlers and soldiers forcibly prevented Palestinians from harvesting their olive trees.

In approximately 70% of those incidents, either IDF soldiers, police, or settlement civilian security coordinators were present but instead of protecting the Palestinian harvesters, they worked together with the settlers to prevent the harvest, Yesh Din alleges.

Physical violence was used in 43 incidents, in which “settlers and soldiers attacked, beat, or threatened harvesters, including eight cases of live fire directed at Palestinian farmers,” Yesh Din asserts. In one such incident a 59-year-old Palestinian woman from the village of Faqqu’a in the northern West Bank was shot and killed by IDF forces.

There were 52 incidents of theft or damage to Palestinian property in which settlers stole crops and agricultural equipment, damaged property, and set fire to vehicles. In 38 of those incidents, settlers harvested or stole olives on land belonging to Palestinians, while in another 12 incidents hundreds of olive trees belonging to Palestinians were cut down, burnt or otherwise damaged.

“The number of incidents and the cooperation between settlers and security forces leads to the conclusion that preventing Palestinians from [conducting the olive] harvest in the West Bank is a deliberate Israeli policy,” Yesh Din says of the 2024 statistics.

In 2023, Yesh Din recorded exactly the same number of overall incidents, 113, as in 2024.

The IDF and Israel Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

IDF says it carried out an airstrike in West Bank’s Tulkarem

The IDF says that it carried out an airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem.

The military says it was carried out as part of a joint operation between the IDF and the Shin Bet.

It says further details will be provided later.

Palestinian media reports say the strike targeted a vehicle with three people inside.

IDF says drone that entered Israel from Gaza successfully intercepted, no injuries

The IDF says that a drone that infiltrated into Israeli airspace from Gaza was successfully intercepted by the Air Force.

There were no reports of injuries.

Earlier, sirens sounded in two communities near the border, with residents given an all-clear after some 45 minutes.

Initial IDF probe finds missile warhead hit Ramat Gan school after partial interception

An officer from the Home Front Command military unit examines the damage after a part of a Houthi missile collapsed a school building in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An officer from the Home Front Command military unit examines the damage after a part of a Houthi missile collapsed a school building in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The IDF says that an initial probe into the damage caused to a school in Ramat Gan after it was seriously damaged in a Houthi attack finds that it was likely hit by the missile warhead after a partial interception.

The explosion caused a building to collapse at the school and widespread destruction. There were no injuries as the buildings were empty in the early hours of the morning.

“After an initial investigation by the Air Force, and an examination of the findings at the scene of the impact at the school in Ramat Gan, it appears that this was most likely a partial interception of the missile launched this morning from Yemen, and it was found that the warhead of the missile was the part that exploded and caused the damage,” the IDF says.

“In addition, the security forces are investigating interception fragment impacts in additional areas,” the statement says.

Fragments were found in Jerusalem and Modiin, where no warning sirens sounded.

“The Air Force and the Home Front Command are conducting a joint investigation into the matter, and will present their findings at the conclusion,” the IDF says.

Putin says Russia not defeated in Syria, plans to meet with Assad

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia has not been defeated in Syria and that Moscow has made proposals to the new rulers in Damascus over Russia’s military bases there.

“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia,” Putin says at his annual end-of-year press conference. “I assure you it is not… we have achieved our goals.”

Putin says he had not yet met with Bashar al-Assad but planned to meet him and said he would ask about the fate of US reporter Austin Tice who went missing in Syria 12 years ago.

“We also can pose the question to people who control the situation on the ground in Syria,” Putin says.

Egypt hosting Turkish, Iranian leaders as part of Muslim summit; Abbas will also attend

This handout photo made available by the Iranian presidential office shows Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian disembarking his aircraft upon arrival at Cairo International Airport on December 18, 2024 to attend the D-8 summit. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / AFP)
This handout photo made available by the Iranian presidential office shows Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian disembarking his aircraft upon arrival at Cairo International Airport on December 18, 2024 to attend the D-8 summit. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / AFP)

Egypt hosts the leaders of Turkey and Iran for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza and unrest in Syria.

The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, also includes Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

A special session on Gaza and Lebanon will be held, and will be attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The summit will see Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian meeting for the first time since Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

Turkey has historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.

Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.

Home Front Command says drone incident near Gaza is over

The Home Front Command says that an incident involving a hostile drone warning alert has ended.

The IDF has not given any further details after sirens sounded in two communities near the Gaza border and does not say if the drone was intercepted.

The Eshkol Regional Council tells residents that they can come out of shelters and that “the craft is no longer in the area and the threat has been removed.”

Interceptor debris found outside Knesset in Jerusalem, no sirens sounded

Shrapnel from an interceptor rocket is found in Jerusalem outside the Knesset on December 19, 2024 (Knesset spokesperson)
Shrapnel from an interceptor rocket is found in Jerusalem outside the Knesset on December 19, 2024 (Knesset spokesperson)

Debris from interceptors fired at an incoming Houthi missile is found outside the Knesset in Jerusalem even though no sirens sounded in the city during the attack, the Knesset says.

The pieces are found during a routine search of the area by Knesset guards.

The debris did not cause damage or injuries and were removed by police sappers, the Knesset says.

Debris also fell in the central city of Modiin without sirens.

The IDF is investigating the incidents.

The Iran-backed rebel group says it targeted the Tel Aviv area with two ballistic missiles.

A large chunk of debris hit a school in Ramat Gan outside Tel Aviv, causing a building to collapse. There were no injuries.

Drone infiltration warning sounding near Gaza

A hostile drone infiltration alert is sounding in communities near the Gaza border.

The sirens sound in Magen and Ein Habsor.

The IDF says it is investigating.

Herzog’s office confirms receiving pardon request in leaks case, says he is looking into it

President Isaac Herzog speaks at an event marking one year since hostages were released from Gaza during a one-week ceasefire with the Hamas terror group, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, November 24, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)
President Isaac Herzog speaks at an event marking one year since hostages were released from Gaza during a one-week ceasefire with the Hamas terror group, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, November 24, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog’s office says that he has received the pardon request from the IDF reservist charged in the security documents scandal that has roiled the Prime Minister’s Office in recent weeks.

Herzog’s office has begun “looking into the matter,” says the President’s Residence.

The statement adds that “the president has full confidence in the legal system and the request will be examined and reviewed like all requests submitted to the President’s Residence.”

The noncommissioned officer, who has not been identified, was charged together with Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The officer was charged with transferring classified information, an offense that is punishable by seven years in prison, as well as theft and obstruction of justice.

His lawyers wrote to Herzog asking for a pardon, saying he “understood that his acts were forbidden and would not repeat them.”

French court convicts man of orchestrating mass rape of ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot

Gisele Pelicot arrives with her lawyers Antoine Camus (C) and Stephane Babonneau (R) at the courthouse in Avignon on December 19, 2024, as the verdict is expected in the trial of her ex-husband, with 50 others, accused of drugging her and orchestrating multiple rapes over nearly a decade. (Photo by Clement MAHOUDEAU / AFP)
Gisele Pelicot arrives with her lawyers Antoine Camus (C) and Stephane Babonneau (R) at the courthouse in Avignon on December 19, 2024, as the verdict is expected in the trial of her ex-husband, with 50 others, accused of drugging her and orchestrating multiple rapes over nearly a decade. (Photo by Clement MAHOUDEAU / AFP)

A court convicts of aggravated rape a French man for orchestrating the mass rapes of his now former wife Gisele Pelicot by dozens of strangers he recruited online.

Dominique Pelicot, who had already confessed to the crimes, was found guilty by the court in the southern city of Avignon after an over three month trial that shocked France and turned his former wife Gisele Pelicot into a feminist hero.

He faces the maximum term of 20 years in jail when the judge later announces sentencing.

IDF says rocket warning sirens in Kiryat Shmona a false alarm

The IDF says that rocket warning sirens that sounded in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona were false alarms.

The sirens come amid a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.

Mayor says shrapnel from rocket interceptions fell in central city of Modiin, no injuries; no sirens sounded

Shrapnel, apparently from interceptors launched by the IDF at a missile from Yemen, fell in two places in the central city of Modiin, Mayor Haim Bibas says.

The debris caused minor damage and no injuries were reported.

Sirens did not sound in the city during the attack and Bibas says he is in contact with the Home Front Command to understand why.

A large piece of debris hit a school in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, causing a building to collapse.

Houthis claim to have fired two ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv

A destroyed school building is pictured in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2024, after the campus was struck by a missile fired from Yemen. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
A destroyed school building is pictured in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2024, after the campus was struck by a missile fired from Yemen. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim the overnight missile attack against Israel, hours after Israel said it intercepted a strike.

The intercepted strike came at the same time as Israel was carrying out raids on the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, who have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the past year.

The group’s spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels had targeted “two specific and sensitive military targets… in the occupied Yaffa area,” referring to the Jaffa region near Tel Aviv, with “hypersonic ballistic missiles.”

Israel says one missile was fired and intercepted, though debris hit a school near Ramat Gan, collapsing a building. There were no injuries.

Iran condemns Israeli strikes on Houthis as flagrant violation of international law

Tehran condemns as a “flagrant violation” Israeli strikes on ports and energy sites run by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says the attacks were “a flagrant violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter.”

The strikes came after repeated missile and drone attacks by the rebel group on Israel, including a missile fired overnight.

Israel says rights group’s charges of genocide over Gaza water scarcity are lies and a blood libel

A view of water tanks as displaced Palestinians, setting up makeshift tents in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 18, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khati /Anadolu/Reuters)
A view of water tanks as displaced Palestinians, setting up makeshift tents in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 18, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khati /Anadolu/Reuters)

Israel says a report by Human Rights Watch accusing it of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by restricting access to water for civilians was “full of lies.”

“Human Rights Watch is once more spreading its blood libels in order to promote its anti-Israel propaganda… This report is full of lies that are appalling even when compared to HRW’s already low standards,” the foreign ministry says in a statement.

Reservist charged in Prime Minister’s Office leak scandal asks Herzog for a pardon

Israelis protest in support of Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an Israeli soldier, suspects in a case of stolen and leaked classified IDF documents, outside the magistrate's court in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Israelis protest in support of Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an Israeli soldier, suspects in a case of stolen and leaked classified IDF documents, outside the magistrate's court in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

An IDF reservist charged as part of the security documents scandal that has roiled the Prime Minister’s Office in recent weeks asks President Isaac Herzog for a pardon for his acts.

The noncommissioned officer, who has not been identified, was charged together with  Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The officer was charged with transferring classified information, an offense that is punishable with seven years in prison, as well as theft by an authorized person and obstruction of justice.

His lawyers write to Herzog asking for a pardon, saying he “understood that his acts were forbidden and would not repeat them.”

“If the criminal proceedings taken against him, within the framework of an indictment full of errors, distortions and distortions, a procedure that should never have happened, are not enough, he was ordered detained until the end of the proceedings by the Supreme Court’s decision, which, with all due respect, is a  fundamental mistake,” the letter says.

The allegations surround the alleged leak of a highly classified document to the German tabloid Bild in September, which ostensibly detailed Hamas’s priorities and tactics in hostage negotiations.

The document was allegedly unlawfully removed from the IDF’s military intelligence database by the NCO, who gave it to Feldstein, who then saw to it that it was transferred to Bild.

Rights group accuses Israel of ‘acts of genocide’ in Gaza over water scarcity

Palestinians collect water from a UNICEF tanker in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 9, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Palestinians collect water from a UNICEF tanker in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 9, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians, calling on the international community to impose targeted sanctions.

In a new report, which focused specifically on water, the New York-based rights group details what it said were deliberate efforts by Israeli authorities “of a systematic nature” to deprive Gazans of water.

Israel has steadfastly rejected previous similar accusations from rights groups, saying its actions in Gaza are legitimate military operations.

Israel has also taken steps to increase the water supply in Gaza, including providing power for a major desalination plant in Khan Younis.

While HRW said Israeli action amounted to the war crime of “extermination” and  “acts of genocide,” it stopped short of saying Israel was committing outright “genocide.”

IDF says it carried out two waves of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

The Israeli Air Force airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen overnight were carried out in two waves, according to the military.

Fourteen IAF fighter jets, along with refuelers and spy planes, were involved in the strikes, which had been planned by the military for several weeks in response to the Iran-backed group’s attacks on Israel.

IAF fighter jets were already en route to Yemen when the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Israel at around 2:35 a.m. The strike was set for overnight due to various operational concerns and efforts to improve intelligence on the targets.

At 3:15 a.m. the first wave of strikes was carried out along the coast of Yemen, hitting the Hodeidah Ras Isa, and Salif ports. Eight tugboats used to bring ships into the ports were also destroyed in the strikes.

A second wave of airstrikes at 4:30 a.m. hit two power stations in the capital Sanaa.

In all, dozens of munitions were dropped by the IAF on the five targets.

The Houthis have launched over 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and its allies in the region.

Houthi TV says nine killed in Israeli strikes on Yemen

Israeli airstrikes on Yemen killed nine people early today, said Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of the country.

Seven were killed in a strike on the port of Salif and the rest in two strikes on the Ras Issa oil facility, says Al Masirah, both located in the western province of Hodeidah.

The strikes also targeted two central power stations south and north of the capital, Sanaa, it adds.

In a statement, Israel’s military says it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa.”

Israeli strikes aimed at crippling all three Houthi ports

The overnight Israeli airstrikes in Yemen were aimed at paralysing all three ports used by the Iran-backed Houthis on the coast of the country.

All of the tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack.

In Israel’s previous attack on the Hodeidah port, the cranes used to unload shipments were struck.

Now, it is believed by Israel that all activity at the ports controlled by the Houthis is paralyzed.

Building collapses at Ramat Gan school heavily damaged from Houthi missile debris

Firefighters at a school in Ramat Gan that was heavily damaged by the debris from a Houthi missile, early December 29, 2024. (Israel Fire and Rescue Service)
Firefighters at a school in Ramat Gan that was heavily damaged by the debris from a Houthi missile, early December 29, 2024. (Israel Fire and Rescue Service)

Debris following the interception of a Houthi ballistic missile launched from Yemen at central Israel this morning caused extensive damage to a school in Ramat Gan.

According to the military, the ballistic missile was intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defense system, and sirens sounded in central Israel due to fears of falling shrapnel.

A building at a school in Ramat Gan collapsed apparently as a result of a large piece of debris that struck the area.

The military is investigating the incident. In the past, partially intercepted missiles launched at Israel have crashed with their warhead intact and caused extensive damage.

Military sources say air force prepared several weeks for overnight Yemen strikes

According to the military, dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft participated in the strikes in Yemen overnight, including fighter jets, refulers, and spy planes, some 2,000 kilometers from Israel.

The Houthi “military targets” were struck at the Hodeidah port — which Israel has struck twice before — and for the first time, in the capital Sanaa, the IDF says.

The IAF has been preparing for the strikes for several weeks, military sources say.

Defense minister warns Houthi leaders that Israel ‘will reach you’

Defense Minister Israel Katz issues a warning to Houthi leaders following the overnight Israeli strikes in Yemen.

“The long arm of Israel will reach you,” he says in a statement. “Whoever lifts a hand will have it severed. Whoever strikes [us], will be struck many times over.”

Meanwhile, IDF chief spokesman Daniel Hagari says among the targets hit in the “precise strikes” were “ports and energy infrastructure” in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa that the Houthis harnessed for “their military actions.”

“With their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes in the Red Sea and other places, the Houthis have become a global threat. Who is behind the Houthis? Iran,” he says in an English-language video statement, while vowing the military “will act against anyone in the Middle East” who threatens Israel.

IDF confirms striking Yemen, says it hit targets used by Houthis ‘for military ops’

The IDF confirms striking in Yemen, saying Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi targets following the Iran-backed rebel group’s repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel.

According to an IDF statement, the targets struck by the warplanes were “used by Houthi forces for their military operations.”

“Attacking these targets harms the terrorist authorities by preventing the exploitation of infrastructure for military and terror purposes, including transferring Iranian weaponry to the region,” the military says.

The IDF also says that “with Iran’s guidance and funding,” the Houthis have acted together with Iran-backed militias over the past year to attack Israel, “undermine regional stability and disrupt global shipping.”

“The IDF is determined to continue acting and striking whoever threatens citizens of the State of Israel, at any distance required.”

White House spokesman chokes up while reciting prayer for hostages at Israeli Embassy Hanukkah event

WASHINGTON — White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby chokes up as he recites a prayer for the hostages being held in Gaza during the Israeli Embassy in Washington’s annual Hanukkah party.

Before reciting the English prayer, Kirby — who is not Jewish — places a black yarmulke on his head and upon finishing declares, “Am Yisrael Chai” in Hebrew — “The National of Israel lives.

Kirby has become a fan-favorite in the pro-Israel community, as he has routinely defended Israel’s war against Hamas over the past year during White House briefings, swatting away repeated leading questions from reporters seeking criticism of Israel from the Biden administration.

Houthi media reports some strikes targeted power stations in Sanaa, Red Sea oil terminal

Yahya Saree, military spokesman for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group, speaks during a rally in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon, in Sanaa, on November 22, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)
Yahya Saree, military spokesman for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group, speaks during a rally in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon, in Sanaa, on November 22, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah reports that some of the strikes in Yemen targeted power stations in the capital, as well as the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea.

A Houthi military spokesman meanwhile announces that the Iran-backed rebel group will give “an important statement” in the coming hours, amid the strikes in Yemen and shortly after the IDF said it intercepted a missile fired from there toward central Israel.

US official: Strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen not being carried out by Americans

A US military official tells The Associated Press that the attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen aren’t being carried out by the Americans, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing strikes.

The strikes, which shook Houthi-held Sanaa, come not long after the Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. There is no immediate statement from the IDF on the Yemen strikes.

Houthi TV reports airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemeni coastal province

Airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the coastal Hodeida governorate early Thursday, reports Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of Yemen.

Herzog said to meet with family of NCO accused of leaking stolen file to PM’s spokesman

President Isaac Herzog met last week with the wife and father of an IDF non-commissioned officer arrested on suspicion of leaking stolen classified intelligence information to a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

The report doesn’t provide further details on the meeting, which it links to remarks that Herzog made this week expressing concern about the treatment of criminal suspects, saying the matter should not be political.

Shrapnel from interception damages parked cars in Ramat Gan, also hits school

Debris from the interception of the missile launched from Yemen damaged a number of parked cars in the central city of Ramat Gan, according to video from the scene.

Shrapnel also struck a school in the same neighborhood, with Magen David Adom medics reporting minor damage.

There are no reports of injuries.

IDF: Yemen missile was downed, sirens were activated due to falling debris from interception

The IDF clarifies that air defenses downed the missile fired from Yemen, which it says never entered Israeli airspace.

The military also says that the sirens were triggered due to concerns that falling shrapnel from the interception could result in injuries.

Justice Department says Mashaal’s brother was released from prison to ‘community confinement’

Mofid Mashaal, the half-brother of senior Hamas leader, is seen in a video following his reported release from US prison on December 12, 2024. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Mofid Mashaal, the half-brother of senior Hamas leader, is seen in a video following his reported release from US prison on December 12, 2024. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

After a US official claimed the half-brother of senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal was transferred to another detention facility — and not released entirely — a Justice Department spokesperson clarifies that Mashaal is in “community confinement.”

“We can confirm that Mufid Abdulqader [Mashaal], registration number 32590-177 is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) in community confinement overseen by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (FBOP) Dallas Residential Reentry Management (RRM) Office and has a projected release date of December 12, 2025.”

“Community confinement means the individual is in either home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house),” the Justice Department spokesperson says in a statement to The Times of Israel.

“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss release plans or procedures for any incarcerated individual,” the spokesperson adds.

An unnamed US official told reporters earlier this evening that Mashaal was merely transferred to another prison.

Footage posted on social media last week appeared to show Mofid Mashaal outside of prison, speaking to supporters over mobile video chat while being driven in a car – leading to reports of his release.

In 2009, Mofid Mashaal was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for financing Hamas. Following reports of his release, several Israeli media sites speculated that it could be tied to the ongoing hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

IDF says missile fired from Yemen set off the alerts

The IDF announces that a missile launched from Yemen set off the warning sirens across central Israel, shortly after major booms could be heard as far away as Jerusalem.

The military doesn’t specify whether the missile was downed.

There are no immediate reports of injuries as a direct result of the attack, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

Missile warning sirens activated overnight across central Israel

Missile warning sirens are activated shortly after 2:30 a.m. in communities across central Israel, including Tel Aviv and the surrounding metropolitan area.

IDF said to tell defense minister it will be able to enlist 10,000 young Haredim in 2026

Top military officers told Defense Minister Israel Katz that starting in 2026, the Israel Defense Forces will be able to enlist some 10,000 young ultra-Orthodox men, according to Hebrew media reports.

Montreal synagogue firebombed for 2nd time in just over a year; Trudeau: ‘Vile antisemitism’

Damage caused by a firebomb at Beth Tikvah synagogue, Montreal, December 18, 2024. (B'nai Brith Canada via JTA)
Damage caused by a firebomb at Beth Tikvah synagogue, Montreal, December 18, 2024. (B'nai Brith Canada via JTA)

Assailants firebombed a synagogue in a Montreal suburb for the second time in just over a year, the latest in a series of attacks on Canadian Jewish institutions since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.

As in the other recent attacks on Canadian Jewish sites, no one was injured in the incident.

Mordecai Zeitz, the emeritus rabbi at Congregation Beth Tikvah, a modern Orthodox synagogue in the suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, says the congregants met for morning prayers on Wednesday morning outside the synagogue.

“We were able to recite the morning prayers in an abbreviated way,” he said.”We did not close even if we had to go outside to avoid the fires on the inside, but we had the fires of Jewish identity and Jewish pride very much front and center, in front of the charred doors of the synagogue,” Zeitz tells the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Flames were seen rising from the building at around 3 a.m. local time Wednesday. Police later said they found an “incendiary device” near the scene.

“The damage is minor, we are talking about smashed windows and damage caused by smoke from the fire,” Montreal police spokeswoman Veronique Dubuc tells AFP.

There were no injuries, she says.

Witnesses saw a “suspicious man” leave the area right after the fire broke out, she says, and a another building belonging to a Jewish community group was also damaged nearby.

A criminal investigation is underway, but Dubuc says it’s too early to attribute a motive, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounces the “cowardly” and “vile antisemitic attack.”

Syrian rescuers find human remains at site used by Hezbollah and other Assad allies

DAMASCUS — The Syrian Civil Defense group, known as the White Helmets, uncovered at least 21 corpses as well as incomplete human remains on Wednesday in the Sayeda Zeinab suburb of the capital Damascus.

The discovery was made at a site previously used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed Iraqi militias, both allies of deposed president Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war. The site included a field kitchen, a drugstore and a morgue, according to Ammar al-Salmo, an official with the White Helmets, a volunteer organization that operated in areas that were controlled by the opposition.

Rescue teams in white hazmat suits searched the site, located not far from the revered shrine of Sayeda Zeinab, the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad. The remains were placed into black bags and loaded onto a truck as bystanders from the neighborhood looked on.

“Some (of the remains) are skeletons, others are incomplete, and there are bags of small bones. We cannot yet determine the number of victims,” al-Salmo says.

“Damascus has become a mass grave,” he says, pointing out the growing reports of war-related graves and burial sites in the capital and other places in Syria.

Iran and Hezbollah provided Assad’s government with military, financial and logistical support during the civil war.

Turkish FM urges removal of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from terror watchlists

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says world powers should remove the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group which seized power in Syria from their terror watchlist.

“I think it is time for the international community starting from UN… to remove their name from the terrorism list,” Fidan tells broadcaster Al Jazeera.

US official: Senior Hamas official’s brother was moved to another prison, not freed

WASHINGTON — Following reports that the half-brother of senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal was released early from federal prison in Texas last week, a US official tells The Times of Israel that Mofid Mashaal was simply transferred to another detention facility where he is continuing to serve his sentence.

Footage posted on social media last week appeared to show Mofid Mashaal outside of prison, speaking to supporters over mobile video chat while being driven in a car.

The US Department of Justice has not immediately responded to a request for clarification.

In 2009, Mofid Mashaal was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for financing Hamas. Following reports of his release, several Israeli media sites speculated that it could be tied to the ongoing hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

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