Dec. 21: Eli Cohen’s daughter says gov’t acting against the Israel her father sacrificed for

Slovenia public broadcaster 1st to demand banning Israel from Eurovision over Gaza war

Slovenia’s public broadcaster becomes the first to demand Israel be barred from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest over the war in Gaza.

The management of the RTV public broadcaster voted last week to immediately call for the European Broadcasting Union to ban Israel from participating in next year’s competition in Switzerland, Slovenian media report. The network’s council, however, voted down two other resolutions, which called for Slovenia to back out if Israel is allowed to participate; or for the country to black out the Israeli performance during the show.

The EBU steadfastly refused calls earlier this year to bar Israel from the 2024 competition in Malmo, Sweden, noting that the contest is between public broadcasters, not governments and that Israel remained fully eligible to participate. Riding a wave of backlash to the boycott calls, Israel’s Eden Golan received the second-highest vote total from the public and finished 5th overall with her song “Hurricane.”

The EBU, which runs the contest, has indicated that it will not accede to calls for Israel to be banned next year. The body warned this week, however, that shutting or privatizing the Israeli public broadcaster Kan could put its future participation in the contest in jeopardy.

Israel hits back at Pope for criticizing Gaza airstrikes, says he’s ignoring Hamas cruelty

Pope Francis exchanges the season's greetings with Vatican employees, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, December 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Foreign Ministry hits back at Pope Francis who condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza again earlier today.

Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican’s various departments with what appeared to be a reference to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that medics said killed at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza.

“Yesterday, children were bombed,” says the pope. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart.”

“Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them,” the Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the pope has chosen to ignore all of this, as well as the fact that Israel’s actions have targeted terrorists who used children as human shields.”

“The pope’s remarks are particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.”

“The death of any innocent person in a war is a tragedy. Israel makes extraordinary efforts to prevent harm to innocents, while Hamas makes extraordinary efforts to increase harm to Palestinian civilians.

“The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them. Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people,” the Foreign Ministry adds.

Yemen airstrikes reportedly carried out by US-led coalition

Yemen’s Al-Masirah outlet, linked to the Iran-backed Houthis, says the blasts in Sana’a a short while ago were the result of airstrikes.

The strikes were carried out by the US-led coalition, and not Israel, Israeli sources say.

Hours after Houthi strike on Tel Aviv, explosion reported in Yemen capital

A short while ago an explosion was reported in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.

It is not immediately clear if the blast was an Israeli airstrike.

Further details are currently unknown.

Settlers filmed raiding Palestinian village, hurling stones at residents and damaging property; no arrests made

Settlers filmed hurling stones at Palestinians after raiding their village in Susya on December 21, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

A left-wing activist group publishes footage it says was taken earlier today showing young Israeli settlers raiding the southern West Bank village of Susya hurling stones and destroying property.

Several residents and a dog were wounded after being struck by stones says Beyond the Herd, a solidarity group of Israeli activists that operates to support at-risk Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank.

Beyond the Herd says 20 settlers took part in the attack and that police waited until the settlers left after the 30-minute attack before arriving at the scene.

As is almost always the case in such incidents of settler violence, no arrests were made.

Israel’s failure to crack down on the phenomenon has led the US and other Western countries to begin issuing sanctions against settler extremists over the past year.

1/3
כעשרים מתנחלים פלשו הבוקר לכפר סוסיא, זרקו אבנים, פלשו לחצרות הבתים וזרעו הרס. מספר תושבים וגם כלב נפגעו מהאבנים. המתנחלים חירבו גינות ירק, שברו עציצים, קרעו שקי מזון לצאן וגרמו נזק רב לציוד בכפר. pic.twitter.com/woK2BDsyBz

— מחוץ לעדר (@masafering) December 21, 2024

Addressing rally for hostages, father of captive calls to ‘stop the selection’

Israelis protest for a hostage deal in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024. (Eitan Slonim/protest movement)

Hostage families and their supporters hold two separate, hundreds-strong protests in Tel Aviv to demand a deal to bring home their loved ones.

The rallies come as Hamas officials indicated a deal was at hand, while Israeli officials poured cold water on the optimism. On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal published an interview in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not end the war in Gaza as part of a hostage deal.

Speaking in front of the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters, Yifar Calderon, cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon and a prominent anti-government activist, slams Netanyahu’s comment.

“We won’t let you give up on them,” she says.

She calls on Israeli negotiators, who were reportedly expected in Cairo, to “do everything to free the hostages and end the damned war.”

Shai Mozes, nephew of hostage Gadi Moshe Mozes, says that even if a deal is reached, protests must continue to ensure “the government of Israel doesn’t find an excuse to scrap an agreement.”

He accuses the government “pounced on the opportunity” to resume hostilities after last November’s truce-hostage deal.

“Hamas said it would stop releasing women and children and continue releasing elderly and slain hostages,” he said, adding that the government preferred to “teach Hamas a lesson, thus abandoning the chance to save lives.”

A block away, at the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s weekly rally on Hostages Square, speakers reiterate the Forum’s opposition to a deal that doesn’t release all the hostages at once.

Eli Shtivi, father of hostage Idan Shtivi, implores Netanyahu to “stop the selection” — the Nazi practice of sending sickly Jews to die and healthy Jews to slave labor — “the distinction between blood and blood, the division into stages.”

“Now is the time to bring home all 100 hostages, without compromises or stages,” he says

Eli Cohen’s daughter tells Tel Aviv protest that gov’t acting against ‘Jewish democratic Israel’ her father sacrificed for

Sophie Ben-Dor, daughter of Eli Cohen — the Israeli spy executed in Damascus in 1965 — addresses an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, saying her father had sacrificed himself for a “Jewish democratic Israel” which the government is acting against.

She also accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to listen to her family’s requests to bring her father’s body home.

“I assume that if Dad’s bones are brought back and buried in the Land of Israel, the prime minister will be the first to revel in the achievement,” she says.

She refers to the recent downfall of Syria’s Assad regime as a “late present” for her late father, whose 100th birthday came two days before rebels took Damascus.

Lapid vows to topple government in speech to 1,000 at Tel Aviv protest

Speaking to about 1,000 protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, Opposition chief Yair Lapid vows to topple the government in a fiery speech that draws some heckles from disenchanted audience members.

Protests have returned to Kaplan Street in recent weeks to rail against the government’s renewed push to overhaul the judiciary.

“There will be no compromise. We won’t bend over, we won’t give up and we will never enter the government,” yells Lapid, in an apparent jab at his erstwhile ally National Unity chair Benny Gantz who joined the government at the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Lapid says the government is afraid to dissolve because it knows it will lose in an election.

Yair Golan, head of The Democrats — a merger of the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties — mills around the audience, stopping for selfies with supporters.

A large contingent of Yesh Atid activists is present as well.

A few feet away from the crowd, some two dozen activists hold a more stridently left-wing protest, hoisting signs accusing the government of committing genocide in Gaza.

After Lapid’s speech, the Kaplan Street protest breaks up and joins the hundreds, including some hostage families, rallying in front of the nearby Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters, to demand a hostage deal.

Hostage’s wife: Our government is choosing not to bring the hostages home

Roughly 1,000 people have gathered at a solidarity rally for the Gaza border communities of Nir Oz and Be’eri which were the hardest hit during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

Addressing the rally in Carmei Gat in central Israel is Avital Dekel Chen whose husband Sagui Dekel Chen is among the 100 hostages still being held in Gaza.

“How can it be that my daughters — who are fulfilling their commitment to hold on as tightly as possible amid all this madness — are met with a state that violates all its commitments to them, namely the most basic obligation to protect their well-being,” she says.

“Sagui and others are first and foremost fathers of small children, who need them every day. Children who are abused daily from the mere thought that their father is with terrorists – and yet the state chooses not to bring them home,” she laments.

Five killed in airstrike on house in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, medics claim; no immediate IDF comment

Five people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics tell Reuters.

There is no immediate response from the IDF, which says it doesn’t target civilians, while Hamas hides and fights among them.

10-year-old former hostage shares hardships of returning to routine since release from captivity

Former hostage Ohad Mundar with his therapuetic cat during an interview with Channel 12 that aired on December 21, 2024. (Screen capture)

Ohad Munder, 10, shares with Channel 12 some of his struggles returning to routine since his release from captivity last November.

Munder says that he typically has to stay home from school at least one day a week due to anxiety.

Throughout the interview, he holds his cat — a therapy pet brought to him from the US.

Asked how the cat helps him, Munder says, “by providing love.”

Syrian authorities appoint an HTS commander as defense minister, source says

Syria’s ruling authorities have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.

Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group which ousted Assad from power this month and led numerous military operations during the Syrian revolution, the source said.

Syria’s ruling administration appoints Murhaf Abu Qasra as defense minister

— official source @Reuters

Known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, he’s a top HTS military commander

(Pictured on the right). pic.twitter.com/TgLPj09BLN

— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) December 21, 2024

Hamas publishes never before seen footage of slain leaders visiting Gaza weapons depot

(From L-R) Since-slain Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Saleh al-Arouri and Yahya Sinwar visit weapons manufacturing sites in Gaza in footage released by Hamas on December 21, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Hamas’s military wing publishes never-before-seen footage of since-slain Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh al-Arouri visiting weapons manufacturing sites in Gaza and scribbling messages on the rockets.

It is unclear when exactly the footage took place, but Haniyeh and Arouri had been based outside of Gaza for many years before they were killed by Israel in Iran and Lebanon respectively.

In one clip from the compilation, Sinwar can be heard pledging to come at Israel with a “roaring flood.” The name Hamas used for its October 7 onslaught was the “al-Aqsa Flood.”

“We will come at you with countless missiles. We will come at you with an unlimited flood of soldiers. We will come to you with millions of our nation,” Sinwar can be heard saying in the clip, which shows scenes of missiles being launched at Israel on October 7.

Sinwar was killed by IDF soldiers in Gaza in October.

Later in the clip, lyrics of a song declare, “They kill, but we live. Martyrs do not die… We are a flood for Al-Aqsa where the prophets have roamed.”

???? كتائب #القسام تنشر فيديو للمرة الأولى يجمع قادة حركة #حماس #إسماعيل_هنية و يحيى #السنوار وصالح #العاروري من داخل أماكن تصنيع الأسلحة التابعة للمقاومة pic.twitter.com/YP6i9bwMX8

— عربي بوست (@arabic_post) December 21, 2024

Israel said to insist on presenting list of 70 to 100 names of security prisoners it won’t release

Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel will not release jailed Marwan Barghouti —  a leader in the first and second intifadas — as part of a hostage deal, Channel 12 reports that Israel is insisting on presenting a list to the mediators with the names of 70 to 100 security prisoners who it will refuse to release as part of an agreement.

The network also confirms reporting in The Times of Israel earlier this week that Hamas has yet to pass along a list of the living hostages it is prepared to release in the first stage.

Houthis reportedly placed less explosive material, more fuel in missile that managed to evade interceptors

Channel 12 reports that the Houthis placed less explosive material and additional fuel in the ballistic missile launched last night for it to have a better chance of reaching Israel while evading detection.

Israel launched several interceptors at the missile but failed to bring it down, resulting in 16 people wounded in the Tel Aviv area.

IDF intel chief said to visit Cairo for talks with Egyptian counterparts

The head of the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder visited Cairo today for meetings with Egyptian counterparts, the Walla news site reports, citing an Israeli official who says the talks did not focus on the ongoing hostage negotiations.

Last week, Binder reportedly visited Jordan and held talks Friday with Jordanian generals on the situation in Syria.

Ben Gvir: PM open to ‘encouraging emigration’ of Gazans, knows my red line against ending the war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, embraces National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as ministers attend a meeting on the planned state budget, in the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reiterates his claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is open to “encouraging emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza.

“This has been expressed in the things I hear from him with my ears,” Ben Gvir tells Channel 12.

The policy of “encouraged migration” has been widely criticized as a euphemism for the forced displacement of Palestinians

On the ongoing hostage talks, Ben Gvir says Netanyahu knows what his red lines are and that they include ending the war and releasing additional “Sinwars.”

PM’s office denies reports that Marwan Barghouti will be released in hostage deal

Men walk past a section of Israel's security barrier painted with a portrait of convicted Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti, held in an Israel jail, on November 6, 2023 in Bethlehem in the West Bank. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)

Responding to a media report that Palestinian security prisoner Marwan Barghouti’s family recently visited Qatar to discuss his release to Turkey as part of a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a statement declaring, “the terrorist Marwan Barghouti will not be released if and when a deal is made to release the hostages.

Hamas has reportedly demanded the release of the top Fatah figure and jailed Intifada leader as part of the hostage deal with Israel.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his part in planning three terror attacks that killed five Israelis during the Second Intifada.

Barghouti, 64, is often touted as one of the top candidates to succeed octogenarian Mahmoud Abbas as leader of the Palestinian Authority. He is especially favored by the younger generation, who perceive him as untainted by the PA’s corruption and collaboration with Israel.

Thousands protest for hostage deal in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Protestors march from Safra Square in Jerusalem to Paris Square calling for the release of the hostages on December 21, 2024. Banner reads: "They are all humanitarian" in reference to the selection of which hostages will be returned in a hostage deal. (Orna Kupferman/protest movement)

Thousands of Israelis have arrived in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for the weekly Saturday night protests against the government and for a hostage release deal.

The march from Safra Square in Jerusalem to Paris Square calling for the release of the hostages on December 21, 2024. (Courtesy)

Israelis protests against the government at Kaplan Square in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024. (Dana Reany/protest movement)

Biden denounces ‘despicable’ German Christmas market attack

US President Joe Biden calls the deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, a “despicable and dark event,” adding that Washington was in contact with German officials.

“The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Germany grieving the terrible attack,” Biden says in a statement. “No community — and no family — should have to endure such a despicable and dark event, especially just days before a holiday of joy and peace.”

Weekly Saturday night protests for hostage deal kick off, with hundreds arriving at demos in Karkur and Haifa

Weekly Saturday night protests for a hostage deal and against the government have kicked off around the country.

Hundreds of people are currently protesting at the Karkur Junction in central Israel for a hostage deal.

“A second winter in captivity, they are even colder,” chant the demonstrators.

In Haifa, protesters are marching from Merkaz HaCarmel to the Horev Junction.

US-backed SDF say five of its fighters killed after Turkish-backed forces strike Manbij

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say that five of its fighters were killed after strikes on the northern city of Manbij by Turkish-backed forces.

Hostage families blast PM for again asserting that he’s not willing to end war in exchange for remaining captives

Family members and activists marking the 25th birthday in captivity of hostage Matan Zangauker during a protest calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, December 18, 2024.(Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

A group of hostage families are fuming over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest assertion that Israel is only looking to reach a partial hostage deal.

“I’m not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas,” he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday. “We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen.”

His opponents have warned that this would leave the majority of the 100 remaining hostages in Gaza indefinitely.

Hamas has also long asserted that it won’t agree to release hostages unless it has guarantees that the first phase of the ceasefire being negotiated will subsequently transition to the second and third stages during which a permanent cessation of hostilities will be agreed upon.

Responding to the interview, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker says Netanyahu’s pledge not to end the war before Hamas is removed amounts to “another attempt to torpedo the release of the hostages.”

“The same prime minister who deliberately did not act to replace the Hamas government is now using this as an excuse to prolong the war and abandon the hostages. He wants to bury them in tunnels,” says Einav Zangauker.

Moreover, she argues that “ending the war in order to return all of the hostages is neither an obstacle nor a price – it is the goal. The people want to return the hostages, end the war and return to normality. The hostages may not survive another month, we need a comprehensive deal now.”

Hostage Ofer Calderon’s cousin Yifat blasts the “contradictory messages coming from Israel’s political echelon.”

Days before Netanyahu’s remarks to the Journal, Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed a deal to free all of the remaining hostages was imminent. A senior member of Israel’s hostage negotiating team is reported to have subsequently blasted Katz for making irresponsible comments that hampered efforts to reach a deal.

In his own response to Netanyahu, hostage Itzik Elgarat’s brother Danny urges the premier to, “Look the families in the eye – you humiliated us, trampled on us, turned us into the enemy. The only thing left for you to do is fulfill the will of the people: end the war and bring everyone back.”

Separately, the IDF issues a statement apologizing to the family of hostage Nimrod Cohen for inviting them to an event for bereaved families, given that their son is still believed to be alive in Gaza.

Biden signs US government funding bill, avoiding shutdown

US President Joe Biden on Saturday has signed into law the bill passed by Congress to fund the government through mid-March, the White House said, averting a government shutdown days before Christmas.

After last-minute legislative wrangling amid pressure from incoming president Donald Trump, lawmakers finally passed the funding bill in the early hours of Saturday, narrowly avoiding massive halts in government services before the Christmas holiday.

Suspect in German Christmas market attack faces charges of murder and attempted murder

Prosecutors expect to charge the suspected driver in a car-ramming at a Christmas market in Germany with murder and attempted murder, the head of the local prosecutor’s office say.

The motive for the attack remains unclear but the suspect’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role, the prosecutor in the central city of Magdeburg told a press conference following Friday’s attack, in which five people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

IDF combat driver seriously wounded in car crash in south

A combat driver with the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion was seriously wounded on Friday in a car crash in southern Israel, the military says.

The IDF says the crash occurred during operational activity.

The soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Hundreds protest outside Kishon prison in support of suspects jailed for firing flares at PM’s home

Hundreds of people are demonstrating outside the Kishon prison in northern Israel in support of the four suspects accused of launching flares at the Caesarea home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month who are being held inside.

The protesters are calling for their immediate release.

On Thursday, the prosecution asked the Haifa Magistrate’s Court to keep the suspects behind bars until the end of legal proceedings against them. The judge is slated to reach a decision next week.

מעל 1,000 איש כבר הגיעו למפגן התמיכה מול בית מעצר קישון, ואנשים ממשיכים להגיע.
בני משי pic.twitter.com/0HdFi3puJu

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) December 21, 2024

בית מעצר קישון גם בשבת pic.twitter.com/jnPCzkw1vj

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) December 21, 2024

Witness in PM’s trial says probe should be opened into Sara Netanyahu for allegedly orchestrating harassment of rivals

Sara Netanyahu arrived to attend her husband Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol on July 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)

A key witness in one of the corruption cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggests that an investigation should be opened following this week’s “Uvda” investigative report revealing that the premier’s wife Sara Netanyahu was apparently behind a coordinated social media campaign to attack those perceived as enemies of the family.

“Uvda” published text messages showing how Sara Netanyahu ordered the premier’s chief of staff Hanni Bleiweiss to smear the prime minister’s political rivals, asking her to look up “traitor, loser” ex-Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar’s “skeletons of sexual harassment reports in the closet”; publicize the “treasons, the trips to Russia and Belarus” of Moldova-born Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman; and tell supporters of Aryeh Deri and Yaakov Litzman what “traitors” the ultra-Orthodox leaders are, given their perceived alliance with former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, an arch-nemesis of the premier’s wife.

Still more vitriol was reportedly reserved for leading figures in the corruption cases against Benjamin Netanyahu: prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari, who oversaw the investigations; former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who served the premier’s indictments; and Hadas Klein, former secretary to Netanyahu benefactor Arnon Milchan, and a key witness in the case alleging Netanyahu illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cigars, champagne and jewelry — much of it allegedly at Sara Netanyahu’s request.

The “scoundrel” Klein, Sara Netanyahu reportedly wrote to Bleiweiss, had “smeared us for years, lied, slandered.” Language similar to Netanyahu’s message featured soon thereafter in social media posts against Klein, “Uvda” said.

Following the report, National Unity Chair Benny Gantz tweeted that the prime minister should apologize, particularly for sending Likud activists to protest outside the home of the parents of a fallen military pilot, who had been active in demonstrations against the premier.

“Benny, Are you for real,” Klein responds on X, blasting him for not taking a harder line against the Netanyahus.

“I expected that someone who sees himself as a leader and seeks to lead the country would come out in defense of its citizens and demand that an investigation be opened. Not to ask for a weak apology,” Klein says.

“It would have been better had you not written anything at all,” she adds.

Riyadh reportedly warned German authorities about Saudi national ahead of Christmas market attack

Saudi Arabia recently warned German authorities three times about the potential danger posed by the Saudi national who carried out yesterday’s deadly Christmas market ramming attack, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reports.

Reuters cites a source who also says that Germany had been warned about Taleb al-Abdulmohsen due to the extremist views he had been posting on social media.

Five people were killed and some 200 injured when an SUV plowed through the festive crowd in Magdeburg. One of the victims was a young child.

Hamas: Possibility to reach a deal closer than ever if Israel stops setting new conditions

Delegations of leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine meet in Cairo on December 20, 2024. (Courtesy)

Delegations of leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine met yesterday in Cairo to discuss the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

In a readout of the meeting, Hamas says the possibility of reaching a deal “is closer than ever if the enemy stops setting new conditions.”

All three terror groups are believed to be holding hostages throughout Gaza.

The factions “stressed everyone’s keenness to stop the aggression against our people,” the Hamas statement says, apparently referring to its demand for a permanent ceasefire.

The nature of the ceasefire deal is the main issue of contention in the talks, with Hamas demanding a permanent end to the fighting, while Israel is seeking a temporary pause during which some of the hostages would be released followed by a resumption of its fighting in order to finish dismantling the terror group’s military and governing capabilities, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel earlier this week.

Israel has sought to have the agreement refer to the ceasefire as one that “end[s] the military operation,” while Hamas is insisting that the text states that the ceasefire will “end the war.”

The readout says that the sides expressed appreciation for the Egyptian effort to strike a reconciliation deal between the various Palestinian factions — an initiative that has once again stalled due to disagreements between bitter rivals Hamas and Fatah.

The delegations agreed to hold another meeting as soon as possible.

IDF says it learned lessons from today’s failure to intercept Houthi missile

The military says the Israeli Air Force and Home Front Command have already implemented lessons learned from this morning’s failure to intercept a Houthi ballistic missile.

“The incident is still being thoroughly investigated,” the IDF says.

It says that following initial investigations by the IAF and Home Front Command, “some of the conclusions have already been implemented, both regarding interception and early warning.”

“No further details regarding aerial defense activities and the alert system can be given due to operational security considerations,” the IDF adds.

Drone likely launched by Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen intercepted over south Israel

The Israeli Air Force intercepted a drone that entered Israeli airspace in southern Israel a short while ago, the military says.

The IDF says the drone was launched “from the east,” meaning likely from Yemen.

The drone crossed the border via Egypt, a route previously seen with drones launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Sirens had sounded in several communities near the border with the Gaza Strip amid the incident.

Footage circulated online shows IAF helicopters shooting down the drone.

האזעקה בדרום: מסוק קרב משמיד את כלי הטיס שחדר לעוטף עזה ממזרח | תיעוד@ndvori pic.twitter.com/kbwEjQrmv5

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 21, 2024

Sirens in southern communities warn of suspected drone attack

Suspected drone infiltration sirens are sounding in the southern communities of Talmei Eliyahu, Gvulot and Ein HaBesor.

The IDF says it is looking into the incident.

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have launched several drones at Israel in recent days. A missile fired by the group hit a Tel Aviv park overnight, lightly injuring 16 people.

Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry issues urgent appeal for supplies for northern hospital

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry issues an urgent appeal for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza while the hospital director describes dire conditions.

The ministry says in a statement that there is continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital.

“Shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic,” the ministry says. It is unclear if they are referring to fresh shelling today.

Hospital Director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh says the facility is “facing severe shortages.”

He says the World Health Organization delivered 70 units of blood, but that the hospital requires at least 200 units to meet urgent needs. He says 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.

The shortages extend beyond medical necessities. “Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded. We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us,” he says. “The staff is working around the clock, yet we cannot even provide meals for them.”

The area has been the site of an intense IDF operation aiming to stop Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza.

Death toll rises to 5 in Germany Christmas market attack; over 200 wounded, many seriously

Police officers walk through a cordoned-off Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The death toll in the attack on a busy Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has risen to five, the state governor says.

Saxony-Anhalt Gov. Reiner Haseloff also says that more than 200 people in total were injured, many seriously, when a Saudi doctor intentionally drove a black BMW into the market yesterday evening.

Pope condemns Israeli airstrikes in Gaza: ‘This is cruelty. This is not war’

Pope Francis exchanges the season's greetings with Vatican employees, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, December 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis again condemns Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes a “genocide” of the Palestinian people.

Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican’s various departments with what appeared to be a reference to Israeli airstrikes on Friday.

“Yesterday, children were bombed,” says the pope. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart.”

The pope, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts but has recently been more outspoken about Israel’s military campaign against Palestinian terror group Hamas.

In book excerpts published last month, the pontiff said some international experts said that “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli sharply criticized those comments in an unusual open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio yesterday. Chikli said the pope’s remarks amounted to a “trivialization” of the term genocide.

Israel categorically rejects that characterization of its conduct in the ongoing war, which began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

Death toll in German Christmas market ramming rises to four, Bild reports

Forensics work on a damaged car sitting with its doors open after a driver plowed into a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 21, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)

The death toll from a car-ramming at a German Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg rose to four, according to German newspaper Bild, after a suspect on Friday plowed into a large crowd of visitors.

German authorities are investigating a Saudi doctor, arrested as the suspected driver of the car, with Der Spiegel magazine reporting he had sympathies with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Air Force probe finds several interceptors were fired at Houthi missile, but failed to knock it down

Israeli emergency responders inspect a crater at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen struck, in Tel Aviv early on December 21, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

According to an initial probe in the Israeli Air Force of the overnight Houthi ballistic missile attack, several different types of interceptor missiles were launched at the target.

The interceptors all failed to knock down the missile, which ultimately struck a park in Tel Aviv, causing damage to nearby homes and wounding 16 people.

The IAF continues to investigate as to why the interception attempts failed.

US authorizes military sales of more than $5 billion to Egypt

WASHINGTON — The United States government authorizes the sale of more than $5 billion in military equipment to Egypt, which has become an increasingly close partner in mediating the Gaza crisis despite serious human rights concerns.

The State Department informs Congress it approved the sale of $4.69 billion in equipment for 555 US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks operated by Egypt, $630 million in 2,183 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and $30 million in precision-guided munitions.

The sale “will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East,” according to a statement.

US President Joe Biden took office in 2021 vowing a harder line on Egypt over human rights concerns under President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, but his administration has repeatedly gone ahead with arms deals with Egypt.

Report: Saudi suspect in German Xmas market attack was anti-Islam activist who shared pro-Israel content

Police and ambulances stand next to the Christmas market, where a car crashed into a crowd on December 20, 2024 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany (NEWS5 / NEWS5 / AFP)

The Saudi suspect in the deadly ramming at a Christmas market in Germany was an anti-Islam activist who shared pro-Israel content on social media in the wake of the October 7 attacks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the report, the man ran a website and social media channels warning against Islam and discussing women’s rights.

He also showed support for Germany’s far-right anti-immigration AfD party, the report says.

The Journal says the suspect is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who moved to Germany in 2006. He was detained in the wake of the deadly ramming.

Two people were killed and 68 injured when an SUV plowed through the festive crowd in Magdeburg last night. One of the victims was a young child.

The local Volksstimme newspaper said reports from the scene indicated the attacker clearly tried “to hit as many people as possible.”

Poll: Just 22% trust the government, 75% have confidence in the IDF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi follow Israel's strike in Yemen from the IAF operations room at the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

A Channel 13 poll finds that only 22 percent of respondents expressed trust in the government, while 75% said they have confidence in the Israel Defense Forces.

Public trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at just 29%, while 47% express confidence in IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. Confidence in the abilities of Defense Minister Israel Katz stands at just 24%.

Pollsters also asked respondents how they define victory in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip — 68% say it will only be achieved with the return of all the hostages, 12% say it will see the annexation of Gaza and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the Strip, 4% say border residents returning to their homes will be the definition of victory, 8% say it will see the establishment of a moderate Palestinian leadership in Gaza other than Hamas, and 8% say they don’t know.

The outlet does not publish details on the methodology or margin of error for the poll.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024. (Itai Bet-On/GPO)

US Congress passes bill to avert government shutdown

The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC, on December 20, 2024 (Richard PIERRIN / AFP)

The US Congress averts a Christmastime government shutdown after weeks of tense negotiations that went down to the wire, passing a bill to fund federal agencies through mid-March.

With the midnight deadline already expired by minutes, senators dropped normal procedure to fast-track the package to a vote, halting government shutdown preparations and saving Christmas for more than 800,000 workers at risk of being sent home without pay.

“It’s good news that the bipartisan approach in the end prevailed… It’s a good outcome for America and the American people,” Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says in a speech on the Senate floor.

The Democrats run the Senate, so there was never much doubt that the funding package would get a rubber stamp after the party was crucial in helping the Republican majority in the House pass the bill earlier in the day.

But with senators often dragging their feet over complex legislation, there were fears that the funding fight might spill into next week.

That would have meant non-essential operations winding up, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and as many as 1.4 million more required to work without pay.

Guatemala takes 160 minors, 40 women from Lev Tahor sect into protective custody amid abuse allegations

This handout picture released by the Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation's Office (PGN) shows members of the PGN taking part in a child rescue operation at a Lev Tahor farm in the municipality of Oratorio, Guatemala, on December 20, 2024 (Handout / Guatemalan Attorney General of the Nation's Office / AFP)

Guatemalan authorities search the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.

Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez says the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital.

“The protection of boys and girls is an absolute priority,” Jiménez says.

Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office says in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found.

The office says a complaint was made in November of possible crimes including forced pregnancies, mistreatment of minors and rape.

Officials had previously tried to check the condition of the minors but were blocked from entering the farm by members of the community.

Lev Tahor has accused authorities of religious persecution.

The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.

In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.

In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult male.

Lev Tahor is a secretive sect and little is known about its inner workings. The group adheres to an extreme interpretation of Jewish law that largely shields its members from the outside world and places tight strictures on aspects of everyday life, such as their diet and dress.

The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel.

Houthi official: Failure of Israeli defenses means heart of enemy no longer secure

Following the missile attack on Tel Aviv, Houthi official Hezam al-Asad has posted several mocking messages to X, some of them in Hebrew.

In one post in Hebrew, al-Asad writes: “The failure of all Israeli defense systems means that the heart of the Zionist enemy is no longer secure.”

In another, he says: “There is no longer any use for interception systems that cost billions of dollars.”

In an Arabic post, he writes: “The enemy is trying to minimize its losses in the media to maintain its military standing and the morale of its settlers. It portrays the areas where the interceptor missiles fell as targets hit by [our] missiles.”

כבר אין תועלת במערכות יירוט שעולות מיליארדי דולרים. pic.twitter.com/y53bulgr2q

— حزام الأسد (@hezamalasad) December 21, 2024

Medics say 16 lightly hurt in Tel Aviv, mostly by shattered glass

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says 16 people were lightly hurt in the missile strike in Tel Aviv, most of them as a result of broken glass.

A few others were bruised while rushing to shelters.

Houthi missile impacted public park in Tel Aviv

A video shows the impact scene of the ballistic missile fired from Yemen in a public park in Tel Aviv.

מכתש בגן שעשועים: זירת הנפילה במרכז. pic.twitter.com/ZoethESH46

— אור רביד | Or Ravid (@OrRavid) December 21, 2024

Several reported lightly wounded after missile strike

Several people are reported by paramedics to be lightly wounded following the Houthi missile strike in Tel Aviv.

Military confirms ‘attempted interceptions did not succeed’

The military confirms that a missile originating in Yemen impacted in central Israel a short time ago, saying “attempted interceptions did not succeed.”

It says further details are being checked.

Video seems to show missile impact moment

A video purports to show the moment a missile impacted central Israel a short while ago.

ראשוני: שריפה פרצה בתל אביב כנראה בעקבות הירי מתימן | לכל העדכונים >>> https://t.co/s35YXgWTOI@AnnaPines_ @hadasgrinberg pic.twitter.com/8HnzAAcS9K

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 21, 2024

Reports of fire in Tel Aviv, possibly after missile strike

There are reports of a fire in Tel Aviv, possibly as a result of an impact by the missile from Yemen.

Sirens sound in central Israel after missile launch from Yemen

Sirens sounded in central Israel a short time ago after a ballistic missile was launched at the country from Yemen, the IDF says.

It is the second time this week that a missile is fired by Yemen’s Houthis in the middle of the night, sending Israelis scrambling from bed to shelters.