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The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
US says it downed multiple Houthi attack drones and missiles over Red Sea
In this April 29, 2015 US Navy handout photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) arrives in Souda Bay, Greece on April 29, 2015 for a scheduled port visit. (US Navy/AFP, File)
US Central Command releases details of its interception of projectiles in the Red Sea that were fired earlier today by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
A statement from CENTCOM says the USS Laboon, a guided-missile destroyer, and an unspecified number of F-18 fighter jets shot down 12 attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles that the Houthis launched over a 10-hour stretch.
No ships were damaged and there were no reports of injuries.
France ‘gravely concerned’ by expanding Israeli ops in Gaza, again calls for ceasefire
PARIS — France is “gravely concerned” by Israel’s announcement that it will intensify and prolong fighting against Palestinian Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the foreign ministry says.
Paris “strongly reiterates its call for an immediate truce leading to a ceasefire,” the ministry says, condemning “systematic bombing that has again left many civilian victims in recent days.”
Qatar says Biden and emir discussed efforts to broker permanent ceasefire in Gaza
US President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office of the White House, January 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US President Joe Biden phoned Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement carried by the Gulf monarchy’s official news agency.
The statement says the two talked about “joint mediation efforts to calm the situation and reach a permanent ceasefire,” among other topics.
There is no immediate readout from the White House.
Families of hostages protest at Kirya base in Tel Aviv as security cabinet meets
Families of Israeli hostages and their supporters hold photos of those held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, as they demonstrate outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, December 26, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza and their supporters demonstrate outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv as the high-level security cabinet is set to convene there.
Video shows police clearing demonstrators standing in front of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s convoy as he arrived for the meeting.
הערב בכניסה לקריה: רכבו של השר לביטחון לאומני @itamarbengvir, כמעט דורס מפגינים ממשפחות החטופים, שרק ביקשו לדבר איתו לפני שהוא נכנס לישיבת הקבינט.
כמה סמלי – זה בדיוק היחס שלו לבני משפחות החטופים.
כאילו הם נטל, מטרד שמפריע לו בדרכו, ואפשר להתעלם מהם ו(כמעט) לדרוס.
בושה. pic.twitter.com/wQf63aW4jU— Nava Rozolyo נאווה רוזוליו????????♀️???????????? (@rozolyo) December 26, 2023
National Security Council urges Israelis in India to exercise caution after blast near embassy
Israel embassy personnel together with Indian conduct a search operation after an explosion occurred near the embassy in New Delhi on December 26, 2023. (Arun Sankar/AFP)
The National Security Council issues an advisory urging Israelis in India, particularly New Delhi, to exercise increased caution after an explosion earlier today near the Israeli embassy that it says was likely a terror attack.
The advisory calls to avoid crowded areas such as malls and markets, as well as sites associated with Jews and Israelis; be extra vigilant in public places; refrain from displaying Israeli symbols; avoid crowded events that aren’t secured; and not share photos on social media that could reveal their location.
Ocasio-Cortez blasted for Christmas message comparing Jesus to Gazans
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York attends a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 16, 2021. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Critics blast New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a Christmas message comparing Jesus to the Palestinians, with at least one saying it invoked the historic charge that the Jews killed Jesus.
Drawing parallels between Jesus’ persecutors and present-day Israel, Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday that Jesus was born in “modern-day Palestine” under a government carrying out “a massacre of innocents.” According to the New Testament, Jesus was a Jew who lived within the modern borders of Israel and was killed by the Roman forces ruling the territory at the time.
“He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today’s Palestinians.”
The New York lawmaker, a member of the so-called “Squad” of outspoken progressives in Congress, referred to Jesus’ family as “Jewish Palestinians.”
The text in the post was superimposed over an image of a baby doll in a pile of concrete rubble, a variation of the traditional nativity scene that became a motif for pro-Palestinian activists ahead of Christmas. Christian leaders in Bethlehem, traditionally seen as the birthplace of Jesus, called off Christmas celebrations this year to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
In a second Instagram post yesterday, Ocasio-Cortez posted a video of Reverend Munther Isaac, a Lutheran cleric in Bethlehem, delivering a sermon with a similar message. Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the post, “When we justify the bombing of children, Jesus is under the rubble.”
Former Anti-Defamation League leader Abraham Foxman calls Ocasio-Cortez’s initial post “hateful and dangerous,” citing the historic libel claiming that Jews are collectively responsible for killing Christ, or deicide. The charge, refuted by the Catholic Church since the 1960s and rejected by some other Christian denominations, has fueled antisemitism in Christian communities for centuries.
“She invoked the charge that the Jews are again killing Jesus,” Foxman writes on X, formerly known as Twitter. Foxman served as the national director of the ADL from 1987 to 2015.
Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman calls the post “a reinvention” of history.
US Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat and vocal advocate for Israel, criticizes comparisons between Jesus and the Palestinians in a post that doesn’t directly mention Ocasio-Cortez.
“It is antisemitic to compare Israelis to the Romans who murdered Jesus. Associating Jews with the murder of Jesus is antisemitism,” Torres writes on X.
Prisons service chief slams ‘irresponsible’ Ben Gvir for not extending her tenure
Israel Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry arrives for her testimony at the government committee probing the escape of the security prisoners from the Gilboa prison, in Modi'in, March 7, 2022. (Flash90)
Israel Prisons Service Commissioner Katy Perry slams National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after the ultranationalist leader announced he would not extend her term as the country’s chief warden.
“An unsurprising decision by an irresponsible minister that combines unfounded and baseless claims, a detachment from reality and childishness that show his lack of understanding of the prisons service,” Perry says in a statement.
Ben Gvir says he won’t extend tenure of prisons chief; National Unity urges PM to intervene
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (center) listens to Israel Prison Service chief Katy Perry (left) during a visit to Nafha Prison, January 6, 2023. (Israel Prison Service)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he has decided not to extend the tenure of Israel Prisons Service Commissioner Katy Perry, saying he has a “total lack of confidence” in her while alleging she has not implemented his policies and even worked against them.
Ben Gvir accuses Perry of having conducted negotiations with imprisoned Hamas terrorists on the terms of their incarceration, and upbraids her for other incidents in which he says her actions were unacceptable to him.
The far-right minister also meets with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to discuss extending his tenure, adding that another meeting will be held on the issue.
Ben Gvir had sought to replace both Shabtai and Perry instead of extending their tenure, but the outbreak of the war in Gaza following the Hamas atrocities on October 7 delayed those plans.
One of the conditions that war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity party demanded of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for entering the government on October 11 was that no senior officials be replaced while it is in the coalition.
Responding to Ben Gvir’s decision, National Unity warns that replacing senior officials “at this time harms the functioning of the country during a time of war and is not right.”
“We expect the prime minister to prevent this harm to the country’s security and not allow decisions based on political considerations in the management of the campaign [in Gaza],” a statement from National Unity says.
IDF says fighter jet shot down ‘hostile aerial target’ over Red Sea earlier today
An Israeli Air Force fighter jet shot down a “hostile aerial target” — believed to be a drone launched from Yemen — over the Red Sea earlier today, the military says.
In a short statement, the IDF says the target was heading toward Israel, and the IAF’s air traffic control monitored the device throughout the incident.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed to have fired several drones at Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat today.
The IDF releases footage showing the interception.
An IAF fighter jet shot down a "hostile aerial target" over the Red Sea earlier today, which the military says was heading toward Israel.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed to have fired several drones at Israel's southernmost city of Eilat today. pic.twitter.com/irFLjaSlDX
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 26, 2023
Netanyahu said to reject security chiefs’ requests to discuss post-war governance in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected several recent requests from security chiefs to hold deliberations on post-war arrangements for the Gaza Strip, according to Channel 12 news.
Quoting political and security sources who say Netanyahu does not want to reveal the expected role that Palestinian Authority officials will have in managing Gaza’s civil affairs after Hamas is defeated, the network reports the premier rebuffed the requests on three separate occasions — including during the past day.
Among those said to have made the request are the chiefs of the Mossad, Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces.
Unnamed security officials quoted in the report say the discussions are important for planning the next stages of the war and urge the government to swiftly address the matter, adding that their US counterparts are also demanding answers.
In response, Netanyahu’s office says he instructed his top confidantes to prepare for preliminary deliberations on the matter.
“A date for the deliberation has been set and it will take place in the coming days,” the Prime Minister’s Office says.
Yemen’s Houthis say they launched drones at Israel, attacked ship in Red Sea
Houthi supporters chant slogans at a rally, on March 26, 2023, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim a missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack toward Israel in solidarity with Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas terrorists.
In a statement, the rebels say they “carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship” they identify as MSC UNITED, and launched a number of “drones against military targets” in southern Israel.
UN taps outgoing Dutch minister as humanitarian coordinator for Gaza
Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag speaks to journalists during the Eurogroup meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on February 13, 2023. (John Thys/AFP)
The United Nations names an outgoing Dutch minister as its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, following last week’s Security Council resolution calling for aid to be delivered to the Strip “at scale.”
Sigrid Kaag will start work on January 8, the UN says in a statement.
Ministers to deliberate further delaying local elections, as advocated by Smotrich
Government ministers will convene tomorrow to again discuss further delaying the municipal elections scheduled for the end of January, as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is pushing for.
The army said Sunday that some 4,000 reserve soldiers currently on duty are candidates in next month’s elections.
Visiting US, Dermer holds talks on Israel-Hamas war with Blinken and Sullivan
FILE - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) hosts Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, August 17, 2023. (Secretary of State Blinken, via Twitter)
After arriving in Washington, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is meeting today with top Biden administration officials to discuss the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and efforts to return the hostages taken by the terror group on October 7.
A spokeswoman for the US National Security Council says Dermer, a close confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will hold talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
IDF targeting Hamas in central Gaza, battling terror group’s al-Bureij battalion
Israeli armored vehicles of the 36th Division roll into central Gaza, in a handout video published December 26, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF is further expanding its operations in the central Gaza Strip, with the 36th Division moving away from the Gaza City area and striking Hamas’s al-Bureij battalion.
“The battalions of the central camps are currently facing the strength of the IDF. They will cease to function as other battalions have ceased to function,” says the commander of the 36th Division, Brig. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa.
The al-Bureij battalion consists of around 1,000 fighters and is just one of four Hamas battalions in the terror group’s central camps brigade.
The four Hamas battalions in central Gaza — al-Bureij, Deir al-Balah, Maghazi and Nuseirat — have all sustained some damage in Israeli strikes, but are believed to be largely functioning. The commander of the central camps brigade, Ayman Nofel, was killed in an Israeli strike last month.
During the first hours of ground operations in al-Bureij, the IDF says troops of the Bislamach Brigade located a tunnel shaft leading to a large underground Hamas tunnel network, as well as a training ground.
The operations in central Gaza come as the IDF is focusing most of its efforts on the southern part of the Strip, while conducting clear-up operations of Hamas infrastructure in the north.
The 36th Division had fought in the Gaza City neighborhoods of Zeitoun, Shejaiya, Rimal and Shati.
“The fighting in Shejaiya was difficult and complex, and we managed to achieve significant achievements during it. Shejaiya will no longer be a terror center for Hamas,” Bar Kalifa says.
The IDF has begun to demolish buildings in areas it has captured along the Gaza border, including Shejaiya, to establish a one-kilometer buffer zone, so that residents of Israeli border towns can return to live in their communities in safety.
3 more soldiers killed fighting in Gaza, raising ground op toll to 161
L-R: Master Sgt. (res.) Maor Lavi, Cpt. (res.) Shaul Greenglick, Cpt. Shay Shamriz. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF announces the deaths of three soldiers in fighting in the Gaza Strip, bringing the toll of slain troops since the start of the ground offensive to 161.
They are:
Master Sgt. (res.) Maor Lavi, 33, of the Bislamach Brigade’s 450th Battalion, from Susya.
Cpt. Shay Shamriz, 26, a company commander in the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Merkaz Shapira.
Cpt. (res.) Shaul Greenglick, 26, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Raanana.
Lavi was killed in central Gaza, and another soldier of the 450th Battalion was seriously wounded in the same battle.
Shamriz and Greenglick were killed in the northern part of the Strip, and another officer and two soldiers of the 931st Battalion were seriously wounded in the same battle.
Separately, a soldier of the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit was seriously hurt in northern Gaza.
Israel to stop automatically granting visas to UN workers: ‘Complicit partners’ in Hamas tactics
Israel says it will no longer grant automatic visas to UN employees, accusing the United Nations of being “complicit partners” in Hamas’s tactics.
The move ratchets up tensions between the United Nations and Israel, which has long claimed the world body directs unfair and disproportionate criticism at it.
Government spokesman Eylon Levy says that Israel will consider visa requests from UN employees on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically.
Levy accuses the UN of covering up for Hamas, saying it failed to condemn the terror group for allegedly operating out of hospitals and purportedly stealing aid destined for civilians in Gaza. Hamas denies both charges.
IDF chief says Israel expanding ops in Gaza, warns war to last ‘many more months’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to media in southern Israel, December 26, 2023. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is expanding operations in southern and central Gaza as it is close to dismantling all of Hamas’s battalions in the northern part of the Strip, but warns that the war will last “many more months.”
“I just left the Gaza Strip, I met the troops in the north of the Strip. I was impressed by the way the forces are fighting, working, and achieving the goals we set for them. The IDF is close to completing the dismantling of the Hamas battalions in the northern Gaza Strip,” says Halevi in a press conference in southern Israel.
“We eliminated many terrorists and commanders, some of them surrendered to our forces and we took hundreds of prisoners. We destroyed many underground infrastructures and weapons,” he continues.
But Halevi warns that in “this dense urban area, where terrorists are dressed as civilians, it cannot be said that we killed all of them.”
“We will likely still meet [Hamas] fighters in this area, and we will continue to attack them and pursue them in a variety of ways,” he says of the fighting in northern Gaza, which is expected to shift into a lower gear once the last Hamas battalion is dismantled.
“Now, we are concentrating our efforts in the south of the Gaza Strip, Khan Younis, the central camps, and beyond. And we will continue to both preserve and deepen the achievement in the north of the Gaza Strip,” Halevi says.
He says the IDF “will not allow a return to the security reality before October 7, and we will not allow such an event to be repeated.”
“The Air Force continues to strike non-stop. A building falls when it is an enemy target, a building falls when it poses a danger to our forces,” Halevi says.
“The IDF is focused and precise in its operations. Wherever our forces attack, they are accompanied by heavy fire from the air, sea and land. In every operation in which our forces require firepower, they receive the required cover at its best,” he says, amid concerns that ground forces are not being given enough air support.
Halevi says the ground forces are demolishing Hamas infrastructure, which “cannot be done from the air,” and that such operations lead to clashes with terror operatives.
“We are making professional, rational and calculated use of the resources at our disposal and prepared for the continuation of the fighting in all arenas,” Halevi says.
“This war has necessary and not easy goals to achieve, it takes place in complex territory. That’s why the war will continue for many more months, and we will work with different methods, so that the achievement will be maintained for a long time,” he says, adding that the IDF is constantly learning and adapting its fighting methods to each area of the Gaza Strip it operates in.
“There are no magic solutions, no shortcuts in the thorough dismantling of a terror organization, but stubborn and determined fighting. And we are very, very determined,” Halevi says.
He says the IDF will reach the Hamas leadership, “whether it takes a week or whether it takes months.”
“We are increasing the military pressure, in different ways, powerfully and in a deceptive way. This pressure enables the realization of the goals of the war, the dismantling of Hamas, and the return of the hostages,” Halevi continues.
“Our commitment to the return of the hostages remains the same, we will do everything to return the hostages home. In this war, we are fighting a just war like no other… and it has a heavy and painful price. Some of our best sons and daughters fell in the battle for the security of the country. We will guarantee that their fall was not in vain,” he says.
Halevi also vows that the military will answer the “many difficult questions” that arose following the October 7 onslaught.
“We are obligated to answer for all of them, and we will provide answers after a thorough investigation. We will not skip any question or any lesson. We will thoroughly investigate at the first possible opportunity, and we will publish the findings to the public with transparency,” he says.
Speaking on criticism of decisions made by commanders in Gaza and during fighting in southern Israel on October 7, Halevi says “I want to say a few things as someone who served most of his years as a combat commander: The battlefield presents us with complex situations, and this time even more complex. In these situations, we have to make difficult decisions, and we are responsible for them, both in successes and in failures. This is the way we chose, the wearers of the uniform, to bear the responsibility, and dedicate our lives to the security of the country.”
“Many commanders made very difficult decisions on October 7, and I appreciate all of them first of all for standing up to this challenge and risking their lives. and their endless willingness. The commanders’ decisions, as well as my own decisions, will be investigated and studied thoroughly, when the operational situation allows it,” Halevi says.
“Each of these commanders is now risking their lives in combat. It is not appropriate to attack them and judge them, when the cannons are still firing and they are leading forces inside the Strip in combat. We will continue to fight and continue to learn,” he adds.
Letter to Israeli ambassador said found after blast near embassy in New Delhi
A letter addressed to Ambassador Nair Gilon has been found near the site of an explosion close to the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, according to Indian reports citing local police sources.
IDF: 9 troops hurt, including 1 seriously, while evacuating wounded man from church hit by Hezbollah
File: Saint Mary's Church in Iqrit, northern Israel (Dr. Avishai Teicher / Wikipedia)
The IDF says nine soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in an anti-tank guided missile attack in Shomera in northern Israel, after arriving to evacuate a civilian wounded in an earlier Hezbollah attack against a church.
Hezbollah fired a missile from Lebanon at the Greek Orthodox Church of Iqrit, moderately wounding a civilian in his 80s.
As troops arrived to evacuate the wounded man, Hezbollah fired additional missiles, wounding nine soldiers.
One was listed in serious condition, while the other eight were listed in good-to-moderate condition.
The IDF says it targeted a Hezbollah site in Lebanon, as well as a building to which the operative who launched the missile at the church fled.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו לפני זמן קצר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון. בנוסף, תצפיתניות צה"ל זיהו מבנה אליו ברח המחבל ששיגר את טיל הנ"ט לעבר כנסייה במרחב שומרה מוקדם יותר היום, כוחות צה"ל תקפו את המבנה >> pic.twitter.com/DryVpStQf0
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 26, 2023
The IDF says Hezbollah also fired a missile from near a mosque in southern Lebanon’s Yaroun at the Dovev area in northern Israel.
“This is further proof of Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians and holy sites for its terrorist activity,” the IDF says.
Projectiles were also fired at the Yiftah and Mount Dov areas on the border. The IDF says it is shelling the launch sites with artillery.
Gaza rocket hits synagogue in southern town, causing damage but no injuries
Damage to a synagogue at a town in the Sdot Negev Regional Council, from a rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip, December 26, 2023 (Channel 12 screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
A rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip has struck a synagogue at a town in the Sdot Negev Regional Council.
Video from synagogue shows a significant hole in the roof and extensive damage inside.
רקטה פגעה בבית כנסת בשדות נגב, אין נפגעים@SteinmanTamir pic.twitter.com/7Hoy3Xwfo8
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 26, 2023
There are no reports of injuries in the incident.
UN watchdog warns Iran upping rate of uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels
This photo released November 5, 2019, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows centrifuge machines in Natanz uranium enrichment facility near Natanz, Iran. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)
VIENNA — Iran has increased the rate at which it is producing near weapons-grade uranium in recent weeks, reversing a previous slowdown that started in the middle of this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency says in a report to member states.
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi says in the report that Iran “in recent weeks had increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023,” according to an IAEA spokesperson.
Iran had previously slowed down the rate at which it was enriching uranium to 60% purity. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
The UN nuclear watchdog says its inspectors have verified the increased rate of production since the end of November at facilities in Natanz and Fordow to about 9 kilograms per month, up from 3 kilograms per month since June and representing a return to earlier levels of production.
Enriching uranium means increasing the percentage of uranium-235, the isotope of uranium that can be used in nuclear fission.
Foreign Ministry reports explosion near Israeli embassy in New Delhi; no injuries
Illustrative: Police cordon off an area near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, on January 29, 2021. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP)
The Foreign Ministry announces an explosion occurred near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi this evening.
No one was hurt as a result of the blast, the cause of which was not immediately clear.
The ministry says Israeli security officials were working with local Indian authorities on the investigation.
Delhi Fire Service received a call of a blast near the Israel Embassy in the Chanakyapuri area this evening.
"So far nothing has been found at the location," says Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Services pic.twitter.com/Ipd23kciBS
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2023
Two years ago, a blast outside Israel’s embassy in New Delhi damaged cars but caused no injuries, in an attack India has said was carried out by the Quds Force branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In February 2012, the wife of the Israeli military attaché was injured in a car bomb attack in New Delhi. Indian police concluded that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind the bombing, one of a series of attempted attacks against Israeli targets around the world attributed to Iran during that period.
Paltel reports internet and phone service down again across Gaza
Internet and telephone services are cut again across the war-torn Gaza Strip, the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel says.
“We regret to announce a complete breakdown of fixed telecommunications and internet services in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing offensive,” the company says, announcing the fourth such breakdown since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 with the Gaza-ruling terror group’s shock massacre in southern Israel.
Rocket alerts activated in 2 evacuated kibbutzim near Gaza
Rocket warning alerts sound in Kfar Aza and Sa’ad, a pair of kibbutzim near the Gaza Strip that were evacuated following the devastating Hamas onslaught on October 7.
UN rights office says ‘gravely concerned’ by Israeli strikes on central Gaza
GENEVA — The United Nations says it’s “gravely concerned” by Israel’s continued bombardment of the central Gaza Strip and urges Israeli forces to take all available measures to protect civilians.
“We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces… all attacks must strictly adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction, proportionality and precaution,” UN Human Rights Office spokesman Seif Magango says in a statement.
TV report: IDF shifting strategy to low-intensity, long-haul Gaza operation
A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 26, 2023. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
The Israeli military is preparing to shift strategies in Gaza, realizing that it has squeezed what it could out of high-intensity fighting, and must now dig in for a prolonged low-boil engagement aimed at toppling the Hamas terror group, Channel 12’s military reporter says.
The reported shift just happens to dovetail with US demands that Israel ease up on its high-energy bombardments and surges of troops into urban areas, and just in time for an unofficial January deadline.
According to correspondent Nir Dvori, the army will create a kilometer-wide buffer zone within the Strip on its borders with Israel, expanding an existing buffer zone. Infantry troops, largely drawn from conscripts, will occupy the zone to ensure Gazans cannot approach the fence with Israel, and launch pinpoint raids from there, reports Dvori, but the troop presence will be significantly smaller than it currently is.
He does not attribute the information to a source, but Israeli military reporters are often briefed on army plans under rules requiring them to present what they are told as their own “analysis.”
“The assumption behind the change in strategy is that total defeat of Hamas will not be achieved via a massive ground offensive, but via a long war of attrition,” he says. “It can take months, maybe even years — but creating a new reality in Gaza will require a diplomatic process and economic moves along those of the military.”
At a Knesset meeting, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Yuli Edelstein notes that as the fighting progresses, Israel is “transitioning from the second to third stage” of the military operation in Gaza, and the public should prepare for a long war.
In late October, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s ground offensive would not be enough to defeat Hamas, which would require a third, intermediate stage of fighting during which it will begin to seek out new leadership for the battered enclave, while rooting out “pockets of resistance.”
The report on the apparent shift comes with Israel largely in charge in north Gaza, while south Gaza remains crowded with civilians and relatively out of the army’s operational control.
Explosions, missiles reported by vessel off coast of Yemen
Explosions were heard and missiles sighted near a vessel transiting the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says.
The body, run by the British Royal Navy, adds that the vessel and crew are safe.
UKMTO WARNING 022/DEC/2023https://t.co/Z0vTdolDwv#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/M1HDgC1Qt0
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 26, 2023
The incident follows two other explosions earlier today that struck near a vessel also off Hodeida, according to the British maritime authority.
There was no immediate claim for today’s attacks, although the Houthis in Yemen have launched a flurry of drone and missile attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks.
IDF confirms Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit Greek Orthodox church in northern Israel
The Israel Defense Forces confirms that a Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit the St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Iqrit, northern Israel.
“The attack is not only a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 but also a violation of the freedom of worship,” the IDF says in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Hezbollah attacked the St. Mary’s Greek-Orthodox Church of Iqrit in northern Israel.
An anti-tank missile from Lebanon directly hit the church, injuring a civilian.
This attack is not only a clear violation of @UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but also a violation of the…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 26, 2023
Rockets from Gaza intercepted over Ashkelon, Sderot
Multiple projectiles are seen being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense systems over the southern coastal city of Ashkelon and the Gaza border city of Sderot after rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Multiple Iron Dome interceptions over Ashkelon following a barrage from the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/Yz20atoPTu
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 26, 2023
There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the barrages, although Hamas is believed to be behind the attacks.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it has not received reports of injuries.
Rocket sirens sound in Ashkelon, Gaza border communities
Rocket sirens sound in the southern Israel city of Ashkelon and across Gaza border communities for the first time in 13 hours.
The areas in which alerts were triggered include Zikim, Karmia and Netiv Ha’asara.
No injuries or direct hits are immediately reported.
צבע אדום (26/12/2023 14:10-14:11): אשקלון – דרום, אזור תעשייה הדרומי אשקלון, מבקיעים, יד מרדכי, זיקים, כרמיה, נתיב העשרה, אשקלון – צפון pic.twitter.com/AHZHVNs5tM
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) December 26, 2023
Explosions reportedly heard overhead in Egyptian resort city of Dahab
Explosions were heard over the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Dahab a short while ago, Egyptian news channel Al Qahera reports.
Citing eyewitnesses, the news channel states that a flying object was shot down around two kilometers off the city’s coast.
Dahab is located on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
On December 16, the Egyptian air force shot down a Houthi drone in the area, state-linked media reported.
Hezbollah fires anti-tank missile at church in northern Israel, wounding civilian
File: Saint Mary's Church in Iqrit, northern Israel (Dr. Avishai Teicher / Wikipedia)
The Hezbollah terror group fired an anti-tank missile from Lebanon at a church in northern Israel, wounding a civilian.
In a statement, Hezbollah claims to have targeted an IDF position near the northern community of Shomera.
But Hebrew-language media reports say the target is actually a church in the nearby depopulated Palestinian Christian village of Iqrit.
A civilian man in his 80s guarding the church was moderately wounded in the attack, reports say.
According to the reports, another missile was fired at the area as troops and medical services worked to evacuate the wounded man.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
IDF says troops uncovered weapons cache hidden in child’s bedroom in Gaza City
Hamas weapons found by IDF troops in a home in Gaza City, in a handout photo published December 26, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says troops of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion recovered a large cache of weapons inside a home in the area of Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods.
According to a statement, after numerous encounters with Hamas operatives in the area, troops set out to raid sites believed to be used by Hamas.
In one of the homes, the troops found dozens of assault rifles, grenades, and RPGs in a children’s bedroom.
“These findings are another example of the attempt by the Hamas terror organization to hide weapons and terror activity under civilian cover,” the IDF says.
Gallant says Israel being attacked from seven sides, has hit back at six
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a meeting of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, December 26, 2023. (Shahar Yurman/Israel Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is being attacked in seven separate theaters amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, and the military has so far responded in six of them.
“We are in a multi-front war. We are being attacked from seven different arenas: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, [the West Bank], Iraq, Yemen, and Iran,” says Gallant at a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“We have already responded and acted in six of these areas, and I say here in the clearest way: Anyone who acts against us is a potential target, there is no immunity for anyone,” he adds.
Gallant says the war in Gaza will be “a long, hard war. It has costs — heavy costs — but its justification is the highest that can be.
“Without meeting the goals of the war, we will find ourselves in a situation where… the problem will be that people will not want to live in a place where we do not know how to protect them,” he says to the committee.
“We need determination, endurance, strength, and national cohesion with the goals. It is a battle in which the one who survives is the one who is stronger at the national level, in its values, and in its unity. This is a battle of national determination, and I tell you that we will defeat Hamas,” Gallant adds.
Illegal West Bank outpost of Sde Yonatan evacuated and demolished, 10 activists detained
Border Police forces evacuate and demolish the illegal West Bank outpost of Sde Yonatan, December 26, 2023. (Courtesy)
The illegal outpost of Sde Yonatan in the West Bank was evacuated and demolished by Border Police and Civil Administration forces, the second such demolition of an illegal outpost in the territory in less than 48 hours.
A rudimentary residential building and a goat pen were destroyed by the Civil Administration forces during the operation, reports say.
Settler activists state that the Border Police officers were violent when evacuating the residents of the outpost, punching and kicking the residents and throwing them to the ground. Three people were injured during the incident, the activists say.
A Magen David Adom ambulance was called to the area but was prevented from reaching the outpost, the activists allege. Paramedics from United Hatzalah also arrived at the scene to treat one person who was lightly injured during the incident and needed stitches on his hand.
Activists say that the area was declared a closed military zone before the evacuation began and phones belonging to the residents and activists at the site were confiscated.
Ten people were detained at the site during the enforcement operation, three of whom were taken to the local police station. The other seven were released after the demolition had been completed.
The outpost, close to the settlement of Michmash northeast of Jerusalem, was built on private Palestinian land, the Civil Administration says.
It has been built and demolished several times in the last two years and was most recently reestablished shortly after the beginning of the current war with Hamas.
The Border Police declined to comment on the incident.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Nachmani succumbs to injuries sustained in Hezbollah rocket attack
Staff Sgt. Daniel Nachmani. (Courtesy)
The IDF says a soldier seriously wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel on Friday has succumbed to his injuries.
He is named as Staff Sgt. Daniel Nachmani, 21, of the 188th Armored Brigade’s 71st Battalion, from Kfar Saba.
In the December 22 attack on an army position near Shtula, another soldier of the 71st Battalion, Sgt. Amit Hod Ziv, was killed.
Cyber directorate unveils Iranian phishing attempt disguised as security software update
A new Iranian phishing attack designed to trick Israeli organizations into downloading malware that steals and deletes information has been detected by the Israel National Cyber Directorate.
In a warning, the directorate says that the phishing attacks are carried out by sending an email designed to look like a crucial security update from the cybersecurity company F5. The email would contain a link designed to look like a software update that, upon being downloaded, would install malware onto the computer.
The malware would then steal data and delete it from the computer.
The directorate instructs users to take steps to block the attacks ahead of time, to report any suspicious emails, and to avoid clicking on links before checking them.
מתקפת דיוג חדשה מאיראן מנסה למחוק מידע בארגונים
לפרטים נוספים ולדרכי חסימה והתמודדות עם המתקפה:https://t.co/5xk7r9Sc6u pic.twitter.com/XLGXtCltTp— Cyber Israel – מערך הסייבר הלאומי (@Israel_Cyber) December 26, 2023
One killed in car explosion in Netanya in possible hit attempt
A car exploded in the central city of Netanya earlier this morning, killing one person in an incident being treated as a possible assassination, the Israel Police says in a statement.
Traces of explosive materials were found at the scene, the statement says, adding that the evidence has been transferred to a forensic identification laboratory for further investigation.
IDF strikes sites in Lebanon in response to projectiles fired at Mount Dov area
Several projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area on the border, where there are several military positions, the IDF says.
It says that in response, troops are striking sites in Lebanon.
לפני זמן קצר זוהו מספר שיגורים משטח לבנון לעבר מרחב הר דב ושומרה. לוחמי צה"ל תקפו מטרות בלבנון.
בשעות הבוקר מטוס קרב של חיל האוויר תקף תשתית טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון. בנוסף, טנק ירה לעבר מטרה על מנת להסיר איום שנשקף מלבנון >> pic.twitter.com/JbUkIknsA5
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) December 26, 2023
The IDF also confirms that this morning, a fighter jet struck a Hezbollah site in Lebanon, and a tank shelled a site on the border “to remove a threat.”
A surface-to-air missile was fired this morning from Lebanon at an Israeli military aircraft. The IDF says the missile did not hit the aircraft.
IDF soldier lightly wounded during overnight raid in Nur Shams in the West Bank
One soldier was lightly wounded during clashes with Palestinian gunmen in the Nur Shams refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tulkarem overnight, the IDF says.
The soldier was hurt by shrapnel after gunmen opened fire and hurled explosives at troops, the statement adds.
Troops seized some 30 firearms, detonated an explosives lab, and detained eight suspects during the raid.
Weapons seized by IDF troops in the West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp, December 26, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Lapid: If October 7 happened on my watch, I would have resigned immediately
Leader of the Opposition and Yesh Atid head MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, December 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In a sharp statement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tells Army Radio that if the October 7 attacks had happened on his watch, he would have resigned the same day.
“I don’t trust Netanyahu,” says Lapid, who served as prime minister from July to December 2022. “He is a man who cannot be trusted to conduct a war. If this had happened on my watch, I would have resigned that same day.”
Referring to the government he headed along with former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Lapid says, “In our time, Hamas knew that it wouldn’t attack. It recognized weakness in the country’s leadership, the worst in the country’s history, and attacked.”
“How can you trust a cabinet headed by Netanyahu? Every day that passes he is less concerned with it,” he continues.
“Changing prime minister in the middle of war is not good, but the fact that he is in office is worse.”
Dozens stage protest in northern Israel, say government is not protecting them
Residents of northern Israel who have been evacuated amid the persistent cross-border attacks from Lebanon are protesting against the government outside Kibbutz Amiad in the Galilee, claiming that they have been abandoned.
In footage of the demonstration, dozens of protesters can be seen lining the side of the highway, waving Israeli flags and shouting.
עכשיו בצומת עמיעד, הפגנת מפוני הצפון נגד מדיניות ההפקרה של הממשלה
קרדיט: אלון בנקי pic.twitter.com/GNrvWtdoiG— דמוקרטTV (@Democrat_TV) December 26, 2023
According to Hebrew media reports, the protesters called for the government to be dissolved and for a new one to take its place, saying that it failed to protect the residents of southern Israel on October 7 and will fail to protect those in the north as well.
Intel to open factory in Israel with investment of $25 billion
Intel will open a new factory in Israel with an investment of $25 billion, the Finance Ministry announces in a joint statement with the Economy Ministry and Israel Tax Authority.
As part of the agreement between Intel and the government bodies, the tech giant will employ thousands of workers in the Kiryat Gat area.
Intel is expected to begin operations in the new factory by 2028.
“The global company Intel’s choice to approve the unprecedented investment of $25 billion right here, in Israel, is important and significant,” Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich says.
“Such an investment, at a time when Israel is facing a war against absolute evil, a war in which good is obliged to defeat evil… is an expression of confidence in the State of Israel and the Israeli economy.”
IDF soldier dies after being infected by dangerous fungus during Gaza ground operation
An IDF soldier has died after being infected by a dangerous strain of fungus while fighting in the Gaza Strip, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The soldier was brought to Assuta Ashdod Medical Center two weeks ago with severe injuries to his limbs, the report says. Despite round-the-clock care, the fungus proved to be treatment-resistant and the soldier succumbed to his wounds.
Around ten soldiers are believed to have been infected with the same fungus and are undergoing treatment in Israel, the former director of Sheba Medical Center’s Infectious Diseases Unit told Kan radio on Tuesday morning.
The source of the fungus is believed to be ground soil that had been contaminated with sewage waste. The infection is then contracted through wounds sustained by soldiers fighting in Gaza which cannot be kept sterile due to the conditions on the ground.
IDF seizes makeshift rockets, firearms in overnight raid in Nur Shams in the West Bank
IDF reservists and Border Police officers have been operating overnight in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the West Bank, detaining wanted Palestinians and seizing explosives, the military says.
Troops located an explosives lab in the area, with dozens of primed IEDs and other equipment, according to the IDF.
The IDF says the soldiers also seized makeshift rockets and other firearms in the building.
The building housing the explosive lab was later destroyed in a controlled manner by combat engineers, the army says, adding that one suspect living there was detained.
Footage posted to social media shows the moment the building exploded.
كاميرا مراقبة توثق لحظة تفجير قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي منزلاً بمخيم نور شمس في #طولكرم خلال اقتحامها المخيم#حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/JUMtGrsIdt
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) December 26, 2023
The Israeli occupation forces blow up a home in Nour Shams refugee camp, in Tulkarm city. 26.12.23
قوات الاحتلال تفجر منزل في مخيم نور شمس في طولكرم pic.twitter.com/rv0SA7Z0YO
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) December 26, 2023
Another seven wanted Palestinians have been detained so far in the operation in Nur Shams, the IDF says.
Palestinian media also reported clashes in the camp overnight, though there are no reports of injuries.
Since the October 7 Hamas onslaught in southern Israel, troops have arrested more than 2,400 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,200 affiliated with Hamas.
Red Crescent in Khan Younis claims headquarters bombed
A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli airstrikes on December 26, 2023. (Said Khatib/AFP)
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society claims that its headquarters in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is being shelled by Israel.
The PRCS says in a tweet that several people are injured in the attack on the upper floors of its building, where thousands are sheltering.
???? Urgent: Artillery shelling targets the upper floors of the PRCS headquarters in #KhanYounis, causing several injuries among the displaced individuals, as thousands of IDPs are sheltering in the building.#Gaza#NotATarget ❌ pic.twitter.com/zCHyva5Pu7
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 26, 2023
The IDF says it is checking into the report of the alleged strike.
Aussie cricketer wears shoes marked with daughters’ names after ban on pro-Gaza message
Australia's batsman Usman Khawaja has the names of his children written on his boots, rather than a message about Gaza, on the first day of the second cricket Test match between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on December 26, 2023. (William WEST / AFP)
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja wore shoes marked with his daughters’ names as he batted against Pakistan on Tuesday, after being banned from wearing references to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Khawaja, who was out for 42, was denied permission by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to have a sticker showing a black dove holding an olive branch on his bat and shoes during the match.
Instead, a close-up photo of his shoes reveals the names of his daughters Aisha and Ayla taped to the side of his footwear during the opening day of the second Test in Melbourne.
Indian navy bolsters maritime defenses after attack on tanker off coast of India
India’s navy says it has deployed three warships and reconnaissance aircraft in the Arabian Sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks.
Three guided-missile destroyers and P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft were being deployed following “the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea,” it says.
Washington accused Tehran of carrying out a drone attack on Saturday on the MV Chem Pluto tanker 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of India, claims Iran’s foreign ministry called “worthless.”
Since October 7, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels in the Red Sea. In response, the US has established a naval coalition to protect the Red Sea global shipping lane.
One dead, 24 wounded in US strikes against pro-Iran group in Iraq
At least one member of a pro-Iran faction was killed and 24 were wounded in US strikes on three sites in Iraq used by pro-Iranian group Kataeb Hezbollah, Iraqi security sources report.
An interior ministry official says the strikes targeted a Hashed al-Shaabi site in the central city of Hilla, capital of Babylon province.
One person was killed and 20 wounded, while four others were wounded in a second strike in the southern province of Wassit.
The strikes were carried out in response to a drone attack on US forces in which three soldiers were injured, one critically.
Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces, is an umbrella group of largely Iran-backed forces allied with Iraq’s military.
Air force hitting southern Gaza to prepare for expanded ground push, army says
IDF forces operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo released on December 26, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli Air Force struck more than 100 Hamas targets in the southern Gaza Strip overnight, in preparation for expanded ground operations in the area, the military says, even as the army continues to face resistance amid mop-up operations in the north of the Strip.
According to the IDF, the targets included tunnel shafts, military sites, and other infrastructure used by terror operatives to target Israeli forces.
During strikes in the Khan Younis area, where troops have largely conenctrated fighting in recent weeks, the IDF says the 7th Armored Brigade directed IAF aircraft to hit more than 10 Hamas operatives within just a few minutes.
צה"ל: במהלך היממה האחרונה כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף וחיסל בתוך דקות בודדות יותר מ-10 מחבלים שפעלו סמוך לכוחות צה"ל במרחב ח'אן יונס | תיעוד@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/TvAcTUPXAj
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) December 26, 2023
In another incident in Khan Younis, the IDF says the Givati Brigade spotted a Hamas cell moving toward a building used by the terror group to store weapons. An airstrike was then called in against the building.
Meanwhile, fighting continues in northern Gaza, even as the IDF has indicated it has “operational control” over most of the area.
Overnight in Jabaliya, troops of the 261st Brigade (the Bahad 1 officers’ school in wartime) battled a Hamas operative who attempted to place an explosive device near a tank some of the soldiers were in, according to the IDF.
At the same time, the soldiers called in an airstrike against the operative, members of the cell behind the attack, as well as a building being used by the cell, the IDF says.
Footage released by the IDF shows troops of the 261st Brigade (the Bahad 1 officers' school in wartime) battling a Hamas operative who attempted to place an explosive device near a tank overnight in northern Gaza's Jabaliya.
At the same time, the soldiers called in an airstrike… pic.twitter.com/thmXbwNBHY
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 26, 2023
Meanwhile, Givati troops operating with the 401st Armored Brigade raided an Islamic Jihad compound in the Gaza City neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah, locating firearms, explosives, and intelligence documents, according to the IDF.
Lebanon reports Israeli strikes near border villages
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports that Israel is carrying out heavy bombardments near the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Ramyeh, close to the country’s border with Israel.
The report adds that Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were seen overnight over several towns in southern Lebanon.
Pro-Hezbollah news outlet Al-Mayadeen reports Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Meiss Ej Jabal, a Lebanese town further east near the Israel border.
There is no immediate Israeli comment on the reported attacks.
US says Kataeb Hezbollah members killed in reprisal strikes after soldier critically hurt
File: Members of Iraqi Kataeb Hezbollah marching in military uniforms step on a representation of an Israeli flag in Baghdad, Iraq, July 25, 2014, during the annual 'Jerusalem Day' march. (AP/Hadi Mizban)
The US military says it killed a number of Kataeb Hezbollah fighters in retaliatory strikes and destroyed targeted facilities used by the group in Iraq after three US service members were injured in a drone attack, the US Central Command says.
One of the three service members sustained critical injuries in the attack in northern Iraq, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson says of the attack.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the drone attack by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and opted to target three locations used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups, according to an anonymous US official.
“The President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm’s way,” Watson says of the US response. “The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue.”
The Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group has carried out dozens of attacks and attempted attacks against US troops since the outbreak of Israel’s war with Hamas. Soldiers have suffered minor brain trauma in previous incidents.
The group said earlier this month that attacks would continue until the last American soldier leaves Iraq.
UK maritime group probing report of fresh attack off Yemen
A possible maritime attack close to the coast of Yemen is being investigated, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reports.
The body says it received a report about an incident approximately 50 nautical miles west of the city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen earlier this morning.
UKMTO WARNING 021/DEC/2023https://t.co/3unfFGVGNG#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/ninFbTw6Pq
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 26, 2023
No further details have been provided.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out numerous missile and drone attacks on vessels sailing through the key Red Sea shipping lane in recent weeks.
Father of slain soldier, who was cousins with Huwara terror victims, pleads for day of unity
Staff Sgt. (res.) Elisha Yehonatan Lober, one of two IDF soldiers announced killed in Gaza Monday, is the third grandson of Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv to be killed this year, after cousins Hillel and Yigal Yaniv were gunned down in the West Bank city of Huwara in February.
The killings, as the two drove through the city, sparked fiery reprisal attacks by settler extremists, drawing widespread condemnation at home and abroad.
As then, the family again calls for unity in the wake of the latest tragedy to strike.
“We request of the media and of every one of our nation please, one day of unity to uplift his soul, please don’t write of broadcast anything divisive, please, speak good [of others], find the good of the decision makers and of our amazing people who Yehonatan was proud to fight for,” his father, actor Hagai Luber, writes on Facebook.
He includes a video posted hours earlier of Lober’s 10-month-old son seeing his father on the phone for the first time in weeks.
יהונתן לובר, תושב יצהר, נהרג היום בקרבות הקשים בעזה.
רק שעתיים לפני שנהרג תועד בנו הפעוט מאושר כשהוא צופה בתמונה של אביו pic.twitter.com/6is6S6tVgN— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) December 25, 2023
UK police investigate possible arson attack at office of pro-Israel MP
London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating a suspected arson attack at the north London office of Conservative MP Mike Free after a fire spread on Christmas Eve, authorities announce.
We are working with investigators from @LondonFire after a fire in a shed at the constituency office of Mike Freer MP last night.
It's believed it may have been started deliberately.
Thankfully, there were no injuries. https://t.co/g7vjLUgsTg
— Barnet MPS | North West BCU (@MPSBarnet) December 25, 2023
Freer represents the constituencies of Finchley and Golders Green, home to one of London’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities. He has been an outspoken critic of Hamas in the wake of the brutal October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.
The fire is being treated as a possible arson attack, and Freer says it’s just “one of the many threats” he’s faced in recent weeks, according to local media.
Freer was not in the office at the time of the fire and nobody was injured, police say.
IDF announces deaths of 2 soldiers in southern Gaza, bringing ground op toll to 158
Staff Sgt. (res.) Elisha Yehonatan Lober, right, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Joseph Yosef Gitarts, killed in the southern Gaza Strip on December 25, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces announces the deaths of two soldiers in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, bringing the military’s death toll since the start of the ground offensive to 158.
They are:
Staff Sgt. (res.) Elisha Yehonatan Lober, 24, of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 8104th Battalion, from Yitzhar.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Joseph Yosef Gitarts, 25, of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 7029th Battalion, from Tel Aviv.
Lober was killed during a gun battle with Hamas operatives, and Gitarts was killed by an anti-tank guided missile.
The military says four troops were seriously wounded in battle yesterday: two soldiers of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion as well as an officer in the 75th Battalion, all hurt by a mortar shell in southern Gaza. A reservist of the 646th Brigade’s 6646th Battalion was hurt in the Strip’s north, the army says.
Palestinian media reports overnight strikes on Gaza, clashes in West Bank
Palestinian media reports heavy bombardment overnight in the central and southern Gaza Strip.
Raids, some of them said to be deadly, are reported in the Maghazi camp and near Bureij and Nuseirat in the enclave’s center, and in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south.
Palestinian media also reports heavy clashes with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams camp in the West Bank’s Tulkarem, as well as in the town of Tammun and in the Aida camp in Bethlehem.
There is no immediate comment by the IDF.
US strikes sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq, after 3 troops injured in attack
The US military has carried out strikes on three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq after an attack wounded American personnel on Monday, including one critically, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says.
“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Austin says in a statement.
“These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Arbil Air Base earlier today,” he says.
Austin adds that Washington “will not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests. There is no higher priority. While we do not seek to escalate conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities.”
Japan says it will sanction 3 senior Hamas members
Japan’s government announces that it will sanction three senior members of Hamas to limit their ability to fund terrorism.
Tokyo’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says the trio’s assets will be frozen and their payments and transactions will be sanctioned, according to Reuters.
The Hamas officials, whom the report doesn’t name, are believed by Japan to have had a role in the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 massacres, and to currently be “in a position to use funds to finance such terrorist activities.”
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