Dec. 22: ‘Tell the politicians we want a deal’: Religious Zionists rally for hostages’ release

After pope’s criticism, footage shows Latin patriarch of Jerusalem leading pre-Christmas Mass in Gaza

Footage shows the Latin Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa leading a pre-Christmas Mass during a rare visit to Gaza that was coordinated with Israeli authorities.

His visit to Holy Family in Gaza City, the Palestinian enclave’s only Catholic church, comes a day after Pope Francis issued a series of condemnations of Israeli strikes during the ongoing war against Hamas, and said the attacks had prevented Pizzaballa from entering the Strip yesterday.

The pope’s comments prompted a sharp response from the Foreign Ministry, which said his comments were “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.”

GAZA

Cardinal Pizzaballa leads Mass with Catholics at Holy Family Parish.

Pope Francis yesterday criticised Israel for stopping Pizzaballa from entering Gaza with Christmas presents for children. pic.twitter.com/AA1Zap0AkK

— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) December 22, 2024

IDF says Hamas operative targeted in southern Gaza drone strike

A Hamas operative in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip was targeted in a drone strike a short while ago, the military says.

The strike was carried out in the Khan Younis area.

The IDF says it took numerous steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike.

‘Tell the politicians that we want a deal’: Religious Zionists rally in Jerusalem for hostages’ release

A gathering in Jerusalem on December 22, 2024, calling for a hostage deal (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

Thousands of religiously observant Jerusalemites gather in the capital to call for a hostage deal, stressing their political and theological distance from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government coalition who have said they would not accept such an agreement with Hamas.

Speakers at the event at Jerusalem’s refurbished train station complex include bereaved fathers Jon Polin, Moshe Shapira, and Tzvi Zussman, hostage mother Meirav Leshem Gonen, and Racheli Fraenkel, whose son Naftali was murdered with two other boys in 2014, kicking off Operation Protective Edge, that year’s war with Gaza. Together with other rabbis and educators, they sing songs of anguish and prayer and speak words of Torah and messages of hope.

Leshem Gonen, whose daughter Romi Gonen has been held in Gaza since October 7, 2023, says this past year and two months have taught her many things, as she went through a journey of getting to know her nation as a secular Israeli.

“I feel we’re getting closer and this unity will push closed the gates of hell that opened on October 7,” she says.

Niva Wenkert, whose son, Omer Wenkert, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave on October 7, speaks about the complete darkness of the Gaza tunnels described to her by a released hostage who was with her son in captivity.

Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was executed in a Gaza tunnel in late August along with five other hostages, refers to the weekly Torah portion and the reference to Joseph, who was forgotten in prison.

“Go to the Knesset,” says Polin, “And tell the politicians that we want a deal.”

Jon Polin, father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speaks at a religious-Zionist rally in Jerusalem calling on the government to a promote a deal to free all the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, December 22, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Rabbanit Racheli Fraenkel, whose teenage son Naftali was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists along with Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar in 2014, says the IDF has made great strides and progress in the last months, defeating Hamas and Hezbollah. Now, says Fraenkel, “do what is right. We’re here to strengthen and add our voices to our brothers deep in the tunnels. Now is the time to free our brothers.”

The speakers, most of them self-described religious Zionists, recall the names of the hostages, and speak about the hope and miracles represented by the upcoming festival of Hanukkah and the basic value of solidarity and national unity that need to be present in Israeli society.

“We are in a historic time, a time of national trauma that has to be turned to healing, but first, the hostages have to be returned home,” says Rabbi Mordechai Vardi of Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim. “We need an agreement that will bring everyone home.”

Audience members, many wearing kipot and head coverings, clap, sing, and nod their heads in agreement throughout.

Treasury officials said to issue formal opinion against Haredi draft exemption law

Ultra-Orthodox men protest against the conscription of Haredim to the IDF in Jerusalem on October 31, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Treasury officials have issued a formal opinion against the proposed ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill that the government is currently trying to pass into law, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the letter stresses that, given the ongoing war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, the economy requires that a large number of ultra-Orthodox Israelis be drafted into the military.

The professionals’ letter was said to cite data showing that the annual cost of the stress on the IDF reserves is NIS 30 billion ($8 billion).

“The central goal is to ease the heavy burden of the reservists,” the Treasury officials are quoted as saying, noting that volunteering for “national service or ZAKA (search and rescue organization) does not ease the burden of military reserves service.

The opinion goes so far as to recommend that those who evade conscription should be personally sanctioned, according to Channel 12.

A bill that would “very slowly” increase the rate of ultra-Orthodox conscription is currently stuck in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, after a landmark High Court ruling in June that said there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into the IDF.

Lebanese media: IDF handed over 7 people to UNIFIL peacekeepers at border

UNIFIL peacekeepers secure the area in Khardali, southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on November 27, 2024. (AP Photo/ Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese official media says the Israeli army handed over seven people to United Nations peacekeepers at the border earlier today, during a delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The official National News Agency (NNA) says the seven were handed over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at Ras Naqura on the border, then transported to a hospital for check-ups by the Lebanese Red Cross, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

They were subsequently transferred by “military intelligence” to a headquarters in the southern city of Sidon for investigation, according to the report.

A UNIFIL spokesperson confirmed the Israel Defense Forces released seven civilians at the force’s Ras Naqura position, in coordination with the Lebanese Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah that the terror group said were in support of Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

A ceasefire came into effect on November 27. Both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.

Court rules: Gag order on identity of IDF reservist charged in PM’s office leak scandal to be lifted Tuesday

The Tel Aviv District Court rules that the identity of the IDF reservist charged in the Prime Minister’s Office security documents leak scandal will be cleared for publication on Tuesday, following a request from the suspect.

Judge Alaa Masarwa says the two-day delay in releasing the reservist’s name will give the prosecution time to appeal.

Earlier today, Hebrew media reported that the reservist, who is charged with transferring classified information, as well as theft by an authorized person and obstruction of justice, told the court during today’s hearing that he made a mistake, but said, “I cannot fight for my good name when I am in the dark. The public needs to know who I am, what I did, and what my intentions were.”

The state prosecution was said to have opposed the request, citing a security assessment that “publishing his name would reveal the secret information to which he was exposed during his service in the Intelligence Corps.”

In his ruling, the judge says, “Publication of information regarding his rank and position will be prohibited,” along with “the areas of activity and arenas in which he engaged or specialized during his military service.”

The defendant is still in custody, while the other main defendant in the case, Eli Feldstein, is under house arrest.

Report: Failed IDF raid that resulted in death of hostage Sahar Baruch was meant to rescue Noa Argamani

Sahar Baruch, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, speaks in a video released by the terror group on December 8, 2023. (Screenshot: Telegram)

An IDF hostage rescue operation conducted in Gaza last December that resulted in the death of hostage Sahar Baruch, 25, was meant for Noa Argamani, who was ultimately rescued some six months later, Channel 12 reports.

The report says the soldiers embarked on the mission with intelligence that Argamani was being held in a building in Gaza, but that the intelligence was faulty, and the hostage in the terrorists’ custody was Baruch.

The report adds that the soldiers were immediately fired upon as they entered the building, and that during the ensuing firefight, Baruch was killed, but that it remains unclear whether he was killed by Hamas or by friendly fire.

Baruch was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air, and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

Argamani, 26, was later rescued from central Gaza in an Israeli commando raid in June along with three other hostages, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.

Israeli hostages pictured after their rescue from Hamas captivity in Gaza on June 8, 2024. From left: Shlomi Ziv (IDF); Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90); and Noa Argamani (Courtesy).

Head of northern Gaza hospital says near impossible to follow Israeli evacuation order

People check the damage outside the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israeli strikes around the medical complex on December 6, 2024. (AFP)

The head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, tells Reuters via text message that obeying an Israeli order to shut down is “next to impossible” because there are not enough ambulances to get patients out.

“We currently have nearly 400 civilians inside the hospital, including babies in the neonatal unit, whose lives depend on oxygen and incubators. We cannot evacuate these patients safely without assistance, equipment, and time,” says Abu Safiya.

“We are sending this message under heavy bombardment and direct targeting of the fuel tanks, which, if hit, will cause a large explosion and mass casualties of the civilians inside,” he adds.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment on Abu Safiya’s remarks. It said that on Friday it had sent fuel and food to the hospital and helped evacuate more than 100 patients and caregivers to other Gaza hospitals, some in coordination with the Red Cross, for their own safety.

Israel says its operation around three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip — Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia — aims to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself there. Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate the area to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

After 14 months at risk of Hezbollah attacks, Northern Israel’s Hula Lake Park reopens

Cranes coming into land at the Hula Lake Park in northern Israel, December 22, 2024. (Alex Kolomoisky/KKL)

The Hula Lake Park, closed to visitors for 14 months, reopens during the heaviest rainfall in weeks.

The facility in northern Israel, run by the KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund, was shuttered following the Hamas terror attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year and the start of rocket attacks by the Lebanese terror group on October 8.

Park employees living near the Lebanese border were evacuated from their homes, but eventually returned to work, under fire, needing to run to bomb shelters with some regularity.

With its water and wide expanses of green, the park has long been a popular destination for Israeli and overseas visitors.

It is a particular draw during the two annual bird migrations, when tens of thousands of birds, particularly cranes, stop over to rest and feed on journeys between Eastern Europe or Western Asia and Africa.

Senior KKL officials voice hope that the reopening will help restore some level of normalcy to northern Israel, following last month’s ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

Israel’s military leadership ‘recommends attacking Iran’ — TV report

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet that took part in strikes in Iran on early October 26, 2024, in an image cleared for publication the following day. (Israel Defense Forces)

Almost all of the top brass of Israel’s defense establishment thinks Israel should attack “inside Iranian territory,” Israel’s Channel 12 news reports.

The question of tackling Iran — a possible reference both to efforts to deter the Houthis and to Iran’s nuclear facilities — has also come up repeatedly in meetings of the Israeli security cabinet, according to the report, even as Israel has focused in recent days on ways to counter the upsurge in missile attacks by the Houthis.

The report says Israel assesses that the Houthis took a decision to escalate missile and other attacks, and that their actions against Israel are not always coordinated with Iran or even appreciated by Iran.

Channel 12 quotes unnamed Israeli political and military leaders assessing that Tehran’s leadership thinks Israel may attack it soon, and asserting that the regime leadership is holding frenzied consultations to decide what to do about this.

In a report that it stresses was approved by the military censor, Channel 12 says that at recent meetings of Israel’s political and military leadership, it has been said that the Iranians believe Israel chose to accept a ceasefire in the north in order to free up resources to deal directly with Iran and exact a price from the regime.

Channel 12 says the Israeli sources believe Iran is concerned at the potential for an Israeli attack for three key reasons: because Israel has destroyed Iran’s air defenses in a way that enables access for the IAF; because it accepted the ceasefire in Lebanon; and because of Donald Trump’s election.

Channel 12 also says that in the Israeli leadership discussions, it has been said that Israel must do everything to ensure Iran does not return to Syria or Lebanon.

But the outlet also cites unnamed sources as saying that Israel should avoid a protracted confrontation with Tehran right now since it would not serve Israel’s interests — though Israel must still nurture and advance its operational capabilities regarding Iran.

Police summon Israel Prison Service chief for additional questioning in breach of trust case

Israel Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi seen after his questioning at the Police Internal Investigations Department, in Jerusalem December 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel Police summons Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi for further questioning in relation to an ongoing breach of trust investigation against the IPS chief, according to the Ynet news site.

Ynet also reports that Cdr. Avishai Mualem, a senior officer in the Israel Police’s West Bank division, has been summoned for further questioning as part of the same case, as well.

The questioning will take place on Tuesday, according to the report.

Mualem is reportedly suspected of refraining from arresting far-right extremists suspected of Jewish terrorism at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He is also suspected of allegedly leaking intelligence information to the minister’s office, who allegedly promised him a promotion in return.

Earlier this month, Yaakobi and Mualem were both detained on suspicion of obstructing an investigation and breach of trust and were held for questioning for over 12 hours by the Department of Internal Police Investigations.

While many of the details in the case remain under a gag order, it is said to be linked to illicit efforts by the officers to benefit far-right minister Ben Gvir, a close associate of Yaakobi and Mualem.

‘False accusations’: Likud slams reported complaints against Sara Netanyahu on witness intimidation claims

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrives at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for the start of her trial on October 7, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party responds to reports that dozens of people had filed police complaints about possible criminal acts by his wife, Sara.

The reported claims followed allegations by the Channel 12 investigative program, Uvda, that Sara Netanyahu sought to intimidate a witness in her husband’s criminal trial and have protesters harass the attorney general and deputy state attorney.

“The collapse of the frivolous claims against Prime Minister Netanyahu in court is no reason to persecute his wife with false accusations,” the Likud statement says. “Aren’t you tired of this?”

According to the TV report, Sara Netanyahu instructed her husband’s secretary to have Likud activists publish attacks on a key witness in one of the criminal cases against the prime minister and to demonstrate outside her house ahead of, or during, her testimony in court, with the intention of intimidating and harassing her.

IDF: Reservist seriously wounded earlier today during fighting in central Gaza

A reservist with the Harel Brigade’s 429th Battalion was seriously wounded earlier today during fighting in the central Gaza Strip, the military says.

The solider has been taken to a hospital for medical treatment, and his family has been notified, the IDF adds.

Houthis say Israeli strikes on Hodeida port caused $313 million in losses since July

Explosions are seen in Yemen after Israel carries out strikes on Houthi targets on December 19, 2024. (Screen capture X/ used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Houthi-run Yemeni Transport Ministry and the Red Sea Ports Corporation announces that Israeli strikes on the port city of Hodeida in western Yemen since July have caused $313 million in losses, according to a report by the Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency.

The Houthi Transport Minister Mohammed Ayash Quhim said in a statement late last week that IDF attacks on the port are a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the generally accepted charters and protocols that criminalize targeting ports.”

Last week, Israeli jets carried out strikes on the Hodeida port — which Israel had struck twice before — and for the first time, in the rebel-held capital Sana’a.

The IDF operation coincided with the Houthis firing a missile that hit a school in central Israel last week.

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.

Biden’s national security adviser says he’s briefed Trump team on risk Iran might go for the bomb

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during an onstage interview Tuesday evening at the 92nd Street Y, New York, on December 18, 2024. (Rod Morata/Michael Priest Photography)

The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says, adding that he is briefing US President-elect Donald Trump’s team on the risk.

Tehran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel’s assaults on its proxies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan tells CNN.

“It’s no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now… Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine,'” Sullivan says.

He adds that he has told the Trump team to be “vigilant,” adding: “It’s a risk that I’m personally briefing the incoming team on about the threat of nuclear escalation.”

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.

Dozens said to file complaints about Sara Netanyahu after TV report on alleged efforts to intimidate witnesses in PM’s trial

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attends a plenary session of the opening day of the Knesset's winter session, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Dozens of people have reportedly filed police complaints about possible criminal acts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, following allegations by Channel 12 investigative program, Uvda, that she sought to intimidate a witness in her husband’s criminal trial, and have protesters harass the attorney general and deputy state attorney.

Harassing a witness and seeking to subvert the testimony of a witness are criminal offenses punishable by three years and seven years in prison respectively.

According to Uvda’s report, Sara Netanyahu instructed her husband’s secretary, Hanni Bleiweiss, to have Likud activists publish attacks on Hadas Klein, a key witness in one of the criminal cases against the prime minister, and to demonstrate outside her house ahead of, or during, her testimony in court, with the intention of intimidating and harassing her.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands in the witness box in the Tel Aviv District Court to give testimony in the trial against him, December 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The report was supported by WhatsApp messages obtained by Uvda from the cell phone of Bleiweiss, who passed away in 2023.

Sara Netanyahu also gave instructions for similar protests and other forms of harassment to be conducted against then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit and Deputy State Attorney Liat Ben Ari, Uvda alleged.

Among the vanguard of complainants against Sara Netanyahu is Labor MK Naama Lazimi who filed complaints to the attorney general, the head of the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 serious crime unit, State Attorney Amit Aisman calling for them to investigate.

Three of Lazimi’s parliamentary aides also filed complaints in person at the Lev Tel Aviv Police Station this morning, and created a WhatsApp group, giving instructions to members on how to file such police complaints online.

Hundreds of people have now joined the group. Lazimi claims dozens of people had filed complaints as of this afternoon.

“Sara Netanyahu must be investigated,” she declares on Twitter.

“In a country where the police function properly, she would have been summoned for questioning immediately after the investigation was broadcast. In today’s Israel, we will have to help this happen.”

And the Movement for Integrity in Government (Telem), a good governance watchdog group, sends a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara calling on her to open an investigation into Sara Netanyahu.

“Sara Netanyahu’s actions raise serious suspicion of criminal offenses of subverting testimony, or alternatively, harassment of a witness (or solicitation to harass a witness), offenses under Sections 246 and 249 of the Penal Code, and possibly even the offense of obstruction of justice under Section 244 of the Penal Code, in relation to the actions against the then attorney general and state attorney [official] Liat Ben Ari,” Telem writes in its letter to the attorney general.

Israeli soccer team releases Arab goalie after fan outrage over appearance for Palestinian national team – report

Hapoel Beit She'an FC's announcement that Ghanem Mahajna was signed to the team, December 16, 2024. (Hapoel Beit She'an FC)

Hapoel Beit She’an soccer club has reportedly released Ganem Mahajna, a recently signed goalkeeper, after fans expressed outrage over his appearance in a Palestinian national team match in 2017.

Mahajna, 33, was signed by the club last week but has been released before playing any matches, according to Hebrew media reports, after a wave of social media outrage over his previous appearances in the Palestinian soccer league and his single appearance in a match for the Palestinian national team.

Hapoel Beit She’an’s club director initially came out in support of Mahajna, saying the club “believes in true coexistence” and that the outraged fans “do not even attend the games.”

However, the Kan broadcaster and Sport 5 reported today that Mahajna is no longer a member of the team.

The club has not commented on the release of the goalkeeper, Kan adds.

IDF says ‘extensive’ cleanup operation of northern communities underway, working for safe return of residents

Israeli soldiers cleaning up communities in northern Israel that were damaged during the fighting with Hezbollah. Photos cleared for publication December 21, 2024. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

The military announces that it is “in the midst of an extensive operation to clear and clean northern communities” that have been damaged during the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The military says in a statement that “the operation involves engineering teams and additional forces deployed in over 40 communities in northern Israel,” and that “the forces are clearing military equipment, cleaning waste, and removing unexploded ordnance” from the communities.

The statement adds that the military and the local authorities “have been working for over a year to create the conditions for the safe return of residents to their homes, with an emphasis on managing daily life in a safe environment.”

Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and almost-daily rocket fire by the terror group since October 8.

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

Israeli soldiers clearing ordnance from communities in northern Israel that were damaged during the fighting with Hezbollah. Photos cleared for publication December 21, 2024. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Supreme Court dismisses interim injunction blocking new laws for electing municipal rabbis

Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli attends a plenum session on the so-called Rabbis Bill in the Knesset, November 12, 2024. (Goldberg/Flash90)

Supreme Court Justice Khaled Kabub dismisses an interim injunction preventing the government from implementing a new set of regulations overhauling the system for electing municipal rabbis, and schedules a hearing on the matter for mid-January.

The national religious Itim and Tzohar organizations recently filed suit against the new regulations approved last month by Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli. The regulations dilute the voting power of local government officials in elections for city rabbis, do away with term limits, and allow the state-funded clerics to also pull a paycheck from a second job.

An interim order preventing the state from implementing the new regulations was in place until last Thursday, when the government was required to file its response to the Itim/Tzohar suit. In its filing, the government argued that the regulations constituted valid secondary legislation “in the public interest” which allows the state to jumpstart the electoral process for clerics in dozens of locales that do not currently employ state rabbis.

“The court’s refusal to grant the temporary injunction is reflective of the intimidation tactics of the government towards the court. The court is much more hesitant to intervene these days, even though this will allow the ministry to continue its irresponsible actions, which cause unnecessary spending during a time of war and create jobs which will end up being paid by local residents,” Itim head Rabbi Seth Farber tells The Times of Israel.

“At a time where the cost of living is going up dramatically, it is unfortunate that the court cannot stop the job machine of the Religious Affairs Ministry.”

Malkieli’s spokesman does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Smotrich accuses housing minister of ‘giving priority to Arabs’ purchasing land in north; Goldknopf rejects ‘spin’

(L) United Torah Judaism leader Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf in Tel Aviv on February 4, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90) and (R) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Jerusalem, on June 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich writes to Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, complaining that the Israel Lands Administration is taking steps to “give priority to Arabs in purchasing land in the north of the country.”

“This is an unacceptable decision, especially at a time when reservists are bearing a heavy burden, and many Jewish families are having difficulty purchasing land due to legal barriers and administrative difficulties systematically piled up against them,” the far-right minister declares.

In response, Goldknopf’s office says it “rejects with disgust the finance minister’s attempt at spin” and states that under Goldknopf, 20 percent of spots in the government’s housing lottery this summer were reserved for IDF reservists. Those who win the housing lottery are given a chance to buy newly built apartments at below-market price.

“Minister Goldknopf is working in every way to assist and benefit reserve soldiers, and therefore, after numerous meetings held by the construction and housing minister with the leadership of the Druze community, and in light of the distress in the development of these communities, it was decided to renew the previous [government’s] decision in order to strengthen the communities, most of whose sons take an active part in the fighting.”

Indicating stepped-up campaign against Houthis, Netanyahu says Yemeni rebels ‘threaten world order’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a video statement announcing a stepped-up campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, December 22, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Indicating the start of a stepped-up campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis.”

In a video statement released after the meeting of his security cabinet in Safed, Netanyahu stresses that Israel is not alone in operating against the Houthis: “The US, and also other countries, like us, see the Houthis as a threat not only to world shipping — but also to world order.”

He also tells Israelis to continue following instructions from the IDF’s Home Front Command, after a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed group impacted a playground in south Tel Aviv early yesterday morning. Several people were wounded and extensive damage was caused by the strike.

A short while later, the IDF carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, though the operation had been in planning for weeks, and jets were already in the air when the missile was launched.

Later on Saturday, the US also said it struck targets in Yemen’s rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

In his video statement, Netanyahu promises that even though the operation against the Houthis may take time, the results will be the same as Israel’s campaigns against other Iranian proxies in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Houthis have launched more than 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 Israeli allies in the region.

Syria’s de facto leader says new structure of defense ministry, military will be announced soon

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (not pictured) in Damascus. (AFP Photo/Sana Telegram Channel)

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says his administration will announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, al-Sharaa says his administration will not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

The Islamist leader has said that his nascent government intends to eventually overhaul Syria’s constitution and institutions, after felling the Assad regime in a lightning offensive at the beginning of this month.

IDF reservist charged in PM’s office leaks case seeks to lift gag order on his name; prosecution opposes

The IDF reservist charged in the Prime Minister’s Office security documents leak scandal asks the court for permission to publish his name, which is under a gag order.

Hebrew media reports that the reservist, who is charged with transferring classified information as well as theft by an authorized person and obstruction of justice, tells the court during today’s hearing that he made a mistake, but says, “I cannot fight for my good name when I am in the dark. The public needs to know who I am, what I did, and what my intentions were.”

Hebrew media also reports that the state prosecution opposes the request to lift the gag order, stating that security officials believe “publishing his name would reveal the secret information to which he was exposed during his service in the Intelligence Corps.”

The defendant is still in custody, while the other main defendant in the case, Eli Feldstein, is under house arrest.

The reservist’s legal team last week petitioned President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in the case, saying he “understood that his acts were forbidden and would not repeat them.” Admitting guilt and expressing remorse are conditions for a presidential pardon.

Herzog’s office said it had received the pardon request and had begun looking into the matter.

PM, security chiefs convene at IDF Northern Command HQ, inspect weapons confiscated from Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views weapons the IDF confiscated from Hezbollah during the ground operation in southern Lebanon at the IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed, December 22, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet today at the IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed, his office says.

The ministers viewed weapons confiscated by the IDF from Hezbollah during the ground operation in southern Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin briefed the ministers on ongoing IDF operations in Lebanon, says the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara were also in attendance.

They also viewed a mock Hezbollah tunnel and command post built based on infrastructure the IDF found in southern Lebanon, according to the statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inspects weapons the IDF confiscated from Hezbollah during the ground operation in southern Lebanon, in a mock terror tunnel set up at the IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed, December 22, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Report: Trump team planning to pull US out of World Health Organization on first day in office

Former US president Donald Trump visits The Great Commoner cafe with Robert F. Kennedy Jr (center R) November 1, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is pushing to pull America out of the World Health Organization on its first day in office, the Financial Times reports, citing public health experts concerned about the potential impact.

“America is going to leave a huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership. I see no one that is going to fill the breach,” one of the experts is quoted as saying.

The US is the WHO’s largest donor, contributing about 16 percent of its funding in 2022-23, according to the Financial Times.

Trump cut ties with WHO in 2020 during his first term, charging that the UN public health agency had failed to do enough to combat the initial spread of the novel coronavirus.

He recently announced vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee to run the US Department of Health and Human Services.

‘Netanyahu, stop being afraid’: Gantz doubles down, accusing PM of stymying hostage deal to save coalition

National Unity chair Benny Gantz is seen at a discussion about the Israel Broadcasting Authorities at a Knesset Economic Affairs meeting, Jerusalem, December 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Continuing his war of words with Benjamin Netanyahu, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz’s office issues a statement accusing the prime minister of standing in the way of a hostage deal so as not to endanger the stability of his right-wing coalition.

“Netanyahu, don’t be a serial coward. You were afraid to break up the coalition, and Gantz’s insistence alone has already brought back over 100 hostages,” the statement says, accusing Netanyahu of being “afraid” to order military maneuvers in Gaza until pushed to do so by the former war cabinet minister.

“You trembled at the possibility of launching a campaign in the north to return the residents to their homes by September 1 when Gantz pushed you to do so. You know very well that if the situation had not been forced upon you, you would never have done so,” it continues.

“Netanyahu, you have already sabotaged the possibility of reaching a hostage deal in the past for fear of breaking up the coalition. We will not allow you to do this again when there is a real deal on the table. Netanyahu, stop being afraid.”

‘Missing’ US congresswoman found living at assisted living facility for dementia patients in Texas

US House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger and her panel begin work on fiscal 2024 spending bills, at the Capitol in Washington, June 14, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Kay Granger, a sitting member of the House of Representatives for Texas, is found living in an assisted living facility for dementia patients after she has reportedly been missing from her Washington, DC, office for the past six months.

Granger, 81, has been in Congress for 30 years but has missed every vote in the house since July.

A local Texas reporter for the Dallas Express newspaper, Carlos Turcios, tracks down her whereabouts after her constituents report that both her DC and local offices have not answered phone calls for months and that she was placed in a memory care facility after being found wandering.

Reporters visit the facility in Fort Worth, and employees confirm that Granger is a resident there.

Granger is set to retire from Congress in January.

Netanyahu’s office slams ‘submissive’ Gantz’s allegations that PM is ‘sabotaging’ hostage deal talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz at a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, October 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/ Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office slams National Unity chairman Benny Gantz after the former war cabinet minister accuses the premier of “sabotaging” hostage deal negotiations with Hamas.

“The submissive Gantz, who requested an end to the war even before entering Rafah, cannot preach to Prime Minister Netanyahu about the need to eliminate Hamas and the sacred mission of returning our hostages,” the PMO says in a statement.

“It is no coincidence that since Gantz left the government for political reasons, the prime minister has struck a fatal blow to Hamas, crushed Hezbollah, and taken direct action against Iran, moves that led to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria,” the PMO continues, adding that “those who are not helping the national effort should at least do no harm.”

In a statement earlier today, Gantz warned Netanyahu that he did “not have a mandate to thwart the return of our hostages again for political reasons.”

Knesset committee approves bill that limits hike in National Insurance fees

As part of the process of passing the 2025 state budget, the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee approves parts of the Economic Efficiency Bill for its second and third readings in the plenum, limiting planned increases in National Insurance Institute payments to a period of two years.

National Insurance contributions, which include health tax payments, are set to be increased on January 1, with the expectation of adding costs of between NIS 1,000 to NIS 2,000 ($275-$550) a year to an average household. National Insurance contributions are often described as a form of tax, as they are collected by the state to finance public goods.

In a statement, committee chairman MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) says that National Insurance contributions are “not income tax” and that “there is no justification for severely and permanently harming vulnerable workers.”

According to the bill as approved by the committee, employees earning up to NIS 7,522 ($2,058) will be subject to monthly payments equal to 1.6 percent of their salaries — 40% of which will come out of their earnings and 60% of which will be paid by their employers.

The government will be allowed to extend the higher rate twice for a period of a year, subject to committee approval.

Top Lebanese Druze figure visits Syria, meets with HTS’s al-Julani to reset troubled Lebanon-Syria ties

A prominent Lebanese politician holds talks with the insurgent who led the overthrow of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, with both expressing hope for a new era in relations between their countries.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was a longtime critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon and blames Assad’s father, former president Hafez al-Assad, for the assassination of his own father decades ago. He is the most prominent Lebanese politician to visit Syria since the Assad family’s 54-year rule came to an end.

He meets with Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, who led the Sunni Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that swept into Damascus earlier this month and forced the younger Assad from power.

“We salute the Syrian people for their great victories and we salute you for your battle that you waged to get rid of oppression and tyranny that lasted over 50 years,” says Jumblatt, a key figure in Lebanon’s Druze minority and the former leader of a leftist party.

He expresses hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

Israeli official confirms: Hamas has provided ‘signs of life’ for several hostages held in Gaza

A rally calling for the release of the hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, December 21 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

As working groups continue their efforts in Doha to hammer out a hostage deal in Gaza, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that Hamas has provided “signs of life” for several hostages.

Israel knows the whereabouts of most of the hostages, says the official, but would not say whether Hamas had provided a list of living hostages.

Israel will not accept an end to the war as part of a deal, says the official, but instead would agree to something along the lines of a “prolonged ceasefire.”

Ninety-six of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

‘Jews hate freedom’: No arrests reported after neo-Nazi rally outside Melbourne’s Parliament House

Footage posted to social media shows a neo-Nazi rally on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, on December 20, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Australian police are looking to identify individuals from a group of neo-Nazis that unfurled a banner that said “Jews hate freedom” on the front steps of Victoria’s Parliament House over the weekend, according to local media reports.

No arrests have been reported in the incident, which Channel 9 news said took place on Melbourne’s Spring Street on Friday evening.

Footage of the group posted to social media shows a group of around a dozen men dressed in black chanting “Freedom for the white man” and “White man, white man, white man.”

In other footage from the demonstration, the masked men can be seen leaving the area upon request from police officers.

The neo-Nazi scenes in Melbourne are truly horrifying and terrifying. This should be a wake up call to both state and federal governments to act URGENTLY. pic.twitter.com/EDVngri0aC

— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) December 21, 2024

Channel 9 quotes Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker as saying the group appeared to be having “some type of photoshoot.”

The police official is also quoted by the Australian Jewish News as saying one protester has been identified and will face charges.

There is no official comment from the Australian government.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich is quoted by the Australian Jewish News as saying that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”

“Melbourne will never bow to the jackboots of hate, and we will never allow the echoes of Hitler’s hate to dictate the future of our multicultural, democratic community,” he adds.

Earlier this month, Australian federal police launched a special operation to investigate an increase in antisemitic threats and violence since the war between Israel and Hamas began last year.

‘There are going to be more,’ Israeli official tells ToI after strikes on Houthis in Yemen

Explosions are seen in Yemen after Israel carries out strikes on Houthi targets on December 19, 2024. (Screen capture X/ used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Days after the IDF carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel, “There are going to be more attacks.”

“Houthis are now the focus,” says the official.

Yesterday, the US said it struck targets in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, hours after a missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck Tel Aviv, causing injuries.

7 illegal settlement outposts established in West Bank area under Palestinian civil control, watchdog says

A Palestinian home in Area B whose residents were said to have been expelled and replaced by settlers, east of the settlement of Tekoa, in an undated image (Courtesy Peace Now)

In an unprecedented development, seven illegal Israeli settlement outposts in Area B of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have civilian control have been established in recent months, the Peace Now organization reports.

In some of the outposts, Palestinians who had been living in the area fled in fear of the settlers and their homes were promptly taken over by the settlers, Peace Now alleged.

Of the seven outposts, five are located in a large tract of land known as the “Agreed-upon-reserve” east and southeast of Bethlehem, which is in Area B but where the Palestinian Authority is prohibited from construction.

Of the other two outposts, one is located east of the Ofra settlement in the central West Bank on what Peace Now says is land belonging to the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, and the other is located further north, close to the Shiloh settlement, south of the illegal outpost of Adei Ad, on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya.

According to Peace Now, the seven outposts were all established within the last two to six months. One of them, dubbed Or Nachman and located close to Turmus Ayya, was evacuated by the Civil Administration department of the Defense Ministry, but was then rebuilt.

At least one of the outposts is inhabited by only one person; another is inhabited by one family; and another is home to a group of young settler activists.

“After seizing control of Area C and systematically displacing Palestinians through house demolitions and settler violence, settlers have now set their sights on Area B,” Peace Now said upon publishing its new report.

“The Israeli government’s annexation plans are not limited to Area C. By enabling settlers to establish outposts deep in Area B, the government blatantly violates another critical element of the Oslo Accords. If we do not act today, we will find ourselves returning to full military rule across the entire West Bank.”

Under the Oslo Accords, 18% of the West Bank was defined as Area A, under Palestinian civil and security authority; approximately 22% was defined as Area B, under Palestinian civil authority, and the remaining approximately 60% of the West Bank territories were defined as Area C, under full Israeli security and civilian authority.

Gantz accuses Netanyahu of ‘sabotaging’ hostage deal negotiations with Hamas

National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz speaks at the Middle East America Dialogue (MEAD) summit in Washington, DC, September 8, 2024. (Itzik Balnitzki / Courtesy)

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “sabotaging” hostage deal negotiations with Hamas.

Israel is currently in the middle of a “sensitive” period but “Netanyahu is once again running to the foreign media and talking,” Gantz says, predicting that “once again a ‘political figure’ will be briefing [reporters] at the end of the week.”

“Netanyahu, you do not have a mandate to thwart the return of our hostages again for political reasons,” Gantz continues, calling a deal the right thing to do on humanitarian and national security grounds.

“And one more thing,” Gantz concludes, “you said in the Wall Street Journal that Hamas should not rule Gaza because it is 30 miles from Tel Aviv. So let me remind you: Hamas should not rule Gaza because it is two kilometers from Nir Oz and Be’eri, and four kilometers from Sderot. Their security must be restored, and the hostages who were taken from their beds there must be returned.”

Gantz’s comments come after Netanyahu told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday that he was “not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas.”

Hamas had long asserted that it would not agree to a ceasefire and hostage release without an Israeli commitment to end the war. Recent reports have indicated it may have softened its position to allow the release of a limited release of hostages in an initial phase without such a commitment, though it would likely hold on to the majority of the hostages until the final phase of a deal, when a permanent cessation of hostilities is agreed upon.

Far-right protesters in Germany call for mass deportations of migrants after Christmas market attack

There were scuffles at a far-right “demonstration against terror” in Germany’s Magdeburg attended by around 2,100 people last night, reports say, one day after the deadly ramming attack at a Christmas market.

Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen holding a large banner with the word “remigration,” a term popular with far-right supporters seeking the mass deportation of migrants and people deemed not ethnically German.

The motive for Friday night’s attack remains unclear. Investigators are probing the suspect’s criticism of German authorities’ treatment of Saudi refugees, among other things. He was also a staunch critic of Islam and had voiced support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on social media platform X.

Huge protests in Germany, calling for mass deportations following the terrorist attack at a Christmas market.

Numbers are increasing by the minute!

????????

pic.twitter.com/m7CY2u6JMX

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) December 21, 2024

For second time in as many days, pope accuses Israel of ‘cruelty’ over Gaza strikes

Due to a cold Pope Francis Angelus prayer is live-broadcasting on screens in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, on December 22, 2024. (Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Pope Francis doubles down on his condemnation of Israel’s strikes in the Gaza Strip, denouncing their “cruelty” for the second time in as many days despite Israel accusing him of “double standards.”

“And with pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty,” the pope says after his weekly Angelus prayer.

It is unclear which specific alleged incidents he is referring to. Israel has long said it only targets terrorists and that Hamas hides among civilians.

After the pontiff accused Israel of “cruelty” yesterday Israel’s Foreign Ministry panned his remarks, saying that they were “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.

“Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people.”

The war in Gaza was sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages as thousands of Hamas-led terrorists rampaged across Israel’s Gaza border communities.

Referring to the pope’s accusation of “cruelty,” the Foreign Ministry statement rebutted that “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.”

“Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this,” the ministry said.

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

IDF expands north Gaza operation as troops advance to area west of Beit Hanoun

The IDF says its Kfir Brigade has wrapped up an operation against Hamas in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, and the infantry troops have advanced and are now operating in areas west of Beit Hanoun.

During the Beit Lahiya operation, the military says the Kfir soldiers killed numerous gunmen and destroyed terror infrastructure above and below ground.

The raid near Beit Hanoun was launched “following intelligence information about the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area,” the IDF says.

Before the troops entered the area, the military says Israeli Air Force fighter jets and the 215th Artillery Regiment bombed Hamas targets in the area, including operatives and infrastructure.

COGAT says fuel delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital, dozens of patients evacuated to other Gazan medical centers

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says over 5,000 liters of fuel were delivered to northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday to support the medical center’s essential operations.

COGAT also says that 87 patients, caregivers, and others were transferred from Kamal Adwan to other hospitals in the Gaza Strip, in an effort coordinated with the World Health Organization.

COGAT says 16 more patients and caregivers were transferred from Jabalia’s Al-Awda Hospital in coordination with the Red Cross.

“These transfers were carried out following requests from the IDF and health system officials to safely evacuate hospitals in the area, ensuring the safety of residents while maintaining humanitarian corridors and active medical centers in the Gaza Strip,” COGAT says in a statement.

The military denies reports in Palestinian media that it had ordered the complete evacuation of Kamal Adwan overnight.

Khamenei claims Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis are not Iran’s proxies: ‘They fight due to faith’

This handout picture released by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on December 22, 2024, shows him greeting visitors as he makes a speech in Tehran. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denies that terror and rebel groups around the region function as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway.

The remarks came after a year in which Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza suffered heavy losses in wars with Israel — sparked by attacks by those two terror groups — and two weeks after the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who had been a key link in Tehran’s so-called axis of resistance.

Another spoke of that axis, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, have been targeted by the United States, Britain and Israel over their attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes and on Israel.

“The Islamic Republic does not have a proxy force. Yemen fights because it has faith. Hezbollah fights because the power of faith draws it into the field. Hamas and [the Islamic] Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so. They do not act as our proxy,” Khamenei tells a group of visitors in Tehran.

“[The Americans] keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake,” he says, adding: “If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force.”

The son of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Mohammad Mahdi Nasrallah, is among those in attendance for the speech.

This handout picture released by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shows the son of slain Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, Mohammad Mahdi Nasrallah (C), attending a speech by Khamenei in Tehran on December 22, 2024 (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Security cabinet holds meeting in north

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with his security cabinet in northern Israel, aides to two ministers in the powerful forum tell The Times of Israel.

The ministers are discussing the situation in Syria and Lebanon, as well as talks on securing the release of hostages in Gaza, says one of the aides.

German authorities were warned last year about suspect in Christmas market ramming

Teddy bears were laid together with candles near the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

German authorities received a warning last year about the suspected perpetrator in a car attack at a Christmas market, a government office says as more details emerged about the five people killed in the attack.

“This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips,” the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees sys on X about the tip it said it received in the late summer of last year.

But the office also notes that it is not an investigative authority and that it referred the information to the responsible authorities, following the procedure in such cases. It gives no other details about the suspect or the nature of the warnings.

Authorities have identified the suspect in the Magdeburg attack as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency.

Police haven’t publicly named the suspect, but several German news outlets identified him as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Turkey says it believes Kurdish fighters will be forced out of all Syrian territory

A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

ANKARA — Turkey believes Syria’s new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group, which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler says.

Turkey regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Turkey and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.

“We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations,” Guler says during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

“We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared,” he says in a video released by his ministry.

Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband, and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had previously said it had.

Palestinian media reports PA security officer killed in firefight with terrorists in Jenin

Illustrative: Palestinian security forces deploy at the Jenin camp in the north of the West Bank on December 18, 2024 (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

A Palestinian Authority security officer was killed in a counter-terror operation in Jenin, Palestinian media reports.

The member of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s presidential guard is the first security official to be killed in an ongoing operation in the West Bank city. Two others were injured in the firefight, the Wafa news site reports.

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 earlier this month.

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.

Katz threatens to ‘crush Hezbollah’s head’ if terror group violates ceasefire

Defense Minister Israel Katz visits an IDF position in south Lebanon on December 22, 2024 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz, during a visit to an Israeli military position in southern Lebanon, threatens to “crush Hezbollah’s head” if the terror group violates the ceasefire agreement.

“We defanged the snake, and if Hezbollah does not withdraw beyond the Litani [River] and tries to violate the ceasefire, we will crush its head,” Katz says in remarks provided by his office

“We will not allow Hezbollah operatives to return to the southern villages and reestablish the terror infrastructure that will pose a threat to the northern communities,” he continues.

“We will ensure the removal of the threat and the restoration of security to allow the residents of the north to return safely to their homes,” Katz adds.

Soviet refusenik and would-be plane hijacker Eduard Kuznetsov dies at 85

New York Mayor Edward Koch, center, talks with Soviet dissidents Mark Dymshits, right, Eduard Kuznetsov, and Kuznetsov's wife Sylvia at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York, April 29, 1979 (AP Photo/David Karp)

Eduard Kuznetsov, a Soviet refusenik and writer, has passed away at age 85. He was one of the leading figures in the struggle to help Jews leave the Soviet Union.

Kuznetsov was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union in 1970 after he led an attempt to hijack an empty civilian aircraft with 16 other refuseniks in order to escape to the West.

His sentence was later commuted to 15 years following a global outcry, and in 1979, he was released as part of a Soviet prisoner exchange with the United States.

After he moved to Israel following his release, Kuznetsov worked on behalf of Soviet Jewry as a writer and journalist in Israel and abroad.

2 indicted for contact with Hezbollah, providing photos from Caesarea

Two Jerusalem residents in their 30s have been indicted for contact with Hezbollah and providing the terror group with information during the war.

According to the indictment, Abd al-Salam Qawasameh and Taar Asili were in contact via a WhatsApp group with a woman using the name “Diana,” who was a Hezbollah operative.

The indictment says that even after learning that she was a member of Hezbollah, the pair continued to maintain contact with her and share information about Israel.

Qawasameh sent to the Hezbollah handler photos from the coastal town of Caesarea — where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a private residence — and Asili sent her news articles about Israel and the security situation, the indictment says.

The pair also allegedly were asked to speak with a senior Hezbollah intelligence officer.

The indictment says Asili purchased a new SIM card to contact the officer, but refused a request to take photos in the northern border town of Metula.

The pair are charged with “contact with a foreign agent” and passing information to the enemy.

Qawasameh is also hit with weapons offenses after he took a photo with an assault rifle that belonged to a Palestinian gunman during a visit to the West Bank city of Jenin.

The prosecution has asked the Jerusalem District Court to have them kept in custody until the end of the legal proceedings.

Palestinian media reports 4 killed in IDF drone strike on Gaza City vehicle

Four Palestinians were killed in an IDF drone strike on a vehicle in Gaza City a short while ago, according to Palestinian media reports.

There is no immediate comment from the military.

4 شهداء وعدد من الجرحى جراء استهداف الاحتلال مركبة في شارع الجلاء بمدنية غزة. pic.twitter.com/Ja0bpZaZnb

— Ultra Palestine – الترا فلسطين (@palestineultra) December 22, 2024

IDF says it struck Hamas operatives embedded at former Gaza City school serving as shelter

People inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike that the IDF said targeted Hamas operatives embedded at the Musa Bin Nusair school in Gaza City on December 22, 2024 (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Overnight, the IDF says, it carried out an airstrike against a group of Hamas operatives at a command center embedded within a former school in Gaza City.

According to the military, the Hamas operatives were using the Musa Bin Nusair school to plan and carry out attacks on troops in Gaza and against Israel.

The school was serving as a shelter for displaced Gazans, and Palestinian medics report at least six dead in the strike.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

Egyptian report: Hamas asking for extra compensation to free 11 male hostages in 1st phase of deal

A rally calling for the release of the hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, December 21 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Unnamed sources tell Egypt’s Al-Ghad outlet that Israel has requested the inclusion of 11 men on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, with Hamas apparently demanding further compensation in return for setting them free.

According to the report, the first phase of the potential deal between Israel and Hamas will see 250 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the children held in Gaza, the five female soldiers, and the older and sick captives.

While not specifically mentioned by the report, it is assumed that the first round of releases will also include the female hostages who are not serving in the military.

According to the report, Israel has requested the release of 34 hostages in the first phase, including 11 considered by Hamas to be soldiers. The terror group classifies all Israeli men of fighting age to be soldiers.

However, Al-Ghad says Hamas has agreed for the 11 to be included in the first phase in return for “special consideration” in the deal, implying that Palestinian prisoners who also do not fit the agreed-upon categories could be released.

The outlet says other areas under discussion include the reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the potential withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, and the return of Gazan civilians to the north of the Strip without conditions, but with the inspection of vehicles. No further details are given.

Additionally, the report says talks are being held on a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long vowed that the IDF will remain on the route.

Palestinian official to BBC: Disagreements remain over Philadelphi corridor, buffer zone

View of the Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 15, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

Talks for a three-stage hostage-ceasefire deal are 90 percent completed but key issues remain, a senior Palestinian official involved in the discussions tells the BBC.

One area of contention is the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt, the official says, additionally sharing that talks in Doha are considering the potential creation of a buffer zone along Gaza’s border with Israel that would be several kilometers wide, which would have an Israeli “military presence.”

Once these issues are resolved a potential ceasefire could begin within days, the official tells the outlet.

The report says the deal will see 20 Palestinian prisoners released for every female soldier freed in the first stage of the ceasefire, with the names of those prisoners not yet decided on.

The report does not say if any male hostages will be released in the first stage and does not mention either children or the women held in Gaza who are not serving in the military.

The BBC says that Gazan civilians will be permitted to return to the north of the Strip “under a system with Egyptian/Qatari oversight.” No details are given on the form of that oversight. Additionally, around 500 trucks will bring humanitarian aid into Gaza every day.

The BBC says the third stage (no details are given on the second) will see the end of the war, with Gaza to be “overseen by a committee of technocrats from the enclave, who would not have previous political affiliations but would have the backing of all Palestinian factions.”

The report says it is assumed that the released prisoners will not include Marwan Barghouti, who 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, 65, 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.

Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal over shipping fees

US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Incoming US president Donald Trump on Saturday slams what he calls unfair fees for US ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatens to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington.

He also hints at China’s growing influence around the canal, a worrying trend for American interests as US businesses depend on the channel to move goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,” he says in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.”

The Panama Canal, which was completed by the United States in 1914, was returned to the Central American country under a 1977 deal signed by Democratic president Jimmy Carter.

Panama took full control in 1999.

“It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump says. “We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!”

He continues that if Panama could not ensure “the secure, efficient and reliable operation” of the channel, “then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.”

Authorities in Panama did not immediately react to Trump’s post.

Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident

Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military says. Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries in the incident.

The incident came as the US military conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, though the US military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was at the time.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,” Central Command says in a statement.

CENTCOM confirms strikes on Houthi missile storage facility and command center in Sana’a

US Central Command confirms having conducted airstrikes in Sana’a, Yemen earlier this evening, saying it targeted a missile storage facility and a command-and-control site operated by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

CENTCOM says the attack will degrade Houthi capabilities to conduct attacks such as ones that have targeted US warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden. It makes no mention of last night’s Houthi missile attack in Tel Aviv.

During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, CENTCOM says.

“The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners and international shipping,” the statement adds.

CENTCOM Conducts Airstrikes Against Iran-Backed Houthi Missile Storage and Command/Control Facilities in Yemen

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by… pic.twitter.com/YRWWQJIweP

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 21, 2024