Dec. 25: Expand strikes, hit Iran, or wait for Trump? Israel said vexed by how to halt Houthis

‘Capacity for faith is the light of the Jewish people’: Biden marks start of Hanukkah

US President Joe Biden marks the start of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with a quote from former British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in a post on X.

“Rabbi Sacks said: A people that can walk through a valley of shadow of death and still rejoice is a people that cannot be defeated by any force or fear,” he writes.

“That capacity for faith is the light of the Jewish people. As Hanukkah begins, may it shine from menorahs around the world,” he adds.

Rabbi Sacks said: A people that can walk through a valley of shadow of death and still rejoice is a people that cannot be defeated by any force or fear.

That capacity for faith is the light of the Jewish people.

As Hanukkah begins, may it shine from menorahs around the world. pic.twitter.com/fw91jGO6iH

— President Biden (@POTUS) December 25, 2024

Gaza medics say 10 killed, dozens wounded in Israeli strikes

Medics with the Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say at least 10 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in early morning strikes on the Palestinian enclave.

The medics say that five people were killed and 20 wounded in a strike on a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. They warn that many people remain trapped under the rubble.

In a separate incident, the enclave’s health authorities say five journalists were killed when their vehicle was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital.

Palestinian media and local reporters say the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF, which has long said it only targets terrorists and that Hamas hides among civilians.

Anti-Israel activists protest outside Manhattan cathedral on Christmas

Anti-Israel activists protest on Christmas outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Footage posted by the activists shows several dozen demonstrators lining the sidewalk as worshipers leave the church.

The activists wave Palestinian flags and hold signs saying “Jesus was Palestinian” marked with an inverted red triangle, a Hamas symbol.

A baby doll wrapped in a keffiyeh is placed on the sidewalk in front of the activists and a speaker addressing the crowd holds a doll covered in a red-splattered sheet.

“Today, if Jesus were born in Bethlehem, he would be born under occupation and quite possibly he would be born under the rubble,” she says, according to video posted by the protesters.

Palestine activists are rallying now outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan during Christmas mass to hold a vigil for Palestinians killed in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and protest against continued US support, demanding Cardinal Dolan take a stand to condemn the genocide. pic.twitter.com/ueeywRxWpv

— Gerard (@GerardDalbon) December 25, 2024

The demonstrators are from Pal-Awda, an anti-Israel activist network.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is one of the city’s most recognizable Christian institutions, soaring above 5th Ave. in midtown Manhattan. It was also targeted by anti-Israel protesters on Easter.

Anti-Israel activists also claimed Jesus as a Palestinian and protested against Christmas proceedings in the same area of the city last year.

Zelensky lights Hanukkah candles with top Ukrainian rabbis, wishes for ‘victory of light over darkness’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marks the first night of Hanukkah at a candle-lighting ceremony with several of Ukraine’s leading rabbis.

“Today, we mark both Christmas and the beginning of Hanukkah,” writes Zelensky, who is Jewish, on X. “It is very good that in Ukraine we can celebrate such holidays with respect for each other, communicate, live together and wish different people the same victory—the victory of light over darkness.”

His post is accompanied by a video of the candle-lighting ceremony, in which he uses a menorah he says was gifted to him by Argentina’s President Javier Milei.

“I congratulate the Jewish community on this holiday,” Zelensky adds. “I wish Jewish families peace, joy, and a prosperous future. May the Hanukkiah shine in every home, granting strength, filling hearts with new hopes, and deepening faith in the power of truth and justice.”

Today, we mark both Christmas and the beginning of Hanukkah. It is very good that in Ukraine we can celebrate such holidays with respect for each other, communicate, live together and wish different people the same victory—the victory of light over darkness.

And today, together… pic.twitter.com/GxSQNm7jTr

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 25, 2024

Syrian interior ministry says 14 killed, 10 wounded in clashes with former regime forces

Syria’s new interior minister said 14 of its forces were killed and 10 others wounded during clashes with former President Bashar al-Assad’s administration forces in the countryside outside the city of Tartous, the state news agency reports.

Mossad chief said pushing for Israel to hit Iran to get at Houthis

Mossad chief David Barnea at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, May 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

A report in the Haaretz newspaper says Mossad chief David Barnea has pressed the country’s leaders to concentrate on attacking Iran as a way to stem Houthi attacks, in contrast to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who prefer to keep striking Yemen.

There is no immediate confirmation or response to the report, which cites an unnamed source with knowledge of discussions reportedly held to discuss the lack of results from three earlier rounds of strikes in Yemen.

According to Haaretz, while Netanyahu and Katz support continued direct attacks on the Houthis by Israel or its allies, Barnea believes it would be more effective to go after Iran, which funds and arms the Houthis, a Shiite group that has long enjoyed Tehran’s support.

Netanyahu, Katz and military leaders have indicated in recent days that Israel is set to expand its attacks against the Houthis, including targeting their leaders.

Nine reported killed in Syria clashes amid attempt to arrest Assad prison official

A Syria war monitor says nine people have been killed in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest a loyalist to deposed leader Bashar al-Assad who was linked to a notorious prison.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says “six members of the General Security force” of Syria’s new authorities were killed, along with “three armed men” in Khirbet al-Maaza, after forces sought to arrest an officer who was among “those responsible for the crimes of the Saydnaya prison.”

An official with Hayat Tahrir al-Shame (HTS), the Islamist group that led this month’s insurgency against Assad, confirms to AFP that clashes erupted between the new authorities’ security forces and supporters of the former government in Tartus province — a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite minority — without commenting on the reason for the clashes.

Several members of the security forces were killed, the official says.

The Observatory says the wanted man was a “director of the military justice department and field court chief” who “issued death sentences and arbitrary judgements against thousands of prisoners.”

The clashes erupted after “a number of residents refused to allow their houses to be searched,” says the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

The officer’s brother and armed men intercepted the security forces and “targeted one of the patrol vehicles,” resulting in the deaths, the Observatory says. It adds that “dozens of people” were arrested in the village.

Israel stepping up attacks on Houthis, but awaiting Trump for real fireworks — report

Israel is mulling carrying out attacks deep inside Yemen and targeting Houthi leaders as it looks to deliver an actual significant blow to the Iran-backed group, though there is little hope in Jerusalem any such attack will actually halt missile and drone attacks that have targeted Israel with increasing frequency in recent days, the Ynet news site reports.

Israeli officials have discussed plans to escalate strikes with their US counterparts, who are on board, according to the report.

However, the news site quotes sources saying that Israel will only be able to intensify attacks to a level where they can beat back the Houthis once US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

“The Houthis will pay a heavy price, there will be a ratcheting up of Israeli attacks,” an unnamed source is quoted as saying. “But it’s nothing compared to what will happen once Trump enters office. The Americans are planning to impose an embargo on them and sanctions.”

According to the report, Israel sees the Houthis as a “hard nut to crack.” Unlike other Iran-backed Shiite groups, which have largely been cowed by Israel’s campaigns against them, the Houthis are high on the hog thanks to their success in imposing themselves as a major player in world affairs, according to an Israeli assessment cited by Ynet.

Survey shows current coalition losing to current opposition, and more heavily to bloc led by Bennett

Then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-education minister Naftali Bennett (left) at the annual Bible Quiz at the Jerusalem Theatre on Independence Day, April 19, 2018. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)

A poll published by Channel 12 news shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud remaining the largest party if elections are held today, albeit closely challenged by either former defense minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity party or a prospective party headed by former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

Were elections held today, the poll shows, however, the current coalition would win only 51 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with the current opposition winning 64, and the non-aligned Arab Hadash-Ta’al party holding the other five seats.

The survey gives Likud 23 seats, to National Unity’s 19, with Yesh Atid in third place with 15 seats. Though the poll is the first in months from the TV channel to show the far-right Religious Zionism squeaking into the Knesset, a mapping of likely alliances shows that parties in the opposition (including The Democrats, an amalgam of Labor and Meretz, which is currently outside the Knesset) would hold a solid majority over those in Netanyahu’s current government.

Should Bennett enter the picture, though, Likud would drop to 22 seats, just barely ahead of Bennett’s 21, while National Unity and Yesh Atid would fall to 12 and 11 seats, respectively.

In such a scenario, the current coalition parties would muster only 46 seats, while the anti-Netanyahu parties, including Bennett’s, would win 69 seats, again with Hadash-Ta’al holding the other five.

Both scenarios have Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope and the nationalist Arab Balad party falling below the threshold to enter the Knesset. Should Bennett throw his hat in the ring, Bezalel Smotrich would join them on the sidelines, the poll shows.

Asked who they prefer as prime minister, respondents choose Netanyahu over opposition leader Yair Lapid by 39% to 28%. They prefer Netanyahu to Gantz by 36% to 31%. But they favor Bennett over Netanyahu by 40% to 32%.

The Degem/IPanel survey was conducted today by phone and internet, with 501 respondents forming a representative sample of Israel’s adult population. It puts the margin of error at +-4.4 percent.

Syrian police impose curfew over Homs as sectarian conflict flares

Syrian police have imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reports, after unrest there is linked to demonstrations that residents say were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shi’ite Muslim religious communities.

Reuters cannot immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance that took place.

Some residents say the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by Sunni Islamist rebels on December 8.

The country’s new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups, who fear that the former rebels now in control could seek to impose a conservative form of Islamist government.

Small demonstrations are also reported in other areas on or near Syria’s coast, where most of the country’s Alawite minority live, including in the city of Tartous.

The demonstrations coincide with an undated video appearing on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men walking around inside and posing near human bodies.

The interior ministry says on its official Telegram account that the video dates back to the rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November and accusing whoever circulated the video anew of seeking to incite sectarian strife.

The ministry also says some members of the former regime attacked interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.

Family of slain soldier rages at conference for researcher he was escorting in Lebanon

Assaf Agmon, center, confronts participants of a memorial conference for Zeev Erlich in the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron on December 25, 2024. (Courtesy: Samaria Regional Council)

A memorial conference for a researcher who was killed after entering southern Lebanon last month is interrupted by the family of a soldier who was killed alongside him. They angrily demand their son’s sacrifice also be acknowledged.

Israel Defense Forces Sgt. Gur Kehati, 20, was killed during a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives on November 20, while in southern Lebanon alongside Zeev Erlich, 71, who was in IDF uniform and with a senior officer, but apparently had no official authorization from the army to be in Lebanon, where he was reportedly attempting to study antiquities.

משפחתו של גור קהתי הגיעה לכנס שאורגן על ידי מועצת שומרון לזכר ז'אבו ארליך והחלה במחאה כשמח"ט שומרון, אריאל גונן, עלה לדבר. pic.twitter.com/NAvAHAbCcn

— Hagar Shezaf (@hagar_shezaf) December 25, 2024

According to Haaretz, the family had asked organizers to hold off on giving a conference until the completion of a military probe into the incident. At least one top military official reportedly pulled out due to the controversy.

“Our son was killed and nobody even bothered to make sure his picture would appear in this shit?” Ron Kehati, Gur Kehati’s dad, tells attendees at the memorial event organized by the Samaria Regional Council, where Erlich lived, throwing an object at a TV. “Did anyone remember him?”

Sgt. Gur Kehati. (Israel Defense Forces)

Most participants refuse to respond, though a few people tell Kehati to “be quiet.”

“Don’t tell me to stop,” he yells, walking up to a local brigade commander and Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan, who stand next to the dais. “You don’t understand what you are doing here. What’s the rush to have a conference now? Why? The blood is still not dry.”

According to Haaretz, another attendee tells the family “You said your piece, now go home,” to which Assaf Agmon, Gur Kehati’s grandfather, responds, “Shame on you. Don’t you know what a bereaved father is? You are participating in the murder of my grandson. Go sacrifice your own kid to Molech.”

במהלך האירוע הסב התעמת גם עם אחד המשתתפים שאמר לבני המשפחה ללכת מהמקום. pic.twitter.com/c7oUGVvfhV

— Hagar Shezaf (@hagar_shezaf) December 25, 2024

A video shows others restraining Agmon as a physical altercation nearly breaks out.

Other family members also challenge the participants and hold up posters with pictures of Gur or death notices.

Israeli researcher Ze’ev Erlich seen in IDF uniform on November 20, 2024, hours before he was killed in a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives. (IDF Spokesman)

In a statement, the Samaria Regional Council accuses the family of violence, and claims they were joined by leftist activists, accusing Agmon of being a leader of the “extreme left.”

Netanyahu accuses negotiators of parroting Hamas after tough talk criticized

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing back after a report quoting unnamed sources claims that hardline comments from him and Defense Minister Israel Katz have harmed trust in hostage release and ceasefire negotiations taking place indirectly between Israel and Hamas.

According to Channel 12 news, the sources complained that comments from Netanyahu and Katz about Israel continuing to control Gaza after the war are “unnecessary and harmful” to talks, which have centered around a staged deal that would see many hostages released in its first part.

“The only hope of getting to the first stage is if there is trust that the second and third stages will include a ceasefire,” a source is quoted as saying. “When they say, we won’t move, we won’t retreat, we won’t stop and will maintain military control, why would the first stage take place?”

Responding to the report, the Prime Minister’s Office fumes in a statement that the criticism is “yet another echo of Hamas propaganda coming from unnamed sources in the negotiating team acting out of political interests.”

“Netanyahu is committed to returning all the hostages home and achieving the rest of the goals of the war in Gaza,” the statement adds. “Those giving briefings would do well to focus on the holy task of bringing back our hostages, and stop playing into the hands of the Hamas terror group.”

Gaza City airstrike hits Hamas operatives about to launch drones — IDF

A group of Hamas operatives in Gaza City who were planning to carry out a drone attack on troops were targeted in an airstrike a short while ago, the military says.

The IDF says the operatives were struck by an Israeli Air Force helicopter, following intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate, Shin Bet security agency, and the IDF’s 990th Reserve Artillery Regiment.

Palestinian media report three dead in the strike.

“The terrorists used a civilian area to plan and carry out a terror attack with explosive-laden drones against IDF troops,” the military says, describing the attack as imminent.

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

Houthis will follow Hamas, Hezbollah into defeat, Netanyahu says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second left, lights a Hanukkah candle with Orna Neutra, second right, and Ronen Neutra, on December 25, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

The Houthis in Yemen will suffer the same fate as Israel’s other enemies in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at a Hanukkah candle lighting for Prime Minister’s Office employees in Jerusalem.

“Today we are lighting the first candle of Hanukkah to commemorate the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the Maccabees of today,” he says. “Like we did then, we land blows at the oppressors and those who thought they would cut the thread of our life here, and this will apply to everyone.”

“The Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East,” he promises.

Netanyahu is joined by Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of slain Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra.

Gazan baby is third infant to freeze to death in Strip in days, doctors say

The sun sets behind tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by confict in the north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 22, 2024 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)

A baby girl froze to death overnight in a Gaza tent camp, her family and doctors say, after two other infants also died of cold in recent days.

The father of 3-week-old Sila, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, wrapped her in a blanket to try and keep her warm in their tent in the al-Muwasi area outside Khan Younis, but it wasn’t enough, he tells The Associated Press. He says the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures Tuesday night dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coastal zone that Israel has attempted to funnel civilians into.

“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he says. Sila woke up crying three times overnight and in the morning they found her unresponsive, her body stiff, he recalls.

“She was like wood,” says al-Faseeh. Doctors at a field hospital tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated. Images of Sila taken by the AP showed the little girl with purple lips, her pale skin blotchy.

Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, confirms that the baby died of hypothermia. He says two other babies – one 3 days old, the other a month old – had been brought to the hospital over the past 48 hours after dying of hypothermia.

Israel says it regrets harm to civilians amid fighting, blaming Hamas for fighting in populated areas and causing mass displacements, but aid groups and others say Israel must do more to protect Gazans from hunger, cold and violence.

Palestinian casualty claims in the Hamas-ruled Strip are not possible to verify from Israel.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

US-backed monitor removes report alleging north Gaza famine after objections

Palestinians line up for food in Deir Balah, Gaza, on December 25, 2024. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

The Famine Early Warning System Network has taken down a report it published yesterday alleging that famine continues to persist in northern Gaza, after US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew raised objections over the US-funded agency’s methodology.

“The FEWS NET alert, unfortunately, issued an analysis without the benefit of further examination by the Famine Review Committee, relies on outdated population estimates, and has methodological limitations based on the availability of data,” a spokesperson for the US Agency for International Development tells The Times of Israel.

The spokesperson clarifies that USAID remains deeply concerned about the scale of food insecurity throughout Gaza. It says more than two million people are at risk of famine, particularly in northern Gaza where limited aid has been allowed in amid ongoing Israeli military operations targeting Hamas.

However, the USAID spokesperson notes that a recent US assessment mission has provided updated population estimates. The US also hopes recent aid deliveries bringing food to Beit Hanoun will soon be replicated throughout northern Gaza.

Those developments should lead to a more accurate FEWS NET assessment, the spokesperson indicates.

FEWS NET is an independent food insecurity monitor, but is financially backed by USAID, which reviewed the report before it went out yesterday and urged that corrections be made to account for the outdated figures, the spokesperson explains.

FEWS NET decided to go ahead and publish as is, leading USAID to again reach out and request that corrections be made. Following that intervention, the agency agreed to take down the report until further notice, the spokesperson says.

The main issue highlighted by Lew in his Tuesday criticism of the FEWS NET report was that it relied on allegedly outdated figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs regarding the number of civilians still located in northern Gaza.

Houthis claim Ashkelon drone attack

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have taken responsibility for a drone that crashed near Ashkelon this evening.

In a statement, the Houthis claim to have launched two drones at Israel, one at a “vital and sensitive target” in the Tel Aviv area, and the other at Ashkelon’s industrial zone.

The Israeli military said earlier that a drone launched at Ashkelon struck an open area. There were no reports of a second drone or any impacts in the Tel Aviv area.

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in recent days have ramped up ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel, in what it says is support for the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war there.

After complaints, parents to hear full tape of surveillance soldiers’ before attack

Families of Israeli observation soldiers who were killed by Hamas terrorists at the Nahal Oz surveillance outpost on October 7, speak to press outside the Nahal Oz surveillance outpost near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, July 17, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

IDF Personnel Directorate head Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa will present parents of female surveillance soldiers killed or abducted during Hamas’s October 7 attack with the full recordings of their radio communications from the day and the hours before the onslaught, the army says.

Kalifa will meet with the parents on Friday to play them the full tape.

The IDF this week sent the families recordings which only included the voices of the surveillance soldiers, saying it omitted portions where other troops could be heard, as well as long sections of silence. The families have complained that the recordings are incomplete and that not all of the soldiers can be heard.

The IDF denies that it is hiding any material from the families, and says that if there are any other sections in which the surveillance soldiers can heard, they will be given to them.

Vatican envoy said summoned by Jerusalem over pontifical criticism

Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican’s top diplomatic officer for talks on recent remarks by Pope Francis accusing Israel of “cruelty” in Gaza, the Ynet news site reports.

The summons for Nuncio Adolpho Tito Yllana, the Holy See’s ambassador to Israel, occurred on Tuesday. The report says the summons was not for a rebuke but to express Israel’s disappointment with the pope’s comments.

There is no immediate confirmation of the report.

The Foreign Ministry has already publicly spoken out against Francis’s comments decrying Israeli bombings in Gaza as “cruelty,” accusing the pontiff of a double standard and ignoring the cruelty of Hamas.

Delivering an annual Christmas address earlier Wednesday, Francis spoke out against war, “particularly in Gaza where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave,” but did not repeat his “cruelty” claim.

Army says suspected West Bank ramming may have been accident

The IDF is investigating if a reported car-ramming attack at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank was an accident and not an intentional attack.

One person was moderately wounded after a car hit him near the junction, the Magen David Adom rescue group says. It described the victim as a pedestrian in his 20s.

According to military sources, the man may have been jaywalking when he was hit.

The car that hit the man stopped several hundred meters away, and two people in it were detained, the sources say.

Herzog to government: Seal the hostage deal now, it’s your job

At a candle lighting ceremony with wounded soldiers in Tel Aviv, President Isaac Herzog presses the country’s political leadership to make the final push for a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza, saying the government will receive his full backing.

“The hostages are in clear and immediate danger,” he says. “I am calling on our leaders to act with all their power to reach a deal.”

“It’s your job, it’s your responsibility,” Herzog adds.

At the same time, Herzog concedes that Hamas is a “depraved enemy” that is trying to hurt Israel by employing “psychological maneuvers.”

Herzog’s largely titular role means he has little influence over negotiations, though the former lawmaker was involved in helping shepherd diplomatic contacts earlier in his term, including reaching a deal to free Israeli tourists who had been held by Turkey.

Gallant: Israel and US should act together against Houthis as practice for hitting Iran

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference at Hakirya base in Tel Aviv on November 5, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant says Israel and the US should work together against Yemen’s Houthis, adding it will pave the way for joint action against Iran which he predicts will take place soon.

Gallant makes the comments while visiting a school in Ramat Gan that was destroyed last week by a Houthi missile. Since then, the Houthis have shot several more missiles and drones at Israel, including one that crashed near Ashkelon a few hours ago.

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

“We need to do more against the Houthis, their leaders and their missile array,” says Gallant, a Likud MK who has made few public speeches since being replaced by Israel Katz last month.

According to the former general, joint action between Israel and the US against the Houthis “will have a practical effect within a short time.”

“With the American effort and joint Israeli-US operations against the Houthis we can have an impact on the battlefield — and it will act as preparation for what will be done against Iran,” he says, according to Channel 12 news. “It will be preparation for future operations which must be done within a short time frame against Iran.”

Israel has carried out three rounds of strikes against the Houthis, and has vowed to continue pounding them, but the attacks have done little to stem attacks. Analysts say Israel’s distance from Yemen poses an operational challenge that could be overcome with support from the US or other Western powers.

One lightly wounded in suspected West Bank ramming attack

One person is lightly wounded in a suspected car-ramming attack at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank, first responders say.

The IDF says it has received reports of a ramming attack and will provide further details soon.

IDF to erect temporary army posts inside Syria

Israeli soldiers operating in the Syrian side of the border fence with Israel, northern Israel, December 25, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

The IDF is readying to build temporary army posts inside a buffer zone between Israel and Syria, as the military has been instructed by political officials to maintain its forward defenses there during the winter months.

The military says the army posts are intended to ensure that troops can operate in southern Syria throughout the winter.

The posts will be dismantled when the army is instructed to leave the buffer zone, according to the IDF.

IDF displays thousands of captured Hezbollah weapons, other equipment

Hezbollah weapons and other equipment seized by the IDF during its ground operation in south Lebanon, are displayed for the media at military base in northern Israel on December 24, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

At an army base in northern Israel, the IDF has established a massive display of Hezbollah weapons captured by troops in southern Lebanon.

In all, the IDF says the display includes arms and other equipment from some 85,170 individual items captured from Hezbollah.

The weapons at the display include some 6,840 RPG rockets and anti-tank missiles, including 340 Russian-made Kornets, along with their launchers; 9,000 explosive devices and grenades; 2,250 unguided rockets and mortars; 2,700 assault rifles; 2,860 other guns including sniper rifles; and 60 anti-aircraft missiles.

Hezbollah weapons and other equipment seized by the IDF during its ground operation in south Lebanon, are displayed for the media at military base in northern Israel on December 24, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The display also includes 20 Hezbollah vehicles captured by the IDF; 60,800 pieces of electronic equipment, communication devices, computers, and documents; and 300 pieces of surveillance equipment, including binoculars, according to the army.

Hezbollah’s weapons are sourced mostly from Russia and Iran, and some are locally produced, military sources say.

Hezbollah weapons and other equipment seized by the IDF during its ground operation in south Lebanon, are displayed for the media at military base in northern Israel on December 24, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Military officials say that some of the weapons that meet the IDF standard, such as the mortars, will be used by the army.

The weapons and equipment were captured by IDF troops during operations in over 30 villages in southern Lebanon since late September.

Journalists were invited this week to view the display.

Hezbollah weapons and other equipment seized by the IDF during its ground operation in south Lebanon, are displayed for the media at military base in northern Israel on December 24, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Police give all-clear in Tel Aviv, suspect held

Police say they detained a suspect in Tel Aviv, announcing that a security scare in the city has ended.

No other details are provided.

Police had earlier ordered a hostage rally in central Tel Aviv to end after receiving a report of a suspicious person.

3,800 Hezbollah operatives killed in Lebanon, including 44 since ceasefire — IDF estimate

The IDF says that it has likely killed some 3,800 Hezbollah operatives during the fighting in Lebanon, including 2,762 killed during an Israeli ground offensive launched in late September. Thousands more operatives were wounded.

At least 44 Hezbollah operatives have been killed by the IDF since a ceasefire was reached, the army admits. It claims they violated the ceasefire by being present in southern Lebanon or at sites affiliated with Hezbollah.

The vast majority of Hezbollah’s senior command, 13 members, and former leader Hassan Nasrallah, were also killed by the IDF.

The IDF believes it has destroyed about 70% of Hezbollah’s “strategic weapons,” including long-range missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and anti-ship missiles; and some 75% of its short-range rocket launchers.

Hezbollah is now in a position where it is unable to carry out any major attacks on Israel, according to the IDF’s assessments.

IDF says it helped plan exploding pager operation, told Mossad to hold off until focus shifted north

The IDF says it played a key role in the so-called pager operation against Hezbollah, during which thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in the hands of members of the terror group some three months ago.

The operation began some 10 years ago as a joint IDF and Mossad project, as part of preparations in the military to surprise its enemies during a war. The Mossad’s role in the operation was revealed earlier this week by two former agents who appeared on CBS, but now the army is also revealing details about its part in the plan.

Israeli intelligence efforts ramped up from the beginning of the ongoing war with an eye toward implementing the plan. The army says a team of intel experts operated out of a secret surveillance base in northern Israel to bring together the research, surveillance and operational capabilities relating to the project.

The IDF recommended holding off on deploying the exploding pagers until the northern front became the main front of the war, and not at an earlier stage when the primary front was still the Gaza Strip. The pagers were set off on September 17, and a day later walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah also blew up.

The military says the level of intelligence that it had on Hezbollah, and the correct and effective use of the intelligence, was crucial to defeating the terror group.

The intelligence enabled the IDF to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and target its top commanders while keeping the terror group in the dark, especially its late leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the military.

In the days following the pager operation, the Israeli Air Force hit thousands of targets across Lebanon, taking out most of the terror group’s rocket and drone capabilities. Nasrallah was assassinated when Israel bombed his bunker in Beirut on September 27, days before the IDF launched its ground offensive in Lebanon.

Houthi drone crashes near Ashkelon; no injuries

A drone launched from Yemen struck an open area near the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a short while ago, the military says.

There are no reports of injuries or major damage in the attack.

Sirens had sounded in Ashkelon and surrounding communities near the Gaza Strip.

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in recent days have ramped up ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel, in what they say is support for Hamas amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Tel Aviv hostage rally broken up as police search for ‘suspicious person’

A planned candle-lighting and sit-in for hostages in Tel Aviv has been broken up due to security concerns, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says.

Police say they are conducting “wide searches” after receiving a report of a suspicious person in the Tel Aviv area, but provide no other details.

A video shared online shows an officer on a megaphone asking participants to leave in an orderly fashion due to a “security incident.”

תגידו, מישהו השתגע?!
חשש לאירוע ביטחוני בגזרת תל אביב -יפו?!
יש מישהו אחראי שיכול לעדכן את תושבי תל אביב מה קורה?! יש ילדים ברחובות והורים מודאגים! @IL_police pic.twitter.com/AxcWbY2mJX

— ????️????????חגית קלימן – Hagit Klaiman????????????️ (@klaiman14) December 25, 2024

Thousands of people dressed in white, including mothers and daughters of hostages, had gathered outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for the sit-in, which had been scheduled to end at 6 p.m. with a ceremonial lighting of the first candle of Hanukkah. Instead, organizers say the candle-lighting will take place at Beit Ariella, a nearby municipal building.

Houthis claim they busted spy ring working for Mossad, CIA

Houthi supporters attend an anti-Israel and anti-American rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, August 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim that they have uncovered a spy ring working for the Mossad secret service and the CIA.

In an official statement, the group alleges that the spies were tasked with identifying and monitoring its military sites, such as those of its missile, drone and naval forces as well as weapons depots, and with locating and collecting information on Houthi political and military figures and other individuals in Yemen wanted by the United States and Israel.

The spy ring was allegedly operated by a Saudi man named Hamid Hussein Majali, who the Houthis claim has been active in Yemen since October 7, 2023, trying to recruit locals to conduct espionage activities and obstruct the Houthis as they attack Israel and international shipping lanes in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Drone alert sounds in Ashkelon

A drone alert is sounding in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon and other communities in the area, the IDF’s Home Front Command says.

There are no immediate details.

Russia says ‘terrorism’ took down ship in Mediterranean

A Russian cargo ship called Ursa Major that sank in the Mediterranean Sea was the victim of “an act of terrorism,” Russian state news agency RIA cites the vessel’s owner as saying.

The ship, built in 2009, sank after an explosion ripped through its engine room and two of its 16 crew were missing, the Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

RIA cited Oboronlogistika, the ship’s ultimate owner and a company that is part of the Russian Defense Ministry’s military construction operations, as saying the vessel had been targeted in “a terrorist act.”

Oboronlogistika had previously said that the ship had been en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two giant port cranes lashed to its deck.

Chief rabbi strongly backs releasing terrorists ‘with blood on their hands’ for hostages

Son of late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi David Yosef, leaves after giving a Torah lesson during a visit to Safed, November 16, 2017. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Newly appointed Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef says Israel has a responsibility to release terrorists, even those convicted of carrying out mass murders, in order to win the freedom of hostages being held in Gaza.

“My father handed down a very clear religious edict that it is allowed and necessary to release terrorists, even many terrorists, even killers with blood on their hands, to release them in exchange for hostages,” he says in an interview with the Haredi news site Kikar Hashabbat.

Yosef’s father, Ovadiah Yosef, was a powerfully influential rabbi who founded the Shas political party, which is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. Both Shas and fellow ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism have come out strongly in support of a hostage deal, even as far-right coalition partners have railed against the possibility of releasing Palestinians with serious terror convictions.

Yosef says his father penned the ruling during the Entebbe hostage crisis of 1976, before Israeli commandos managed to free almost all of the passengers being held hostage in Uganda.

According to Jewish law, the danger faced by hostages today needs to be weighed against the potential future danger posed by the freed terrorists, Yosef says. “My father’s answer was that the current danger comes first.”

Yosef’s comments could help provide a tailwind for a deal, with both Israeli and Palestinian officials indicating that the sides have made progress. Among the remaining issues are thought to be the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for hostages and their identities.

In Gaza, Katz says IDF will hold onto security control of Strip

Defense Minister Israel Katz alongside soldiers in Gaza on December 25, 2024. (Shlomi Amsallem/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not cede security control over Gaza, indicating it will continue to operate buffer zones and hold strategic positions even as negotiators move toward a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Katz makes the comments while visiting the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a belt of land on Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel’s government has insisted troops must remain in order to prevent smuggling between the Sinai and the Strip. While there, he met with commanders and receives a situational briefing, the Defense Ministry says.

“We will ensure that security control is in the hands of the IDF, which will be authorized to act anywhere to prevent threats,” Katz says, according to a Defense Ministry statement.

“We will make sure there are security zones, buffer zones and strategic posts which will ensure the security of towns,” he adds, without explaining what he meant by security zone. “There will be no Hamas rule, and no Hamas military. We will create a new reality here, thanks to the daily fighting, which is continuing even now.”

In warning to Iran, IDF head says army ready to strike any time and any place

Speaking at a pilot graduation ceremony, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warns Iran and its proxies against carrying out further attacks on Israel.

“Iran should know, its proxies should know and the entire Middle East, anyone who tries to undermine the stability and security of the State of Israel, the IDF will stand firm against them, ready to strike at any time and in any place,” Halevi says.

The IDF chief also says the military has a “moral and urgent duty” to bring home the 100 hostages held by Hamas in the Strip. “The IDF is doing and will do whatever it takes to ensure their return home,” he says.

On the military’s October 7 probes, Halevi says the investigations “must be thorough and genuine.”

“This is our duty to the fallen and their families, to the families of the hostages, to the political echelon, and to the entire public. And this is a duty to ourselves, as the only possible way to improve and learn,” he says.

“The IDF has been investigating itself since the day it was founded, but operational investigations do not replace or contradict external inspection bodies. The IDF will cooperate with any external inspection mechanism that is decided upon,” Halevi adds, referring to a state commission of inquiry that has so far been rejected by the Israeli government.

Air force chief says strikes on Houthis will intensify

Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar threatens increased strikes on the Houthis in Yemen in response to the Iran-backed terror group’s repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel.

“We act powerfully wherever we are required. We have struck the Houthis in Yemen three times. We will continue and increase the pace and intensity of the attacks as much as necessary,” he says during a graduation ceremony for pilots.

Bar also says that the air force has completed its investigation into its response to the October 7 onslaught.

“The IAF is not immune to mistakes. The ability to investigate and implement [learned lessons] is fundamental to victory in the tough fighting competition in the Middle East and beyond,” he says.

“We have completed the October 7 investigation with an independent team of reservists. It is a deep, thorough, and sharp investigation,” Bar says.

The investigation will be presented to the public once all the IDF’s probes have been concluded and approved by the military’s chief of staff.

PM’s office: ‘Hamas lying again’ with claim Israel imposing new conditions to delay deal

Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Responding to Hamas claims that negotiations over a ceasefire-hostage deal are being delayed by Israel imposing new conditions, the Prime Minister’s Office blames the Gaza-based group for getting in the way of an agreement.

“The terrorist organization Hamas is lying again,” says the PMO in a statement, “reneging on the understandings already reached, and continuing to make it difficult for the negotiations.”

“Nevertheless, Israel will continue tirelessly in its efforts to bring home all of our hostages.”

Gaps between Israel and the Hamas terror group over a possible deal have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks earlier this week, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved. Hamas is reportedly yet to hand over a list of the hostages, living or dead, to be released in the first stage of a potential truce.

The war started with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 people to Gaza as hostages.

Halevi instructs IDF to ‘accelerate the timetables’ for conclusion of Oct. 7 probes

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks during an assessment, in a video released by the IDF on November 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has instructed the military to “accelerate the timetables” for the conclusion of its investigations into the October 7 onslaught.

The military says this is to allow for the General Staff investigations to be completed by the end of January and be presented to Defense Minister Israel Katz, as he had requested.

The IDF says that despite the sped-up timeline and the mid-war investigations, it seeks to maintain “a quality, in-depth, and professional” investigation process, “as a duty to the bereaved families, the families of the hostages, and the public.”

IDF investigating reports 4 Syrian civilians were wounded by troops’ gunfire during protest

The IDF says it is investigating reports that four Syrian civilians were wounded by troops’ gunfire near the southern Syria village of Swisah earlier today during a protest against the army’s presence there.

According to the military, troops spotted several groups, including some who were approaching forces operating in the area.

“After calling on the protesters to move away, the forces responded with fire to disperse them,” the IDF says, adding that “the claim about casualties in the area is being examined.”

The local Daraa 24 outlet reports that among the injuries was a child shot in the back, and another man who was hit in the stomach. The other two injuries are listed as minor, according to the report.

#متابعة: أُصيب أربعة مدنيين، بينهم طفل، جراء إطلاق نار من قوات إسرائيلية في ثكنة الدواية بمحيط قرية سويسة بريف القنيطرة الجنوبي، وفقاً لمصدر محلي لدرعا 24

أوضح المصدر أن الطفل أصيب بطلق ناري في ظهره وتم نقله إلى أحد مستشفيات دمشق لتلقي العلاج، فيما أصيب شاب آخر في بطنه ويخضع… pic.twitter.com/JGzR3tFE2B

— Daraa 24 – 24 درعا (@Daraa24_24) December 25, 2024

Houthi official: ‘Netanyahu, do you think you will do to us what you did to Hezbollah?’

A senior Houthi official warns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Iran-backed group will not be cowed.

“Netanyahu, do you think you will do to us what you did to Hezbollah? Ask the Yemeni Jews who we are,” says Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, former head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Council, according to Channel 12 news.

Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel would act against the Houthis with the same force it used against Iran’s other “terrorist arms.” The premier vowed that even though the operation against the rebel group may take time, the results will be the same as those seen in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted by Israeli air defenses early this morning, marking the second night in a row — and the fourth in less than a week — that the Iran-backed group has fired at Israel’s center in what has recently become a near-nightly occurrence.

Hamas claims Israel imposing new conditions, delaying potential hostage-ceasefire deal

Demonstrators gather with signs during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of hostages outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

In a statement, the Hamas terror group claims that negotiations for a potential ceasefire-hostage deal are being delayed by Israel imposing new conditions.

Hamas says the talks are “proceeding seriously in Doha with Qatari and Egyptian mediation” and that the terror group “has shown responsibility and flexibility.”

However, the terror group claims that Israel “has set new issues and conditions related to the withdrawal [of troops], the ceasefire, the prisoners and the return of the displaced, which delayed reaching the agreement that was available.”

Gaps between Israel and the Hamas terror group over a possible Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks earlier this week, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved. Hamas is reportedly yet to hand over a list of the hostages, living or dead, to be released in the first stage of a potential truce.

The war started with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 people to Gaza as hostages.

In Christmas address, pope denounces ‘extremely grave’ situation in Gaza, calls for release of hostages

Pope Francis delivers 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, December 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis denounces the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza and appeals for the freeing of hostages held by Hamas during his traditional Christmas address in Rome.

“I think of the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave. May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war,” he says.

IDF says it carried out strike on Hamas operative in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a Hamas operative in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood a short while ago.

No further details are given.

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

2 Hamas attack tunnels with multiple exit shafts recently destroyed in Gaza, IDF says

Two Hamas attack tunnels were recently demolished by combat engineers in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says.

According to the military, the tunnels — one in southern Gaza and one in the Strip’s center — spanned a total of 2 kilometers underground and were to be used by Hamas to launch attacks.

The military says the tunnels featured branching paths and multiple exit shafts, some of which were booby-trapped. Numerous weapons were also found inside the tunnels, the IDF says.

Combat engineers with the Gaza Division, including the elite Yahalom unit, located and demolished the two tunnels.

Amid the operation by the Gaza Division, a strike was carried out against a cell of terror operatives who attempted to plant an explosive device, the army says. Strikes were also launched against anti-tank missile launch posts and other infrastructure in the area that the IDF says posed a threat to the troops.

Footage released by the IDF on December 25, 2024, shows a Hamas tunnel in Gaza being destroyed. (Israel Defense Forces)

Finance Ministry chief quits, apparently amid disagreements with Smotrich

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Finance Ministry Director General Shlomi Heisler attend a committee meeting at the Knesset on February 12, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Ministry director general Shlomi Heisler has informed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that he is resigning, Hebrew-language media reports.

Heisler is expected to end his tenure toward the end of January, before the final approval of the 2025 state budget.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that while Heisler’s reasons for quitting are officially related to his health and personal life, he and Smotrich have clashed over legislation that would enshrine Haredi draft exemptions and the minister’s treatment of professionals within the ministry.

According to the Walla news site, Heisler recently told associates that he is “fed up” and “can’t do this anymore.”

UN Security Council to meet next week to discuss Houthi attacks

Yemenis brandish rifles and chant slogans against Israel during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, November 29, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)

The United Nations Security Council will meet next Monday for an emergency session on the attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, according to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Sa’ar yesterday asked US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, president of the UNSC, to call an emergency meeting to condemn the attacks by the Houthis and Iran’s continued support for them.

Overnight, the Houthis launched a missile at Israel for the 4th time in a week.

Hostage families in plea for deal: ‘Any delay in the negotiations could cost lives’

Shir Siegel, whose father Keith is held hostage in Gaza, speaks at Hostages Square on December 25, 2024 (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

A day after an Israeli negotiating team returned from Qatar for consultations, the relatives of a number of hostages give statements in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, pleading for an agreement to be made with Hamas as fast as possible.

Shir Siegel, whose father Keith Siegel was taken hostage on October 7 from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, warns that there is no time to lose as the captives face a second winter in dire conditions.

“From the stories of my mother and the other hostages who come back, and also according to all professionals, it is absolutely clear that the abductees do not have time,” she says. “We must return them home before the harsh winter in the tunnels.”

“Our future as a nation depends on the decisions taken now. Any delay, hesitation or postponement in the negotiations could cost lives,” she says.

Lishay Miran, the wife of abductee Omri Miran, says that any hostage deal must include everyone held captive in Gaza.

“This terrible journey we are on must end. Everyone must return so that the period of healing can begin,” she says.

“Over a year has passed since the last deal and now is the time for a new one that includes everyone and in which it is clear when and how the final hostage will return,” she says.

There is concern among hostages’ families that any men not released in the first stage of a potential truce could remain held for a further prolonged period, as many fear the deal will collapse before further phases are reached.

The press conference is held the day after a mid-level Israeli negotiating team that had been in Qatar for several days working on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas returned to Israel for “internal deliberations in Israel regarding the continuation of negotiations.”

Reports of overnight IDF strike in Baalbek region said to target Hezbollah warehouses

Lebanon’s state media says an Israeli airstrike targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country before dawn.

A truce went into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities that began when Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023.

The strike near the town of Tarya did not result in casualties, the state-run National News Agency says.

A Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the strike targeted “warehouses believed to belong to Hezbollah.”

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

Technion announces new center to develop sustainable aviation fuel tech

The Israeli Sustainable Aviation Fuel Knowledge Center (iSAF) has been inaugurated at the Technion, the university says in a press release, “a significant step towards producing sustainable fuels for the aviation sector” that will help Israel develop local industry and technology in this area.

Israel has a 2030 goal of producing sustainable aviation fuels locally, and in 2050, international aviation regulations are to mandate “exclusive” use of sustainable fuels, the announcement notes.

The new center has five primary goals, according to the notice: developing a national research strategy for alternative aviation fuels; creating world-class advanced research infrastructure; fostering scientific and engineering leadership while training the next generation of scientists in the field; encouraging Israeli and international collaborations between academia and industry; and accumulating and disseminating knowledge to researchers, the public, and decision-makers.

The iSAF program is supported by the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology and is a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The new center is directed by experts from the Technion’s Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering and includes researchers from the Technion, Bar-Ilan University, and Ben-Gurion University.

Erdogan: Kurdish militants in Syria will be buried if they don’t lay down weapons

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a press conference following the Friday noon prayer in Istanbul, May 3, 2024. (Khalil Hamra/AP Photo)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Kurdish militants in Syria will either lay down their weapons or “be buried,” amid hostilities between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and the militants since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad this month.

“The separatist murderers will either bid farewell to their weapons, or they will be buried in Syrian lands along with their weapons,” Erdogan tells lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament.

He also says Turkey would soon open its consulate in Aleppo, and adds Ankara expects an increase in traffic at its borders in the summer of next year, as some of the millions of Syrian migrants it hosts begin returning.

Unvaccinated 17-year-old from Jerusalem area contracts polio

An unvaccinated 17-year-old in the Jerusalem area has contracted polio, the Health Ministry says.

No details are given on the teen’s condition.

“Polio is a virus that causes childhood paralysis, which has been eradicated from many countries around the world thanks to effective and safe vaccines that have been around for decades,” the ministry says. “No child in the State of Israel should suffer from polio in 2024. A vaccinated child is a protected child.”

Kazakh authorities say 27 people survived passenger plane crash, 67 were on board

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev)

An Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announce, saying that 27 people had survived.

Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers can be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.

The Central Asian country’s emergencies ministry says in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors, including three children, are being treated at a nearby hospital.

A passenger plane has crashed in Kazakhstan. It was on a flight from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in Russia. The causes of the tragedy are currently unknown. pic.twitter.com/w315N7ne0X

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) December 25, 2024

Report: 2 wounded in southern Syria by IDF gunfire

The Saudi Al Arabiya outlet reports that two people have been wounded by IDF gunfire in the Quneitra area, in southern Syria.

There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

The IDF has been operating in a buffer zone between Israel and Syria since the fall of the Assad regime earlier this month. Parts of the Quneitra Governate are located within the buffer zone.

In Christmas Day attack, Russia fires massive missile barrage at Ukrainian energy sites

Russia launches a massive missile barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.

Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko says Russia again “massively attacks energy infrastructure,” in a Facebook statement. Ukraine’s Air Force says multiple missiles were fired at Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Poltava regions east of the country.

“The (electricity) distribution system operator takes the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize negative consequences for the power system,” Halushchenko says. “As soon as the security situation allows, energy workers will establish the damage caused.”

Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, says Russia struck one of their thermal power plants Wednesday morning, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine’s power grid this year.

Ukrainian state energy operator Ukrenergo applies preemptive power outages across the country, due to a “massive missile attack,” leading to electricity going out in several districts of the capital, Kyiv.

At least seven strikes targeted Kharkiv sparking fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov writes on Telegram. At least three people were injured, local authorities say.

Large missile fragment hits yard of home in central Israel after Houthi projectile intercepted overnight

After a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted by air defenses overnight, large fragments are found in central Israel.

One large piece, apparently over a meter in length, is found in the yard of a home in Be’er Yaakov.

Police say fragments fell in at least three locations.

It was the second night in a row in which the Iran-backed group has fired a ballistic missile at central Israel, in what has become a near-nightly occurrence.

בהמשך לאזעקה בבאר יעקב, שברי יירוט נפלו בחצר בית במרכז העיר, ללא נזק משמעותי. צוות השיטור העירוני מטפל במקרה.

צילום: ניסים גוזלן#באר יעקב אזעקה #שברי_יירוט pic.twitter.com/Sm18vbGDxX

— hodaya ran (@hodaya_ran) December 25, 2024

Hebrew University: Female computer science and math students to get 1st year of tuition free

Students seen at the Mount Scopus campus at Hebrew University on October 23, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASh900

The first year of studies for new female undergraduate computer science and mathematics students will be free, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announces.

The university “is proud to announce a new and groundbreaking initiative that aims to encourage women to integrate and excel in the exact sciences.”

As part of this program, “a free first year of study will be provided for the first time to all female students accepted into the computer science or mathematics programs for the 2025 academic year,” the university says in a press release.

The free year (two semesters) applies to new female undergraduate students who start in the next academic year, in the fall of 2025, as well as those beginning a program in the upcoming semester, which starts in March, the notice says.

Annual tuition for full-time undergraduate students is NIS 11,653 ($3,200), according to the Hebrew University website.

“The initiative is designed to reduce the gender representation gap in these sought-after fields, and to enable more women to take part in significant roles in the high-tech and science industries,” Prof. Tamir Shefer, Hebrew University rector, says in the announcement.

According to figures provided by the university, in the current 2024-2025 academic year, just 36 percent of registered computer science students and 25% of mathematics students are female.

Passenger plane crashes near Aktau in Kazakhstan with 110 on board; reports of survivors

A passenger plane crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan and initial reports suggested there were survivors, the Central Asian country’s Emergencies Ministry says in a statement.

The ministry says emergency services were trying to put out a fire at the crash site.

Russian news agencies say the plane was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines and had been flying from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya, but had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny.

There is no immediate comment from Azerbaijan Airlines.

Kazakh media says 105 passengers and five crew members were on board. Reuters could not immediately confirm that information.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis take responsibility for overnight ballistic missile attack

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for the overnight ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Houthis say they launched the missile at a “military target” in the Tel Aviv area, claiming that “the operation has successfully achieved its objectives.”

The Israeli military said the missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses.

The Iran-backed terror group in recent days has ramped up ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel, in what it says is support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war there.

Pope urges Christians to think of ‘wars, the machine-gunned children, the bombs on schools or hospitals’

Pope Francis presides over the Christmas Eve mass at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on December 24, 2024 (Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Pope Francis launches observation of Christmas with a somber mass in the Vatican.

At Saint Peter’s Basilica, Francis uses his Christmas Eve mass to urge Christians to think “of the wars, of the machine-gunned children, of the bombs on schools or hospitals” as this year’s Christmas once again takes place under the shadow of Israel’s war on the Hamas terror group and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

His remarks come just days after he twice denounced what he called the “cruelty” of Israeli strikes, which prompted objections from Israeli officials who said he ignored the cruelty of the Hamas terror group, whose October 7 massacre in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war.

On Sunday, the pontiff said that when thinking of Gaza he thinks “of the children being machine-gunned.” Israel has long said it only targets terrorists, and that Hamas hides among the civilian population, including in hospitals and schools, to protect itself.

Francis is due to deliver his traditional Christmas Day blessing, Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world), at midday.

Report: Hamas still hasn’t sent list of living, dead hostages to be freed in deal’s 1st phase

Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israel still has not received from Hamas a list of living and dead hostages to be released in the first phase of a potential ceasefire-hostage deal, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The outlet additionally says that Hamas is resisting pressure from mediators.

According to Channel 12 news, Israeli officials believe Hamas is hoping for a “dramatic achievement” in the negotiations before providing the list. No further details are given.

Meanwhile, the Israel Hayom daily says that the terror group is backtracking after initially appearing to soften its position.

“Hamas is effectively backing down from the softening that led to the renewal of the talks, and is once again demanding an Israeli commitment to end the war at the end of the comprehensive deal as a condition for implementing its first phase,” an unnamed senior official tells the newspaper.

The reports come as a mid-level Israeli negotiating team that has been in Qatar for several days working on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, returned to Israel for “internal deliberations in Israel regarding the continuation of negotiations.”

The proposed ceasefire is reported to envision a three-phase implementation. The first stage would see Hamas release “humanitarian” captives — female hostages, children, older captives and the sick.

IDF to test sirens in Dead Sea-area settlements

The military says it will carry out a test of rocket sirens in a number of West Bank settlements near the Dead Sea.

Sirens will sound at 9:50 a.m. in Kalia, at 10:10 a.m. in Almog, at 10:30 a.m. in Vered Jericho, and at 11:10 a.m. in Mitzpe Shalem.

In the case of an actual attack, the sirens will sound twice, according to the IDF.

Houthi missile intercepted before entering Israeli airspace

The army says a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace.

This is the second night in a row in which the Iran-backed group has fired a ballistic missile at central Israel, in what has become a near-nightly occurrence.

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IMF and Egypt reach deal unlocking $1.2 billion

The International Monetary Fund says it has reached a deal with Egyptian authorities allowing the country access to about $1.2 billion.

The funding access is subject to executive board approval.

“The Egyptian authorities have continued to implement key policies to preserve macroeconomic stability, despite ongoing regional tensions that are causing a sharp decline in Suez Canal receipts,” says Ivanna Vladkova Hollar, who led the IMF mission involved in discussions with Egyptian authorities.

She adds that “continued implementation of fiscal consolidation efforts will be necessary to preserve debt sustainability, and reduce large interest costs and gross domestic financing requirements.”

The deal comes as both sides reached staff-level agreement on the fourth review under the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, the fund says.

Sirens activated in central Israel as missile launched from Yemen

Sirens were activated a short time ago in central Israel as a result of a missile launch from Yemen, the army says.

Details are being checked.