Dec. 25: PM&#8217;s criteria for peace: Destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza, deradicalize Palestinians

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid out three “prerequisites for peace” in an op-ed published tonight in the Wall Street Journal.

They are to “destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza and deradicalize the whole of Palestinian society,” he says.

Notably, the piece makes no mention of the many hostages still being held by terrorists in Gaza, and doesn’t list their return as a prerequisite.

“The US, UK, France, Germany, and many other countries support Israel’s intention to demolish the terror group. To achieve that goal, its military capabilities must be dismantled and its political rule over Gaza must end,” writes the premier.

Second, Israel must also ensure that Gaza is “never again used as a base to attack” Israel.

“Among other things, this will require establishing a temporary security zone on the perimeter of Gaza and an inspection mechanism on the border between Gaza and Egypt that meets Israel’s security needs and prevents smuggling of weapons into the territory,” says Netanyahu.

In light of reported suggestions that the Palestinian Authority administer Gaza post-war, he says the “expectation that the Palestinian Authority will demilitarize Gaza is a pipe dream.”

The PA, he accuses, “currently funds and glorifies terrorism in Judea and Samaria and educates Palestinian children to seek the destruction of Israel.”

Third, he says, “schools must teach children to cherish life rather than death, and imams must cease to preach for the murder of Jews.”

“Palestinian civil society needs to be transformed so that its people support fighting terrorism rather than funding it,” he writes.

“That will likely require courageous and moral leadership,” says Netanyahu, attacking PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who “can’t even bring himself to condemn the Oct. 7 atrocities.”

Netanyahu points to the “successful deradicalization” that took place “in Germany and Japan after the Allied victory in World War II,” and says that “today, both nations are great allies of the US and promote peace, stability and prosperity in Europe and Asia.” He also says that post 9/11, “visionary Arab leaders in the Gulf have led efforts to deradicalize their societies and transform their countries.”

“Once Hamas is destroyed, Gaza is demilitarized and Palestinian society begins a deradicalization process, Gaza can be rebuilt and the prospects of a broader peace in the Middle East will become a reality,” he concludes.

11:29 pm

IDF strikes Hezbollah sites after two projectiles from Lebanon hit northern kibbutz

The IDF says two projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the northern community of Manara earlier.

There are no reports of injuries, as the community has largely been evacuated, due to ongoing Hezbollah attacks since October 7.

In response, the IDF struck the launch sites and other nearby areas, the military says.

Earlier, the IDF says a surface-to-air missile was fired from Lebanon at an Israeli military aircraft over the area.

The missile missed the aircraft, which continued its mission, according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, a suspected drone infiltration alarm that sounded in the Upper Galilee this evening is confirmed to have been a false alarm.

בשעות האחרונות זוהו שני שיגורים משטח לבנון לעבר מרחב מנרה.
במהלך היום, כוחותינו תקפו את מקור הירי ושתי עמדות שיגור לצד מרחבים נוספים בשטח לבנון.

בנוסף, מוקדם יותר היום, שוגר טיל קרקע אוויר משטח לבנון לעבר כלי טיס של חיל האוויר שפעל במרחב. הטיל לא פגע בכלי שסיים את משימתו בהצלחה pic.twitter.com/0SCgWL4Owx

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 25, 2023

11:26 pm

Pro-Israel university students land in Tel Aviv to hear victims’ testimonies

By Canaan Lidor

US students meet MK Danny Danon in Jerusalem, on December 25, 2023. (Courtesy of Danon's office)

More than two dozen pro-Israel students from US universities, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), are visiting Israel on a mission to hear the testimonies of victims of Hamas terrorists following the Palestinian terror group’s murderous October 7 attack.

“We are here to tell the world as Jewish students that we will not be silent in the face of antisemitism on campus, that we are proud to be in Israel at this historic moment,” Ethan Oliner, a junior at Cornell University, says in statement sent out by the trip’s organizers today.

The visit comes on the heels of widespread backlash over controversial comments made on December 5 by the presidents of UPenn, MIT, and Harvard, at a congressional hearing where they could not clearly answer a question on whether calling for a genocide against Jews violated the universities’ policies on harassment and intimidation. They all said this depended on the “context.”

Following an uproar, the then-president of UPenn, Elizabeth Magill, apologized and resigned. Harvard President Claudine Gay has clarified her position, saying that “those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account.” MIT President Sally Kornbluth has not apologized.

Expressions of antisemitism are on the rise on North American campuses and beyond, following the massacre in Israel on October 7, when terrorists from Gaza murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel and took 240 hostages. Israel responded by declaring war against Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

The mission, dubbed “Take Action for Israel,” is sponsored by Hasbara Fellowships and IsraelAmbassadors.com and includes students from Columbia, Brandeis, Temple, and Johns Hopkins, as well as Cornell, UPenn, and MIT.

Cornell has dealt with its own antisemitism-related issues following the arrest last month of a junior accused of threatening to murder Jews on campus.

The students’ program during the visit includes meetings with soldiers, hostage families, and officials, including Knesset lawmaker Danny Danon, who greeted the students upon their arrival.

11:11 pm

Hezbollah condemns ‘brazen’ killing of senior Iran Revolutionary Guards officer in Syria

Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah condemns the “blatant and brazen attack” today in Damascus in which a senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in an alleged Israeli strike.

Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi was killed in the strike earlier in the Damascus suburb of Sayeda Zeinab, Iran has confirmed.

Hezbollah says the attack “crosses all limits.”

Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi vowed that Israel “will certainly pay for this crime.”

There has been no comment from Israel on the strike.

10:36 pm

Drone attack in Iraq targets military base used by US, anti-jihadist coalition forces

By AFP

A drone attack on Monday targeted a military base in northern Iraq used by US and anti-jihadist coalition forces, US and Iraqi officials say, in the latest such incident.

The number of attacks targeting the coalition, which deployed troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State group, has surged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, after Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages during their murderous invasion that Saturday morning.

In Monday’s incident a drone was launched towards a base close to Erbil airport, in Iraqi Kurdistan, Yehia Rasool, the Iraqi prime minister’s spokesman for military affairs, said in a statement.

The attack caused injuries, Rasool said, without giving further details.

A US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that a drone attack was launched “at US and coalition forces” at the airbase, adding “we are still awaiting injury and damage assessments (if any).”

Not long after the drone attack, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched a drone against another base, close to Harir, which is northeast of Erbil.

That base is also home to US and coalition forces.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a loose formation of armed groups affiliated with the Hashed al-Shaabi coalition of former paramilitaries that are now integrated into Iraq’s regular armed forces.

A tally by US military officials has counted 103 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17.

The majority of those attacks have been claimed by Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In early December, the US embassy in Baghdad was targeted with rocket fire. That attack, the first of its kind since the start of the war in Gaza, was not claimed by any group.

The office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced several arrests and said some had links to the security services.

Washington has around 2,500 soldiers deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria. The international coalition has been fighting the Islamic State group since 2014.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

9:43 pm

Palestinian terrorists fire at least 12 rockets at Ashkelon from Gaza

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of at least 12 rockets at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, footage shows.

Sirens sounded in Ashkelon’s southern industrial zone, as well as in the nearby communities of Netiv Ha’assara, Zikim, and Karmia.

Surveillance camera footage from Netiv Ha’assara shows the rocket barrage.

Surveillance camera footage from Netiv Ha'asara shows the rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip at Ashkelon a short while ago. No reports of damage or injuries, pic.twitter.com/3rxxVyUBsa

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 25, 2023

No injuries or damage are reported.

There is also no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire, although Hamas is believed to be behind the attack.

9:23 pm

‘I was not angry for even a minute,’ says mom of hostage killed mistakenly by IDF

Yotam Haim, left, and his mother, Iris Haim. Yotam was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, to Gaza. (Courtesy)

Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was shot dead in error by IDF troops in northern Gaza earlier this month, says she holds no anger toward the military for the tragic incident and reveals that the soldiers who were directly involved visited the family during the shiva, the initial seven-day mourning period.

Speaking to Channel 12, Haim says: “I was not angry for even a minute, neither was my husband. There was no anger at the IDF for even a moment. There was pain, sorrow, great pain… We were shocked.”

The mother, who following the incident recorded a message for the soldiers who killed him, telling them that she and her family love them and do not blame them for his death, says she and her husband “cried together” with the soldiers.

Referring to them as “sweet” young men, she says they told her that they “saw figures, and could not even imagine that they were hostages. They had no idea.”

Haim was mistakenly killed together with two other hostages, Alon Shamriz and Samar Talalka, by IDF troops who, in error, identified them as a threat on December 15. The incident is the subject of an ongoing IDF investigation.

Haim says her family received numerous visits by military personnel and families of military members and heard that “morale was low” after the killings. She says she felt compelled to release the message from the family on December 20.

“Yotam was free, even if he did not return to Israel alive. He was free from Hamas’s captivity. In that way, he beat Hamas. It was important for me to say that to the soldiers,” she says.

“Hamas didn’t kill him — it gives us a sense of comfort,” she says.

9:21 pm

244 US cargo planes, 20 ships deliver over 10,000 tons of military equipment to Israel — report

US-supplied military equipment arriving in Israel, December 2023. (Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office)

Two hundred and forty-four US transport planes and 20 ships have delivered more than 10,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the start of the war, Channel 12 reports.

The Defense Ministry has made NIS 40 billion (almost $2.8 billion) in additional purchases from the US, it says.

Furthermore, it reports, all of Israel’s military industry production lines are working round the clock.

The TV report follows comments by Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who claimed at a faction meeting earlier today that the quantity of artillery shelling of Hamas targets in southern Gaza has “dropped dramatically in the past three weeks.”

The TV report also addresses what it says have been claims that the IDF is engaged in “armament economics” — in other words, that it is conserving ammunition to ensure it does not run out. It says there has been no case since the start of the war where the Air Force did not strike, or ground forces did not fire, because of a shortage of ammunition.

US-supplied military equipment arriving in Israel, December 2023. (Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office)

On December 6, the Defense Ministry had publicized the arrival of the 200th US cargo plane carrying military equipment for the IDF. “The significant delivery marks the culmination of a joint effort led by the Ministry of Defense’s US Procurement Mission, in collaboration with the IMOD Directorate of Production and Procurement, the IDF Planning Division, and the IDF Technology and Logistics Division,” it said at the time.

Also citing the figure of 10,000 tons, it said the military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war included “armored vehicles, armaments, personal protective equipment, medical supplies, ammunition, and more.”

8:38 pm

Netanyahu said to bar Gallant from holding discussions on hostages with Mossad head

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been preventing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from holding meetings to discuss efforts to secure the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza when Mossad chief David Barnea is present, Channel 12 reports.

Citing government sources, the report says Netanyahu cannot prevent Gallant from meeting with senior military and security officials, but has barred him from including Barnea when the prime minister is not part of the discussion.

On at least two occasions, Gallant has invited Barnea to attend meetings and received messages from Netanyahu’s office that the premier disapproved, according to the report.

Gallant’s office did not respond to the report.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in response that there were no such limitations on Gallant or Barnea.

But, says the PMO, the war cabinet is the only body that “outlines policy and decides on the matter of the hostages and those missing’ and there “is no exception.”

Barnea was heavily involved in the temporary truce agreement brokered by Qatar last month that saw the release of 105 civilian hostages, mostly Israeli women and children, as well as Thai nationals and one Filipino national.

8:00 pm

Troops find car belonging to hostage, Hamas truck at northern Gaza hospital

A vehicle belonging to an Israeli hostage (right) and a Hamas pickup truck (left) are seen at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, in a video published by the IDF on December 25, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has found a car belonging to an Israeli hostage and a Hamas pickup truck at northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, further highlighting the terror group’s use of medical centers in the Strip.

Troops of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and reservists of the 551st Brigade raided the hospital in recent weeks, finding “a host of materials linking it to Hamas activities,” the IDF says in a statement.

A white Toyota pickup truck containing weapons, similar to those used by Hamas during its October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, was found at the complex, along with a Toyota Corolla with Israeli license plates.

The IDF has found a car belonging to an Israeli hostage and a Hamas pickup truck at northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, further highlighting the terror group's use of medical centers in the Strip.

Troops of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and reservist of the 551st Brigade… pic.twitter.com/Op2xdFOxtD

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 25, 2023

The Toyota Corolla belonged to the family of Samar Talalka, an Israeli hostage who was mistakenly killed by IDF troops in Shejaiya earlier this month.

Inside the car, troops found blood stains that were identified as belonging to another hostage, as well as parts of an RPG launcher, according to the IDF.

The IDF has accused Hamas of using medical centers in Gaza, including the Indonesian Hospital, as bases.

A massive Hamas tunnel network recently discovered and destroyed by IDF troops in the Jabaliya area, had branches going under the medical center.

During the ongoing fighting in Gaza, the IDF says it identified armed operatives of Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces inside the hospital, which was allegedly being used as a staging ground.

7:54 pm

War cabinet to meet to discuss Egyptian proposal to free hostages — report

The war cabinet is meeting tonight to discuss the portion of the Egyptian proposal that would possibly free more hostages held by terrorists in Gaza, Hebrew media reports.

The war cabinet will also discuss developments on Israel’s northern border, following the alleged Israeli strike in Damascus that killed a senior IRGC official, according to Hebrew media reports.

The overall Egyptian plan, said to be rejected by Hamas and Islamic Jihad earlier, would end hostilities in Gaza, have Hamas give up control of the Strip in return for a permanent ceasefire, and release all the remaining hostages, in three stages.

The first stage of the Egyptian plan would be a two-week halt to the fighting, extendable to three or four, in exchange for the release of 40 hostages — women, minors, and elderly men, especially sick ones.

In return, Israel would release 120 Palestinian security prisoners of the same categories. During this time, hostilities would stop, Israeli tanks would withdraw, and humanitarian aid would enter Gaza.

The second phase would see an Egypt-sponsored “Palestinian national talk” aimed at ending the division between Palestinian factions — mainly the Fatah party-dominated Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and leading to the formation of a technocratic government in the West Bank and Gaza that would oversee the reconstruction of the Strip and pave the way for Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections.

The third stage would include a comprehensive ceasefire, the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, including soldiers, in return for a to-be-determined number of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails affiliated with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group — including those arrested after October 7 and some convicted of serious terror offenses. In this phase, Israel would withdraw its forces from cities in the Gaza Strip and allow displaced Gazans from the enclave’s north to return to their homes.

Netanyahu earlier today said Israel was making “every effort” to bring home the hostages, stating that this effort requires “military pressure” to succeed.

“We won’t stop fighting,” he says during a special parliamentary session, also attended by families of the hostages, adding that “we need time.”

“We don’t have time,” one relative calls out from the Knesset gallery, after which the families chant “Now! Now! Now!” demanding the immediate release of the hostages.

7:33 pm

Ban on most Palestinian workers may cost Israeli economy over $800m, says Finance Ministry rep

The government’s decision to ban the entry of most Palestinian workers from the West Bank following Hamas’s attack on October 7 could end up costing the economy up to NIS 3 billion ($830,307,300) a month, a representative of the finance ministry tells the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers on Monday.

More than 10,000 workers, primarily those from Thailand who worked in agriculture, left the country following Hamas’s murderous onslaught almost three months ago, when 3,000 terrorists burst through the Gaza border, killed 1,200 people, and took approximately 240 hostages.

Reports have said that Israel may need more than 30,000 foreign workers to fill the gap left by these workers in the fields of construction and agriculture.

The shortage is exacerbated by the government’s decision to bar the entry of most workers from the West Bank and the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists for the war against Hamas.

“We are in very dire straits,” bemoans Raul Sargo, president of the Bonei Haaretz Contractors Association. “The [construction] industry is at a complete standstill and is only 30 percent productive. 50% of the sites are closed and there is an impact on Israel’s economy and the housing market.”

Despite the general ban, a representative of the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories tells lawmakers that the cabinet made an exception for Palestinian workers engaged in “critical” areas such as hospitality, industry and healthcare.

Last week, the Israel Defense Forces Central Command decided that between 8,000 and 10,000 Palestinian laborers from the West Bank will return to their jobs in Israeli West Bank settlements and businesses. The decision came after considerable pressure from factory and business owners who are suffering financially as a result of the loss of much of their workforce.

“The State of Israel must decide whether it is assisted by Palestinian hands or not,” says committee chairman MK Eliyahu Revivo at the meeting today. “As long as no solutions are provided, the state is still dependent on the Palestinian workers. The government is dragging its feet on this issue.”

7:17 pm

IDF footage shows drone strike on RPG-wielding Hamas operative in Gaza City

The IDF releases footage showing a drone strike on an RPG-wielding Hamas operative in Gaza City today.

According to the IDF, as the Nahal Brigade set out for an offensive against Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah battalion in Gaza City, troops spotted a Hamas operative with an RPG approaching them.

The troops called in an airstrike, killing the operative.

The IDF releases footage showing a drone strike on an RPG-wielding Hamas operative in Gaza City today.

According to the IDF, as the Nahal Brigade set out for an offensive against Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah battalion in Gaza City, troops spotted a Hamas operative with an RPG… pic.twitter.com/r6SDcslH7a

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 25, 2023

In another strike, which occurred yesterday, an Air Force drone targeted several Hamas operatives who had launched an explosive-laden drone that was set to target troops of the Givati Brigade in the Khan Younis area, according to the IDF.

The IAF drone operator instructed the Givati troops to enter a nearby building to be shielded from the airstrike on the Hamas cell.

"יופי של פגיעה": כך חיסל חיל האוויר מחבלים עם RPG ורחפנים | תיעוד@ItayBlumental
צילום: דובר צה"ל pic.twitter.com/fXVXPNSmn6

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 25, 2023

6:21 pm

Tehran threatens response to killing of senior IRGC official in Syria in alleged Israeli strike

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatens to respond to the killing of a senior officer in Syria, allegedly in an Israeli airstrike.

In a statement carried by Iranian media, the IRGC confirms Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi, a senior military adviser in Syria, was killed in a strike near Damascus.

Mousavi was responsible for coordinating a military alliance between Iran and Syria, and was believed to be heavily involved in Tehran’s efforts to supply weapons to proxies in the area, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The IRGC says that “the usurping and barbaric Zionist regime will pay for this crime.”

5:45 pm

On Gaza visit, Netanyahu receives briefing on terror infrastructure ‘in heart of civilian areas’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to troops on a visit to Gaza, December 25, 2023. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited northern Gaza earlier and was briefed by IDF commanders in the field on the progress of the war against Hamas, as well as the large amount of munitions and tunnels that the army is uncovering across the territory.

“I have two things to tell you: firstly we will do everything to protect your safety, your lives. We want [to complete] this mission but we want to protect you as much as possible,” he tells soldiers he met with in Gaza, according to a statement put out by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Secondly, we are not stopping. Anyone who talks about stopping — no. We’re not stopping. This was is going to go until the end. Until we finish them. No less than that.

“I know that you have left your families and that the families are supportive, that is something mighty, that is power, that is the key to victory,” he says.

Netanyahu was briefed on the munitions IDF forces find in almost every building in the territory and on the extensive network of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza “in the heart of civilian areas,” the statement adds.

5:32 pm

Senior IRGC official killed in alleged Israeli strike in Damascus

IRGC officer Razi Mousavi is reported to have been killed in an alleged Israeli strike in Damascus, December 25, 2023. (via Tasnim News Agency)

A senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Iranian media reports.

Razi Mousavi “was killed during an attack by the Zionist regime a few hours ago in Zeinabiyah district in the suburbs of Damascus,” the official IRNA news agency reports, using a different name for Sayeda Zeinab, or Sitt Zaynab as it is more commonly called, south of the Syrian capital.

IRNA says Mousavi was “one of the most experienced advisors” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.

Secondaries can be heard in the area reportedly struck in an airstrike earlier in Aqraba region, Damascus, Syria. pic.twitter.com/4ut6J1h5Dj

— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) December 25, 2023

The semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency notes Mousavi was close to former IRGC Quds force head Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020 upon arriving in Baghdad.

IRGC officer Razi Mousavi with former IRGC Quds Force head Qassem Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. (via Tasnim News Agency)

Mousavi was responsible for coordinating a military alliance between Iran and Syria, and was believed to be heavily involved in Tehran’s efforts to supply weapons to terror proxies in the area, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

There is no further information on the strike from pro-government media outlets in Syria.

AFP contributed to this report.

5:08 pm

IDF shells Hezbollah sites in Lebanon in response to earlier rocket, missile fire

Throughout the day, the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group has fired missiles and rockets at northern Israel.

Several IDF positions along the Lebanon border have been targeted, as well as civilian homes in Misgav Am.

There are no reports of injuries in the attacks.

The IDF says its tanks shelled a number of Hezbollah sites in response to the rocket and missile fire.

5:01 pm

Lapid calls to bring the hostages home now, says ‘we are not doing enough’

Standing at the Knesset podium, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares that while the war’s twin goals of military victory and returning the hostages are equal in importance, they are not equal in urgency and that “we need to bring the hostages home now.”

“Sinwar can be killed next month as well,” he declares, to applause from the families of the hostages, adding that “we are not doing enough.”

“We need to do everything and we will do everything to bring them back, all of them,” he adds, calling for a hostage deal and criticizing members of the coalition for claiming that demands for an exchange “harmed the goals of the war.”

4:55 pm

Speaking over shouts from hostages’ families, Netanyahu tells Knesset Israel won’t stop war ‘until victory’

A split screen from the Kan public broadcaster shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the Knesset as the families of those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza hold signs, including one saying, "What if it was your brother?" and shout "Now, now, now" demanding the hostages' release. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Israel is making “every effort” to bring home the hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin says in the Knesset, stating that this effort requires “military pressure” to succeed.

“We won’t stop fighting,” he says during a special parliamentary session, also attended by families of the hostages, adding that “we need time.”

“We don’t have time,” one relative calls out from the Knesset gallery, after which the families chant “Now! Now! Now!,” demanding the immediate release of the hostages.

Netanyahu says he reached out to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally intervene on the hostages’ behalf and that his wife Sara had directly appealed to the pope.

Families of hostages held in Gaza protest during a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on December 25, 2023. The signs of those in the front read: “What if it was your daughter?” (Knesset Channel screenshot)

“We aren’t stopping and we won’t stop until victory because we have no other land and no other path,” he says, to boos from the hostages’ families.

Netanyahu visited troops in Gaza earlier today.

Families of hostages held in Gaza protest during a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on December 25, 2023 (Knesset Channel screenshot)

4:51 pm

Smotrich rejects Egyptian proposal to end war, says war cabinet has ‘no mandate’ to stop fighting

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphatically rejects a recent proposal by Egypt and Qatar to end the war in Gaza and create a technocratic government to govern the territory, together with the West Bank.

The cabinet minister also upbraids Egypt for allowing enormous amounts of munitions to have entered Gaza in the past, and says it should allow Gazans passage across the Egyptian border so they can emigrate to other countries.

The minister, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, declares that the war cabinet has “no mandate” to approve such a plan, and says his party would not be partners in a government that agrees to end the war or allows officials from the Palestinian Authority to be involved in governing Gaza.

“The war cabinet has no mandate to stop the war before all the war aims have been achieved,” says Smotrich.

“After years in which Egypt allowed, by turning a blind eye, the crazy arming of Hamas as has been exposed now, the only involvement it can have in Gaza is to allow Gazan residents to leave to it [Egypt] on their way to other countries,” says the finance minister.

“Neither Qatar or Egypt will be involved in the future of what happens in the Strip. You don’t repeat mistakes. Anyone who thinks that the State of Israel will agree to some plan of establishing a government of professionals which Hamas and the Palestinian Authority will be involved in under the guise of technocratic officials is living in an illusion.”

4:18 pm

Sirens sound in Rosh Hanikra area in northern Israel

Sirens warning on incoming rocket fire sound in northern Israeli communities including Rosh Hanikra and Achziv.

There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

4:10 pm

IDF troops battle Hamas operatives, discover weapons at Gaza City schools

Weapons recovered by troops in a school in Gaza City, December 25, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the Nahal Brigade raided two schools in Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods, following intelligence of Hamas operatives hiding at the complexes, the IDF says.

Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah battalion is believed by the IDF to be the last standing battalion in northern Gaza.

The IDF says during the raid, troops encountered and killed several Hamas gunmen. Dozens of explosive devices, assault rifles, and 15 explosive belts were found in the complexes.

In one incident, a Hamas operative fired a missile from one of the schools at the troops. Tanks shelled the building in response, killing the operative, the IDF says.

Troops of the Nahal Brigade raided two schools in Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods, following intelligence of Hamas operatives hiding at the complexes, the IDF says.

Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah battalion is believed by the IDF to be the last standing battalion in northern… pic.twitter.com/TKhDHDE8Jm

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 25, 2023

The IDF says troops also captured “many” Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives hiding in the schools, and brought them to Israel for further interrogation. Some participated in the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, according to the IDF.

3:54 pm

After rare visit to Gaza, Netanyahu says war ‘not close to being over’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war against Hamas in Gaza is far from over, following a rare visit to the war zone in the Palestinian coastal enclave earlier today.

“We are not stopping, we are continuing to fight and we are deepening the fighting in the coming days, and this will be a long battle and it is not close to being over. We need patience, unity, and to stick to our mission,” says Netanyahu at a meeting of the Likud faction meeting in Knesset.

Netanyahu says he visited a reservist brigade in Gaza today. “Everyone asked me only one thing: that we don’t stop and continue on until the end,” he tells his cabinet.

3:39 pm

Hamas, Islamic Jihad reject Egypt’s proposal to give up power in Gaza in return for ceasefire – report

A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 25, 2023, shows smoke inside the Palestinian territory (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

The Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups have reportedly rejected an Egyptian proposal that would see Hamas give up control of the Strip in return for a permanent ceasefire.

According to two Egyptian sources cited by the Reuters news agency, the plan has been rejected by both of the terror groups.

Hamas and PIJ are said to be unwilling to discuss any concessions beyond the release of hostages.

“Hamas seeks to end the Israeli aggression against our people, the massacres and genocide, and we discussed with our Egyptian brothers the ways to do that,” a Hamas official who recently visited Cairo tells Reuters.

“We also said that the aid for our people must keep going and must increase and it must reach all the population in the north and the south,” the official says. “After the aggression is stopped and the aid increased we are ready to discuss prisoner swaps.”

The first stage of the Egyptian plan, which is backed by Qatar, would be a two-week halt to the fighting, extendable to three or four, in exchange for the release of 40 hostages. In return, Israel would release 120 Palestinian security prisoners of the same categories. During this time, hostilities would stop and humanitarian aid would enter Gaza.

The third stage would include a comprehensive ceasefire, the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, including soldiers, in return for a to-be-determined number of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel would withdraw its forces from cities in the Gaza Strip and allow displaced Gazans from the enclave’s north to return to their homes.

The war began with the deadly Hamas onslaught on October 7, when thousands of terrorists stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing around 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation, vowing to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip and end its rule, while minimizing civilian casualties.

On Sunday, Hebrew-media reports said Israeli officials had not outright rejected the proposal.

Gianluca Pacchiani contributed to this report.

2:59 pm

Maersk says ready to resume sailing through Red Sea after US formed naval coalition against Houthi attacks

By AP

Illustrative -- The 'Vilnia Maersk' container vessel is unloaded at the 'Jade Weserport' container terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, November 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Shipping firm Maersk says it is preparing to allow vessels to resume sailing through the Red Sea, thanks to the start of a US-led multinational naval operation to protect shipping from attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Houthi attacks have led to a major disruption of shipping through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, one of the most important arteries for trade in oil, natural gas, grain and consumer goods between Europe and Asia.

Maersk says in a statement that “we have received confirmation that the previously announced multi-national security initiative Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) has now been set up and deployed to allow maritime commerce to pass through the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden and once again return to using the Suez Canal as a gateway between Asia and Europe.”

The company says it is working on plans for the first vessels to make the journey “and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible.”

The Houthis are Iranian-backed rebels who seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, launching a grinding war against a Saudi-led coalition seeking to restore the government. The Houthis have sporadically targeted ships in the region, but the attacks have increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The rebels have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel. That has escalated to apparently any vessel, with container ships and oil tankers flagged to countries like Norway and Liberia being attacked or drawing missile fire.

Major shipping companies include Maersk have been avoiding the Red Sea and sending their ships around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. That added what analysts say could be a week to two weeks of voyages. The disruption also hiked fuel and insurance costs.

2:43 pm

Reservists say government didn’t help their businesses as they fought in Gaza: ‘My fridge is empty’

There are angry scenes at the Knesset Finance Committee as reservists tell lawmakers their businesses are collapsing due to the lack of government help while they are fighting in the war against Hamas.

Lior Moshayev, who until a few days ago was fighting in Gaza’s Shejaiya, says that his business collapsed.

“My situation is a catastrophe. Every day I go out I don’t know how I will finish the day. I’m afraid to swipe my credit card to buy formula for my daughter,” says a clearly emotional Moshayev.

“I did not receive a shekel. The refrigerator is empty. I did not receive any grant. I risk my life every day. Bullets pass over my head. I risk my life to protect you and everyone. Is there anyone else here whose refrigerator is empty, any of you who have not received a salary?” he says.

“We didn’t think twice. We left everything on that first day [October 7]. We left our families, we abandoned our businesses and we went — I went to Gaza, and my brother went to the north,” he says.

When asked by a representative of the tax authority why he had not filed a claim for compensation, Moshayev noted to the committee that he was not permitted to take a cellphone to Gaza.

Officials admit that while many reservists have been helped, many have also fallen through the cracks.

In addition, the spouses of many reservists have begun to campaign to receive help to prevent their businesses collapsing also after many of them were left alone to care for children, sometimes with schools and kindergartens closed — for some two and a half months.

"אני מפחד להעביר אשראי לסימילאק של הילדה, המקרר ריק".
ליאור מושייב, בעל עסק בבאר שבע, קורס כלכלית מאז גויס למילואים ב-7 באוקטובר.
רגע לפני שהוא חוזר להילחם בתוך עזה, הוא הטיח בנוכחים בוועדת הכספים: "יש עוד מישהו שהמקרר שלו ריק? יש עוד מישהו שלא קיבל משכורת?"@Israel_MOF… pic.twitter.com/kHnwcbyVg0

— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) December 25, 2023

2:02 pm

In Christmas message, pope calls for Gaza ceasefire and freeing of all hostages

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Pope Francis waves before delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas Day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Dec. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In his Christmas message, Pope Francis calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the freeing of hostages.

“My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of 7 October, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage,” the 86-year-old says in his traditional Urbi et Orbi message.

“I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid,” he tells thousands of faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Francis appeals for humanitarian initiatives, dialogue and security to prevail over violence and death in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, South Sudan, Congo and the Korean peninsula,

He calls for governments and people of goodwill in the Americas in particular to address the “troubling phenomenon” of migration and its “unscrupulous traffickers” who take advantage of innocents just looking for a better life.

He takes particular aim at the weapons industry, which he says is fueling the conflicts around the globe with scarcely anyone paying attention.

“It should be talked about and written about, so as to bring to light the interests and the profits that move the puppet strings of war,” he says. “And how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?”

1:40 pm

IDF says troops destroyed weapons plant, concrete factory used by Hamas for tunnels

Troops of the Kiryati Brigade, operating in the Khan Younis area, raided a weapons manufacturing plant and concrete factory used by Hamas to build tunnels, the IDF says.

The complex was later destroyed by combat engineers.

The IDF says the reserve brigade has destroyed more than 100 Hamas sites in the Khan Younis area in recent weeks, killing dozens of operatives in the process.

It says the troops are establishing operational control over the main routes in the Khan Younis area.

Troops of the Kiryati Brigade, operating in the Khan Younis area, raided a weapons manufacturing plant and concrete factory used by Hamas to build tunnels, the IDF says.

The complex was later destroyed by combat engineers.

The IDF says the reserve brigade has destroyed more… pic.twitter.com/wYZzvj1Daw

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 25, 2023

1:35 pm

Religious Zionism’s Rothman submits bill to prevent Hamas terrorists having public defenders

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman chairs a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on June 20, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman submits a bill to the Knesset which would prevent public defenders from representing Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 atrocities.

Rothman, who heads the powerful Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, says that the Public Defender’s Office is designed to give “legal defense to the weak in the country” and is staffed by civilians, and therefore not suitable to provide a legal representation to terrorists.

“[It] cannot represent terrorists and strongly defend them in court on a moral level,” says Rothman.

“There is no justification whatsoever for the State of Israel to fund, and for the Public Defender’s office to be tarnished with, representing these despicable Nukhba terrorist enemies. There is no justification for their victims to pay for their legal defense,” says the MK.

Israel Prison Service commissioner Katy Perry said on October 17 that Israel was holding some 118 “unlawful combatants” from Gaza, in reference to the Hamas terrorists captured on and after October 7, although the current figure is not available.

1:24 pm

Two anti-tank guided missiles fired from Lebanon at Misgav Am – reports

Hebrew-language media reports that two anti-tank guided missiles were fired at the northern border town Misgav Am from Lebanon.

There are no reports of injuries.

The town has been largely evacuated of civilians in recent weeks amid rising attacks from the Hezbollah terror group.

There is no immediate comment on the reports from the Israel Defense Forces.

1:11 pm

Gymnast Dolgopyat to auction World Championships gold medal he won on Oct. 7 to aid Gaza border towns

By ToI Staff and Agencies

Israel's Artem Dolgopyat celebrates with a gold medal on the podium after the Men's Floor Final during the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, in Antwerp, northern Belgium, on October 7, 2023. (Lionel BONAVENTURE/AFP)

Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat, who won Israel’s first-ever world gymnastics gold on October 7, says he is auctioning off the medal to raise money for the Gaza border communities devastated in the onslaught by Hamas terrorists.

Dolgopyat won the the men’s floor final in Belgium. The auction price for the World Championships gold medal starts at $100,000.

“What is a world champion worth if my country is hurting? For me, the State of Israel is in first place,” Dolgopyat says.

The gymnast stood on the winners’ podium on October 7 with an Israeli flag marked with black tape as the reports came in of the horrific assault on southern Israel.

Ukraine-born Dolgopyat, 26, is considered one of Israel’s greatest athletes. He won floor silver at the worlds in 2017 and 2019, before claiming Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. In 2022, he won a gold medal for his floor routine at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Munich, despite suffering an injury to his foot a month earlier.

Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat celebrates after winning the Men’s Floor Final during the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, in Antwerp, northern Belgium, on October 7, 2023. (Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

12:48 pm

Israeli forces demolish illegal West Bank outpost

Border Police and Civil Administration personnel arrive at the illegal West Bank outpost of Givat Or Meir to evacuate and demolish the dwelling on December 25, 2023 (Courtesy)

Border Police and Civil Administration personnel evacuate and demolish an illegal outpost in the close to the Ofra settlement in the West Bank.

The Civil Administration says the outpost had been built on private Palestinian land.

The outpost, dubbed Givat Or Meir, was inhabited by several settler youth activists who were raising goats on the land.

According to settler activists, a rudimentary building is knocked down as well as a goat pen.

The activists say that the Border Police forces confiscated cellphones belonging to the inhabitants to stop them recording the demolition, and also confiscated a generator and water troughs for the goats.

Givat Or Meir was established a year ago and has been demolished several times since.

Herding outposts such as Givat Or Meir are often established by radical settler activists to assert control over broader swaths of land than a simple dwelling can affect.

Reports by settlements watchdog groups have found that residents of such outposts often allegedly carry out violent attacks against local Palestinian residents of the area.

12:27 pm

Gafni meets with families of Gaza hostages, says will support any cabinet proposal for their return

Knesset Finance Committee chair MK Moshe Gafni during a committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on September 26, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Committee chair MK Moshe Gafni tells families of hostages held in Gaza that securing the release of their loved ones is a central aim.

“The government and the cabinet offer proposals, and we all support any move that is submitted, and the main thing will be the return of the abductees,” he says in response to complaints by relatives that the ongoing Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip has failed to secure their loved ones’ release.

Gafni, a lawmaker from the Haredi United Torah Judaism party, highlights the importance of saving lives and returning hostages in Jewish law.

But Shahar Mor, whose uncle Avraham Munder, 78, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 by Hamas terrorists, tells the Knesset committee: “We have run out of patience.”

Avraham Munder was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

“Everyone tells us that the ground operation is to bring them back,” Mundar says, but “we are being told wrong things.”

“How much longer will we have to wait? How much more of the Strip should be destroyed? The whole purpose of the operation was to bring back the hostages. Where are the hostages?” Mor asks.

Israeli officials confirmed yesterday that Egypt had placed on the table a new proposal for a truce in the war with Hamas and the release of more hostages held in Gaza, with some indicating that Jerusalem is not flat-out rejecting the draft and that it could lead to negotiations.

12:18 pm

In 1st public message since Oct. 7, Sinwar says Hamas facing ‘unprecedented battle’ but won’t give up

By Gianluca Pacchiani

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters during a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

In his first public message since October 7, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar says the terror group is facing a “fierce, violent and unprecedented battle” against Israel.

However, he claims that the terror group is on its way to crushing the Israel Defense Forces, and referring to Israel, he says Hamas will not submit to “the occupation’s conditions.”

Sinwar falsely claims that the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has killed over a thousand Israeli soldiers. According to the IDF, 156 soldiers have been killed in the Israeli ground operation in Gaza, far below the figures given by the terror leader. Over 300 members of the security forces were killed in the October 7 onslaught.

The terror leader also gives inflated claims of the number of Israeli soldiers injured in the war, and the amount of Israeli military equipment that has been destroyed.

Sinwar’s announcement comes as the terror group faces growing military pressure. The IDF is “gradually completing” its goals in northern Gaza and is continuing operations in the Khan Younis area in the south of the Strip, according to a statement by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday. Gallant issued a renewed threat against Sinwar, saying he will soon “meet the barrels of our guns.”

On Saturday, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh returned to Doha from Cairo to discuss with exiled officials of the terror group an Egyptian proposal for a two-week truce that could become a permanent ceasefire if Hamas agrees to allow a Palestinian technocratic government to take control of Gaza, and to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of a certain number of Palestinian prisoners. There were some indications that Israel had not flat-out rejected the proposal.

11:49 am

Council to investigate again after residents of Israeli town near Tulkarem say they hear digging

The Palestinian city Tulkarem, situated on the western edge of northern West Bank, on July 18, 2018. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Additional inspections will be carried out after residents of Bat Hefer, an Israeli town situated hundreds of meters from the West Bank city Tulkarem and the village of Shuweika, report hearing digging sounds.

Three sets of tests searching for possible tunnels from the West Bank have so far not found anything, but a further two checks will be carried out by the local council in the coming days.

“The residents who complained of digging noises near their homes have been saying it for around a year and a half,” Bat Hefer resident Gad Ohayon tells Channel 12 news.

The Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups have in the past dug attack tunnels into Israel across the Gaza and Lebanon borders, respectively.

Ohayon says the residents told senior officials of their concerns, but their fears were not allayed.

According to the Ynet news site, the first search for tunnels was carried out by a specialist company on behalf of the council, the second by the IDF’s Home Front, and the third by the Defense Ministry.

Ohayon notes that in addition to the reported digging sounds, there have been a number of incidents of gunfire from the West Bank toward the town, with a number of cars and buildings hit.

“We have one of the strongest armies in the world, and it must deal with this issue,” Ohayon says.

The Emek Hefer Regional Council tells Ynet that it is carrying out the tests to allay fears of potential tunnels dug by terrorists.

“We take the reports very seriously, and are working over time to check the issue in a comprehensive and professional manner, using different methods. So far, three checks have been carried out and two more checks will be carried out in the coming days. So far, there have been no findings to indicate digging,” the council says.

11:11 am

Rocket sirens sound in Re’im

After an lull of some 16 hours, sirens sound in Re’im, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The Gaza border town has been largely evacuated of civilians since October 7.

11:03 am

Iran denies responsibility for drone strike on tanker near India: ‘US accusation is baseless’

Iran denies it was responsible for a drone strike that damaged a ship off the Indian coast on Saturday.

When asked about the attack, a spokesman for Tehran’s Foreign Ministry says the “US accusation is baseless,” the Reuters news agency reports.

The Pentagon said the chemical tanker struck off the coast of India was targeted “by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran.”

No injuries were reported.

The attack on the ship came amid a wave of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling the Hamas terror group following its October 7 massacre in Israel, when terrorists killed 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages.

10:18 am

IDF confirms strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

A picture taken from a position along the border in northern Israel shows black smoke along the hills in the southern Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabal following Israeli strikes on December 25, 2023 (Jalaa Marey / AFP)

The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes against Hezbollah sites in Lebanon this morning and overnight, releasing footage.

It says the sites include military buildings and infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר תקפו במהלך הלילה ובשעות הבוקר שורת מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בלבנון.
כחלק מהתקיפה הותקפו מבנים צבאיים, תשתיות טרור ותשתיות מבצעיות של חיזבאללה. pic.twitter.com/g4aFJALOJ9

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) December 25, 2023

10:09 am

Key IDF officer raised concerns about Nova festival, but was told to approve it – report

The area of the Supernova festival where hundreds of Israelis were killed and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the October 7 terror onslaught, October 12, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A key Israel Defense Forces officer raised concerns and opposition to the Nova music festival, but was told to authorize it, the Haaretz daily reports.

Some 360 people were killed by Hamas terrorists at the rave on October 7, and dozens more were assaulted and taken hostage to Gaza.

According to Haaretz, the Gaza Division’s operations officer, Lt. Col. Sahar Fogel was unhappy about the event being held so close to the Strip, and his concerns were supported by other officers.

The newspaper reports that the officers’ worries apparently did not stem from fears of an incursion by terrorists, but rather the threat of rocket and mortar fire from Gaza.

There have been multiple reports that warnings of a potential attack were ignored ahead of October 7, when thousands of terrorists stormed the border, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping some 240 to Gaza.

The newspaper says it is unclear if Fogel knew of the warnings.

Despite his objections, Fogel was told to approve the Nova festival, the newspaper says. The report says there were concerns of legal difficulties if the festival were not approved.

The Eshkol Regional Council also opposed the rave, believing that it would be a public nuisance, the report says.

In response to the report, the IDF tells Haaretz: “The IDF will conduct a detailed and in-depth investigation into the matter once the operational situation allows, and will make its findings public.”

9:14 am

Lebanese media reports Israeli shelling near Ayta ash-Shab

Lebanese media report Israeli shelling near the village of Ayta ash-Shab, close to the border.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strikes, but it comes amid repeated skirmishes on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Hezbollah has carried out daily rocket, missile, and drone attacks on northern Israel, while the IDF has responded with strikes on the Lebanese terror group’s sites and operatives.

هكذا يبدو الصباح في عيتا الشعب pic.twitter.com/CKew1uUywg

— مصدر مسؤول (@fouadkhreiss) December 25, 2023

9:05 am

IDF says navy shelled Hamas cells along Gaza coast that attacked Israeli troops