Dec. 26: Ministers slam AG’s decision to call for investigation into Sara Netanyahu

IDF platoon commander killed fighting in northern Gaza, says military

Maj. Hod Shriebman (IDF)

An IDF officer was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military says.

The slain soldier is named as Maj. Hod Shriebman, 27, a platoon commander in the elite Multidomain Unit, from Tzofit.

Another soldier with the unit was seriously wounded in the same incident, which the military says is under investigation.

In a separate incident, a tank commander with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion was seriously wounded by sniper fire in northern Gaza.

Director of northern Gaza hospital says 5 staffers killed in Israeli airstrike

The Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on December 6, 2024. (AFP)

Five staff at one of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals were killed by an Israeli strike today, the facility’s director claims.

Hossam Abu Safiya, head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, says “an Israeli strike resulted in five martyrs among the hospital staff.”

There was no immediate comment from the IDF in response to the report.

Israel has been pressing a major offensive in northern Gaza since October 6, saying it aims to prevent Hamas terrorists in the area from regrouping.

Ministers slam AG’s decision to call for investigation into Sara Netanyahu

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara and Justice Minister Yariv Levin during a weekly cabinet meeting, held on this occasion at the Western Wall tunnels on May 21, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ministers in the right-wing government react with fury to the attorney general’s decision to call for an investigation into Sara Netanyahu on charges that she improperly interfered with her husband’s corruption trial, reiterating their call for the attorney general to be fired.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says that “those who chase after ministers in the government and their families in a political manner cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” adding that the issue of firing her — a move he has been pushing for months — did not come up in the recent cabinet meeting “for various weird reasons.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin slams the State Attorney’s Office for “opening investigations due to television gossip,” deriding the attorney general for “extreme selective enforcement of the law — which is a crime.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is “desperately attempting to prevent her impeachment,” accusing her of serving as an opposition leader instead of a professional and demanding that she “Go home!”

Katz denies decision has been made not to recognize Alon Shamriz as fallen soldier

Jonathan Shamriz, bereaved brother of hostage Alon Shamriz who was killed by mistake by the IDF in Gaza on December 15, 2023, speaks at the alternative Bereaved Families Ceremony on October 7, 2024 at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, with a photo of him and Alon on the screen behind him. (Courtesy)

Defense Minister Israel Katz denies reports that he has rejected the request of the family of Alon Shamriz, a Hamas hostage who was mistakenly shot dead by IDF troops in Gaza in December 2023, to have him be recognized as a fallen soldier.

Alon’s brother, Yonatan, writes on X that he “found out from the media” that Katz had turned down the request, “despite the fact that nobody is more worthy than him of this recognition.” He calls the purported decision “vile and despicable” and says the family will continue to fight via the court system.

Katz in response issues a statement denying that any decision has been reached, and saying that he has asked the IDF to “make every effort to find a solution to this painful chapter, alongside dialogue with the family.”

According to a Channel 12 report, the IDF is working on a new designation for slain hostages that would be different from both fallen soldiers and from victims of terrorist attacks, providing them with a unique status.

In response to a petition from the family, the High Court last week called on the state to hasten to make a decision on the matter “to allow the family peace of mind and justice.”

The IDF believes that Shamriz and two other hostages — Yotam Haim and Samar Fouad Talalka managed to escape their captors and managed to survive for several days in Gaza City before they were shot dead by IDF troops who mistook them for Hamas gunmen. Shamriz’s family believe his experience as an elite soldier led to the survival of the three hostages for a number of days in war-torn Gaza, and note that he had been called up for reserve duty on October 7.

Netanyahu in TV interview: Israel is ‘just getting started’ with the Houthis

Israeli Air Force pilots prepare for airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

In a wide-ranging sit-down interview with the right-wing Channel 14 network, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is only getting started in its strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

“We’re just getting started with them,” he says. “We won’t allow them [to attack Israel] these days, today and any other day. We will strike them to the bitter end until they learn. As I said, Hamas learned, Hezbollah learned, and Syria learned. The Houthis will learn too.”

Netanyahu also discusses ongoing efforts to secure a hostage deal, blasting off-the-record comments from unnamed officials claiming that such a deal could have already been reached as “lies” that serve only to “strengthen Hamas. To back up their false allegations,” he says, blaming sources in the negotiating team.

The prime minister also says he is still “working toward” reaching a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia: “This goal hasn’t gone away, it’s still here,” he says, claiming that if he had remained in power following the 2021 Israeli election, it would have already happened.

Police deny ex-chief’s ‘delusional’ claim that officers have protest arrest quotas

Police detain a protester demonstrating in favor of a hostage deal with Hamas outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, September 7, 2024. (Gili Yaari /FLASH90)

The Israel Police deny former police chief Roni Alsheich’s “delusional claim” that officers have been given arrest quotas for the number of people that should be detained at protests.

“The Israel Police is an apolitical body that carries out all of its responsibilities for the peace, security and quality of life of the public,” a spokesman tells The Times of Israel in a statement.

“The delusional claim that during demonstrations, police officers arrive with an arrest quota is devoid of any factual basis or basis in reality, and we deny the statements made by the former police commissioner.”

Speaking with the Kan public broadcaster, Alsheich asserted that the force has become politicized and that officers had told him they had been assigned such quotas.

“I hear from officers that they come to a demonstration with a quota of detainees,” he said, apparently referring to demonstrations against government policy. “I shudder when I say that. Beyond the fact that it is clearly illegal, it does not serve anyone,” he says. “Something bad is happening and I don’t know where exactly it is coming from but it’s coming from above.”

AG calls to open investigation into Sara Netanyahu on allegations of interfering in trial

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

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s office calls for the opening of an investigation into accusations that Sara Netanyahu sought to intimidate a witness and interfere in the corruption case against her husband.

In a brief statement, the attorney general and state attorney say they call for an investigation into Netanyahu on allegations of witness harassment and obstruction of justice, citing a recent investigative report aired by Channel 12’s “Uvda.”

The report, which was based on the correspondence of Benjamin Netanyahu’s late aide Hanni Bleiweiss, also found that Sara Netanyahu had orchestrated a protest outside the home of a family whose fighter pilot son had been killed in combat; encouraged police officers who used violence against anti-government protesters; sought to intimidate a key witness and prosecutors in her husband’s corruption cases; and mistreated the premier’s longtime secretary, who succumbed to cancer in 2023.

Earlier today, Benjamin Netanyahu released a four-minute video railing against the media for purported attacks on his wife, accusing them of pushing a “blood libel” against her.

Members of the right-wing government have been leading a campaign for months to fire Baharav-Miara, with leaders of the coalition parties having already agreed to go ahead with such a move.

PM says Israel can’t make a deal without getting list of hostages from Hamas — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023.(Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told aides this week that he will not agree to a hostage deal with Hamas without receiving a list of the names of living abductees, Walla reports, citing two sources familiar with the details.

The report says Netanyahu told a meeting this week — following the return of negotiators from talks in Qatar — that “we can’t get any names out of Hamas and I’m not prepared to enter a deal without knowing what I’m making a deal over and who I’m getting in return.”

According to the Hebrew-language outlet, Netanyahu also said in meetings after the return of negotiators from Doha on Tuesday night that he won’t move forward without knowing who exactly the terror group will release in the first phase of a deal.

Hamas says it cannot provide a comprehensive list before a ceasefire is in place, since some of the hostages are being held by other groups in Gaza.

Iranian president Pezeshkian to meet Putin in Russia next month

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on October 11, 2024. (Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on January 17 to sign a cooperation deal, Iranian media reports.

“The president will visit Russia on January 17 and the cooperation agreement between the two countries will be signed during the visit,” Tasnim news agency reports, quoting Iran’s ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali.

Russia and Iran are both under international sanctions restricting trade, but they have forged strong ties in various sectors, including military cooperation. Ukraine and its allies in many Western capitals have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with weapons for use in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Iran has repeatedly denied the allegations.

IDF chief says strikes on Yemen prove military’s ability to ‘reach any threat’

IDF chief Herzi Halevi (L to R), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IAF chief of staff Omer Tischler at the IAF's underground command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 26, 2024. (IDF)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the airstrikes in Yemen earlier today prove the military’s ability to strike “any threat.”

“Once again, the IDF has proven its capability to reach and strike any threat to the citizens of Israel. Over the years, we have developed capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory, in a precise, powerful and repeated manner,” Halevi says from the IAF’s underground command center during the strikes, according to remarks provided by the military.

Iran, Hamas condemn Israeli airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets prepare for airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hamas and Iran both release statements criticizing Israel for carrying out a wave of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

“These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide,” says Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a statement.

In a statement Hamas says that it “condemns the brutal terrorist aggression carried out by the Zionist enemy against our brothers from Yemen, targeting civilian sites including Sanaa Airport and the port of Hodeida.”

El Al says it is suspending all flights to Moscow for the week

An El Al plane arrives from France at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, August 1, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg / Flash90)

Israel’s flagship carrier El Al says it has suspended all of its flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow for this week, “citing developments in Russia’s airspace.”

“Over the next week, a renewed assessment of the situation will be carried out to decide whether the route will be resumed,” El Al says in a statement.

El Al will soon send passengers an update regarding the developments, the airline says.

The move comes after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan yesterday was said by some officials to be downed by a Russian air defense system.

WHO chief was in Sanaa Airport during Israeli airstrikes, says he is safe

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looks on during a press conference on the World Health Organization's 75th anniversary in Geneva, on April 6, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

The head of the World Health Organization, who was at the Sanaa Airport in Yemen during Israeli airstrikes against Houthi targets today, says there was damage to infrastructure but he is safe.

“One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus writes on X, adding that other UN staff were also safe but their departure was delayed until repairs could be made.

Our mission to negotiate the release of @UN staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in #Yemen concluded today. We continue to call for the detainees' immediate release.

As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport… pic.twitter.com/riZayWHkvf

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 26, 2024

After airstrikes on Houthis, IAF chief says Air Force is ‘capable of much more’

An Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes of for airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases footage showing Israeli Air Force fighter jets taking off to strike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen today.

Speaking to officers at the IAF’s underground command center, IAF commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar says “We have just seen a tangible demonstration of what we are capable of, and we are capable of much more.”

Israel arrests Palestinian suspected of killing 2 off-duty IDF soldiers in 2007

IDF troops are seen amid a major operation in the West Bank, in a handout image published August 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

A Palestinian suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting attack in the West Bank 17 years ago was detained by troops, Israeli defense authorities say.

In a joint statement, the IDF, Israel Police and Shin Bet say that the detained Palestinian, Ali Dandis, is suspected of carrying out the 2007 Nahal Telem shooting, in which two off-duty soldiers, Ahikam Amihai and David Rubin, were killed while on a hike.

Dandis is also suspected of carrying out a shooting attack in 2012, which did not cause any injuries, according to the Shin Bet.

Dandis and another assailant had turned themselves in to the Palestinian Authority security forces following the attack. The PA sentenced them to 15 years in prison.

Dandis was held in a PA jail for several years, and he was detained earlier today in Bethlehem by members of police’s elite Yamam unit, after he was found to be outside of jail, according to the Shin Bet.

Houthi TV says Israeli strikes kill 3, wound 11 across Yemen

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Screenshot: X)

Two people were killed in Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport and another person was killed in Ras Issa port, Houthi-run al Masirah TV reports.

Eleven others were injured as a result of the Israeli strikes, the report adds.

After IDF strikes on Yemen, Katz says Israel will ‘hunt down all the Houthi leaders’

IDF chief Herzi Halevi (L to R), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IAF chief of staff Omer Tischler at the IAF's underground command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 26, 2024. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

Following the Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will “hunt down” all the leaders of the Houthis.

“We saw precise action by the Israeli Air Force, hitting strategic Houthi targets in Yemen, at the airport and at the port,” Katz says in a video from the IAF’s underground command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“As we said, whoever strikes Israel, we will strike them. We will also hunt down all the Houthi leaders, hit them as we have done elsewhere,” he says. “No one will be able to evade Israel’s long arm.”

Netanyahu says Israel will keep striking Houthis ‘until we complete the job’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF chief Herzi Halevi (left), Defense Minister Israel Katz (second from right) and IAF chief of staff Omer Tischler (right) in the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 26, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Israel will continue striking the Houthis in Yemen until the job is done, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A short time ago, the Air Force attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, both on the coastline and in Sana’a,” he says in a video statement from the IAF “pit” command center in the IDF Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv. “We are determined to cut off this terror arm of the Iranian axis of evil. We will persist in this until we complete the job.”

Netanyahu was at the base with Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar to oversee Israeli strikes on the Houthis, his office says in a statement.

According to the IDF, the attacks targeted “infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime for its military activities” at Sana’a International Airport in the capital; the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants; and infrastructure at the Hodeida, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the coast.

Iran rejects ‘baseless accusations’ that it interfered in Syria

An Iranian flag lies on the ground in front of the Islamic Republic's embassy in Damascus on December 9, 2024, a day after anti-government fighters ousted president Bashar al-Assad by taking the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Iran’s foreign ministry rejects accusations that Tehran interfered in Syria, after the new Syrian foreign minister told the Islamic Republic not to spread chaos in his country.

“We reject the baseless accusations by some media… against Iran over interfering in Syria’s internal affairs,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei is quoted as saying by state media. “It is necessary to prevent the spread of insecurity and violence… and ensure the security of Syrian citizens.”

In call with Ukraine, Sa’ar says Israel taking ‘military and diplomatic steps’ against Houthis

IAF pilots and staff prepare to take off for an attack on Houthi sites in Yemen early on December 19, 2024, in a photo cleared by the military for publication a day later. (Israel Defense Forces)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar lays out the “military and diplomatic steps Israel is taking against the Houthis’ aggression” in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha to mark the 33rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Iran poses a threat towards both countries,” writes Sa’ar on X. “I emphasized the importance of designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization in the Ukrainian parliament.”

Sa’ar says he stressed “Israel’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and my concern regarding recent attacks on Ukrainian cities.”

“Ukraine and Israel are two states nowadays defending their land and the right to their own existence,” writes Ukraine’s embassy in Israel on Facebook to mark the anniversary. “Ukrainians and Israelis understand each other like no other in these difficult days. Both nations are confronting a common enemy – the totalitarian terrorist regimes of the axis of evil.”

Despite frustration over Israel’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has emerged as a vocal and unapologetic advocate for Israel in its public statements.

“We sincerely hope that through joint efforts we will restore the fundamental principles of international law, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and repel the tyrannies of modern times,” writes the embassy.

IDF confirms airstrikes against Houthi targets across Yemen

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Screenshot: X)

The IDF confirms launching airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen in response to the Iran-backed terror group’s repeated ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel in recent weeks.

In a statement, the military says Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and deeper within the country.

The targets included “infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime for its military activities” at Sanaa International Airport in the capital; the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants; and infrastructure at the Hodeida, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the coast.

“These infrastructures were used by the Houthi terror regime to transfer Iranian weapons to the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the IDF says.

صورة اولية لبرج المراقبة في مطار صنعاء الدولي بعد استهدافه من قبل طيران الكيان الاسرائيلي المجرم … pic.twitter.com/Z4qENSGOXK

— ابراهيم عسقين (@IbrahimAsqin) December 26, 2024

The airstrikes were approved by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the military adds.

Israeli airstrikes said to target control tower at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Screenshot: X)

The Israeli airstrikes in Yemen reportedly targeted the control tower at Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital.

Also according to media in Yemen, the strikes hit the Hodeida port and fuel sites in the country.

There has been no comment from the IDF yet.

German envoy: Reports of Gazan babies dying of hypothermia should spark ‘demand for end of war’

This handout photograph taken on February 18, 2024 by the World Health Organization shows a convoy of ambulances during a WHO, UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian Red Crescent mission to evacuate patients from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Christopher Black/WHO/AFP)

After a Gazan doctor reports that three babies under his care died of hypothermia during the past 48 hours, Germany’s ambassador to Israel says that if the reports “don’t move us, then we don’t understand the birth in a manger in Bethlehem or the light of Hanukkah.”

“They should move us to demand an end of the war and Hamas terror, winter supplies for the Gazans and a full hostage release,” writes Steffen Seibert.

The reports on the Gaza deaths were made by the director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Israeli airstrikes reportedly target Sanaa Airport and Hodeida in Yemen

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a power station in the Houthi-run Yemeni capital Sanaa on December 19, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Unconfirmed media reports in Yemen claim that the Israeli Air Force launched strikes against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital.

Media outlets in Yemen also report airstrikes targeting the port city of Hodeida.

No further details are immediately available, and there is no confirmation yet from Israeli or Houthi officials.

عاجل | صور قصف على العاصمة #صنعاء و #الحديدة #اليمن #Yemen #بران_برس pic.twitter.com/Fj0CGvOvN6

— بران برس (@brranpress) December 26, 2024

Israeli sources confirm to several media outlets that the IDF is carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis in response to the Iran-backed terror group’s recent ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel.

The reported strikes come during a speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

Israeli officials have vowed to target the Houthis after the Iran-backed terror group recently ramped up its attacks on Israel.

Azeri sources: Azerbaijan Airlines flight was downed by Russian air defense system

Specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25, 2024. (Handout / Kazakhstan's emergency situations ministry via AFP)

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan yesterday was downed by a Russian air defense system, four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation tell Reuters.

An Embraer passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan yesterday, killing 38 people, after diverting from an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defense systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months.

PM rails against ‘fake news, brainwashing’ media in defense of his wife

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement released on December 26, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

Claiming that the long-standing corruption accusations against him are “collapsing” in court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a four-minute video that the “left and the media” were now focusing on a new target — his wife Sara.

Netanyahu says Sara “does so much for Israel’s citizens.” He points out her work as a child psychologist, and her visits to cancer patients, lone soldiers, hostage families, bereaved families and wounded soldiers.

“They say to me, we don’t believe it. We are seeing the real woman, the soul, and it’s a difference of night and day from the character assassination we see in the press,” the prime minister adds.

He claims the press would never report on her charitable activities, because they are trying to harm her in order to get at the prime minister: “There is no limit to the lies. There is no limit to the despicable fictions, taking things out of context, fake news, brainwashing.”

Sara Netanyahu filed a lawsuit for defamation on Monday against Channel 12 News over a report in which it was claimed that she leaked highly sensitive security information, including that Israel was about to assassinate former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah three days before the strike.

Channel 12’s investigative program, “Uvda,” also reported that she sought to intimidate a witness in her husband’s criminal trial and have protesters harass the attorney general, the deputy state attorney and those seen as hostile to the premier or his family.

Netanyahu calls the allegations “a blood libel” that are being broadcast over and over in prime time. He calls on Channel 12 and other outlets to do an investigation into the political left. “It simply won’t happen,” he says, claiming that there were no investigations in the previous Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government.

Instead, he says the press engages in “daily incitement” against the right, against Haredim and against settlers. “This is the real machine of poison,” he says, using a term that has been employed to describe his aides’ messaging efforts against rivals. “It’s much more than a machine,” he continues. “It’s an industry.”

IDF: 5 Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in Gaza strike were ‘posing as journalists’

The aftermath of an Israeli strike on what the IDF said was Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives 'posing as journalists' in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on December 26, 2024 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

The IDF details the positions of five Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in an airstrike overnight in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

The military says the five terror operatives were “posing as journalists.” The Palestinian TV channel Al-Quds Today, which is affiliated with Islamic Jihad, identified those killed in the airstrike as its staffers.

The military says the strike killed Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, an operations officer and involved in Islamic Jihad’s combat propaganda; Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan, head of Islamic Jihad’s security in Nuseirat; Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Lada’a, involved in Islamic Jihad’s combat propaganda; Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi, involved in Islamic Jihad’s combat propaganda, and a former member of the terror group’s naval force; and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna, also involved in Islamic Jihad’s combat propaganda.

According to the IDF, “intelligence from multiple sources confirmed that these individuals were Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists.”

The military says one of the sources was a list of Islamic Jihad operatives that was captured by troops in Gaza. “This list explicitly identified four of the eliminated individuals as members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization,” the army says.

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

A graphic released by the military giving details of what it says was five Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists who were killed in an airstrike on December 26, 2024 (IDF)

Universities threaten legal action over campaign claiming Arabs prioritized over IDF reservists in admissions

The Association of University Heads, known by its Hebrew acronym VERA, threatens legal action against an IDF reservists’ organization over advertisements taken out accusing Israeli universities of favoring admissions for Arab citizens over Jewish reserve soldiers.

The “false media campaign” run by Hamiluimnikim (The Reservists) against Israeli universities is “a narrative created out of thin air” by those who believe that inciting against academia will serve their political interests, VERA says in a letter to the organization.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that the Hamiluimnikim organization is behind the multi-platform “Demand Justice in Academia” campaign, which has promoted the idea that “affirmative preference is given to Arabs in admissions to universities, at the expense of reserve soldiers.”

VERA says the accusations promoted by the campaign are false and were presented using incorrect data and without contacting the universities themselves, and notes that giving preference in admissions for one group over another is illegal.

“The universities not only know and respect the IDF soldiers and reserve personnel, but also act to the best of their ability to assist them,” the letter stresses.

The letter threatens legal action if the reservists’ group does not withdraw the advertisements and issue a formal apology.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, some 30% of university students have served in IDF reserve duty, along with many thousands of university faculty and staff. All the universities have announced compensation packages and other kinds of assistance for student-soldiers.

זו המציאות במדינת ישראל: מי שנלחם ראשון עבור מדינת ישראל הוא האחרון בתור בקבלה באקדמיה.

כיום, מי שנהנה מאפליה מתקנת (50% מרישיונות הרפואה בשנת 2022-2021) הם מיעוטים שלא משרתים.
החיילים צריכים לשלם הון וללמוד בחו"ל, ומי שהשתמט לומד בארץ על חשבוננו.

מאות כמו אייל נלחמו בשבילנו… pic.twitter.com/ppK9lJ72Wy

— המילואימניקים – דור הניצחון (@ozleisraelaza) December 17, 2024

Court orders release to house arrest of 4 anti-government activists accused of firing flares at Netanyahu home

From left: Ofer Doron, Gal Doron, Amir Sadeh and Itay Yaffe at a court hearing at the Haifa District Court on December 2, 2024. (Flash90)

The Haifa District Court orders that the four anti-government activists accused of firing flares at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea be released to house arrest after over a month in detention since they were arrested in mid-November.

The four men were charged with “an act of terrorism of recklessness and negligence” and with “attempted arson” over the incident. The terrorism charges lent weight to the state’s demand that they be held in custody until the end of the legal proceedings.

Judge Zaid Falah of the Haifa District Court writes, however, that he does not believe there is enough evidence to convict the men on terror charges, although he says there is apparent evidence that they may be guilty of recklessness and negligence.

Falah also notes that there is “logical contradiction” in alleging a crime of recklessness and negligence in an allegedly deliberate arson attempt.

The judge determines that the four men’s clean criminal records, “along with the weakness of the evidence,” combined with their full cooperation under investigation and the regret they have expressed, mean that the danger they pose is diminished and they can be relied upon to comply with house arrest with electronic tagging.

According to prosecutors, the four were involved in firing two flares at Netanyahu’s house on the night of November 16 during weekly protest activities against the premier and the government.

Nobody was harmed in the incident and no damage was caused, and the Netanyahus were not home at the time.

Channel 12 News reports that the State Attorney’s Office is considering appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, and that the Haifa Court has therefore delayed the release of the men until tomorrow and given prosecutors until 7 p.m. to decide whether or not to appeal.

Smotrich pushes to withdraw funding from Tel Aviv Cinemateque over ‘extremist’ films

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addresses the Knesset ahead of a vote on the state budget, December 16, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich takes steps to kick off the process of withdrawing government funding from the Tel Aviv Cinematheque over allegations that it had screened “extremist” films during a recent Solidarity Festival.

Writing to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Smotrich requests that he appoint a representative to a special committee to examine the cinema’s budget under the so-called Nakba law, a measure aimed at punishing organizations deemed disloyal to Israel.

The law allows the government to withhold funding from organizations or events that present Israel’s establishment as a Nakba, or “catastrophe,” according to the Palestinian narrative.

Smotrich’s missive to Levin follows Culture Minister Miki Zohar’s request that he examine the possibility of denying funding based on the films screened at the arthouse theater as part of the festival.

Zohar wrote in a letter to Smotrich that the annual festival screened films that could be described as “extremist,” claiming it included movies that opposed the State of Israel, slandered IDF soldiers and the army, and aimed to strengthen the Palestinian identity of Arab residents of mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.

Zohar asked Smotrich to examine whether the Tel Aviv Cinematheque violated any provisions of the budget law, which could then allow the denial of its state funding.

After being convened, the committee examining whether or not to cut the cinema’s funding would have 60 days to submit its recommendation to the government.

Then-culture minister Miri Regev weighed withdrawing funds from the Tel Aviv Cinematheque in 2018 over a festival about the Nakba.

Police drop probe into 3 women arrested for placing hostage flyers at Edelstein’s synagogue

Flyers urging the release of hostages held by Hamas placed on the seats at a synagogue in Herzliya, September 13, 2024 (Detainee Support Organization)

The police investigation against three women who distributed flyers highlighting the plight of the hostages in Gaza in a synagogue in Herzliya attended by senior Likud MK Yuli Edelstein has been dropped.

Ran Tager, an attorney representing the three women, says the investigation was closed on the grounds of “a lack of culpability” meaning that the investigation will be totally erased from the women’s criminal record.

The three women were arrested in September on suspicion of trespassing after they distributed leaflets urging the release of Hamas hostages at a synagogue in the coastal city where Edelstein prays.

“Their spurious arrest is a mark of shame for the police, and my clients are considering their next steps on the matter,” says Tager, who represented the women on a pro bono basis.

The arrest generated outrage and accusations that the investigation was politically motivated. Police Commissioner Daniel Levy ordered a probe into the arresting officers’ conduct, but that was superseded by an investigation ordered by the Department for Internal Police Investigations of the State Attorney’s Office.

Protesters surround MK Yuli Edelstein as he walks to synagogue in Herzliya the day after three women were arrested for placing hostage flyers in the house of worship, September 14, 2024 (Yair Palti/Pro-Democracy Protest groups)

In 1st message since Assad’s fall, Lebanon says it’s looking forward to good ties with neighbor Syria

Lebanon says it is looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry says on X.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year after initiating a bruising war with Israel – a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, Islamist rebels captured the capital Damascus.

Syria’s new Islamist de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF says troops demolished 2-km Hamas tunnel in north Gaza’s Jabalia

A two-kilometer-long Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza’s Jabalia was recently demolished by combat engineers, the IDF says.

According to the IDF, Hamas operatives would reside in the tunnel for long periods.

After combat engineers with the 401st Armored Brigade investigated it, the underground passage was destroyed.

כוחות חטיבה 401 השמידו תוואי תת-קרקעי באורך של שני קילומטרים במרחב ג׳באליה.

לכל הפרטים והתיעודים >> https://t.co/o3sjqaaUK3 pic.twitter.com/v16hChzKtO

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 26, 2024

UNIFIL calls for timely withdrawal of IDF troops from south Lebanon

IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on December 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) calls for a timely Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.

On November 27, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a US-brokered 60-day ceasefire that calls for a phased Israeli military pullout after more than a year of war sparked by the Iran-backed terror group’s attacks, in keeping with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended their last major conflict.

Under the agreement, Hezbollah fighters must leave positions in south Lebanon and move north of the Litani River, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of the border with Israel, along with a full Israeli withdrawal from the south.

In a statement, UNIFIL voices concern over what it said was continued destruction by Israeli forces of residential areas, farmland and infrastructure in south Lebanon, deeming this a violation of UN Resolution 1701.

“UNIFIL continues to urge the timely withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces (in place of Hezbollah) in southern Lebanon, alongside the full implementation of Resolution 1701 as a comprehensive path toward peace,” the statement says.

The Israeli military says it is looking into UNIFIL’s criticism and declines further comment for the time being.

Asked about hostages and Iran’s nuclear aims, far-right minister says firing AG is more important

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the 'Besheva' group in Jerusalem, on February 26, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu says that firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is the most important action the government can take, even as Iran is on the cusp of becoming a nuclear nation and with 100 hostages held in Gaza.

“That’s exactly what we’re saying, that there’s nothing more important than that,” Eliyahu tells Army Radio when asked about the significance of potentially dismissing Baharav-Miara from her position.

When asked whether that was his position even with Iran signaling it may develop nuclear weapons, and with the hostages still in captivity, Eliyahu says: “I think you’re wrong in your analysis, because today I perceive the legal problem as a problem that harms Israel’s security.”

According to Channel 12 news, Eliyahu doubled down on his comments despite public criticism.

“Those who care about the hostages must understand that now more than ever, an unequivocal clarification is needed on the issue of the powers of the attorney general, military prosecutors and the state prosecutors,” he says, according to the outlet.

“The path to the release of the hostages passes through a complete military victory, and to achieve this it is our duty to ensure a deep reform of the legal system, a reform that begins with the dismissal of the controversial attorney general,” he says.

Efforts to oust the attorney general has been made for months by some coalition lawmakers due to their frustration with her refusal to defend various controversial measures the government seeks to advance that Baharav-Miara has determined would be unlawful.

Kyiv mayor lights Hanukkah candles

Kyiv Mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko (R) lights Hanukkah candle with Moshe Azman, Chief Rabbi of Kyiv's Brodsky Synagogue on December 25, 2024 (Courtesy Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman)

Kyiv mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko lights Hanukkah candles in Ukraine’s capital with Moshe Azman, chief rabbi of Kyiv’s Brodsky Synagogue.

“This is a special moment when the light of the candle reminds us of the victory of good over evil, hope over despair, and unity over separation,” says Azman, whose son fell in combat against Russia earlier this year.

Klitschko’s paternal grandmother was Jewish, and he prominently displays a menorah, kiddush cup, sculpture of Jerusalem, hamsa, and Hebrew-Russian Bible on the shelf behind his desk. Members of the Jewish side of Klitschko’s family were killed during the Holocaust.

Reservist soldier killed during fighting in central Gaza, IDF announces

Cpt. (res.) Amit Levi, killed in fighting in central Gaza (Courtesy)

An IDF reservist was killed during fighting in the central Gaza Strip early this morning, the military says.

The slain soldier is named as Cpt. (res.) Amit Levi, 35, a team commander in the 551st Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 6551st Battalion, from Kibbutz Shomria.

The circumstances of Levi’s death are under investigation by the IDF.

His funeral will be held at 3 p.m. at the Har Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 392. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.

Former police chief: Officers now given quotas of number of people to detain at protests

Former Israel Police commissioner Roni Alsheich arrives to testify before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, January 11, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former police chief Roni Alsheich says that the force has become politicized and that officers have told him they are given quotas for the number of people that should be detained at protests.

“I hear from officers that they come to a demonstration with a quota of detainees,” he tells the Kan public broadcaster, apparently referring to demonstrations against government policy.

“I shudder when I say that. Beyond the fact that it is clearly illegal, it does not serve anyone,” he says. “Something bad is happening and I don’t know where exactly it is coming from but it’s coming from above.”

Alsheich additionally says that far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir “allows himself to do whatever he wants and the political system swallows it because it understands that without him there is no government.”

“The national security minister… talks in forums about promoting officers who will advance his policy. This serves him and not the public,” Alsheich says.

Alsheich also questions the process that saw Ben Gvir’s appointment of Daniel Levy to head the police force.

“The leap between district commander and commissioner is enormous. It’s not one step,” he says when asked to comment on Levy’s recent admission that he had a “longstanding friendship” with a key aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Doctors in Gaza say baby girl died of hypothermia, 3rd child to die of cold in recent days

Doctors in the Gaza Strip say a baby girl died of hypothermia, the third child to die of cold in recent days.

The 3-week-old’s family was living in one of the Strip’s tent camps for Palestinians displaced by the war, Channel 12 reports.

The father of baby Sila, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, tells Associated Press he wrapped her in a blanket to try and keep her warm in their tent in the Muwasi area outside the town of Khan Younis, but it wasn’t enough.

He says the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit).

“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.

“She was like wood,” says al-Faseeh. They rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated.

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.

The war sparked by the Hamas-led terror onslaught on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and 251 were taken hostage, has displaced some 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in.

Yesterday, relatives of some of the 100 hostages held in Gaza warned that their loved ones may not survive a second winter in Hamas’s tunnels.

Ben Gvir says he prayed on Temple Mount; PM’s office: ‘Status quo has not changed’

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he prayed during a visit to the flashpoint Temple Mount this morning.

Ben Gvir, who has repeatedly asserted a Jewish right to prayer at the site, writes on X that he prayed for the “safety of our soldiers, the speedy return of the hostages, and a total victory.”

Jews are not officially allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, but the Israel Police, which comes under the purview of Ben Gvir’s ministry, has increasingly tolerated limited prayer.

It is unclear if Ben Gvir, who has expressed support for a synagogue being placed atop the Temple Mount, openly prayed today.

In response to Ben Gvir’s announcement, the Prime Minister’s Office issues a statement saying “the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed.”

The vague status quo governing the compound allows Muslims to pray and generally enter with few restrictions, while non-Muslims, including Jews, can visit only during limited time slots.

With police turning a blind eye, Jewish worshipers who in years past would have been removed for merely silently mouthing a prayer, have even begun prostrating themselves on the mount.

עליתי הבוקר למקום מקדשנו, לתפילה לשלום חיילנו, להחזרת כל החטופים במהרה ולניצחון המוחלט בעזרת השם. pic.twitter.com/uSBQCk64aZ

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) December 26, 2024

Hamas official: Terror group unable to provide full list of living hostages until truce starts

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)

An unnamed Hamas official tells Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed outlet that Hamas has provided a partial list of living hostages to negotiators, but is unable to communicate with all the groups holding captives.

The official says the terror group will be in a better position to provide information on the hostages once the ceasefire has begun and communication in Gaza becomes easier.

The comment comes in the wake of Israeli reports that the terror group is refusing to provide information on the captives it is holding.

The newspaper also claims that the first stage of the ceasefire will see the release of two male soldiers holding American citizenship. It is unclear if this refers to serving troops, as Hamas classifies all men of fighting age as troops.

In addition, the first phase will also see the release of two men holding Russian citizenship, the report says.

The report says there has been some disagreement over the classification of humanitarian cases, with Hamas unwilling to include soldiers wounded during fighting within that category.

Unnamed Egyptian sources claim the talks are “a few steps from the finish line.”

However, Israeli officials charged yesterday that Hamas had backed away from a softened stance that could have enabled a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza war, and instead returned to a position that is holding up progress.

The terror group, which started the war with its October 7 attack last year, earlier accused Israel of making new demands in the negotiations and causing a delay.

IDF concludes 2-day counterterrorism op in West Bank’s Tulkarem, says several gunmen killed

Israeli forces take a position during a raid on the Tulkarem in the West Bank on December 25, 2024 (AFP)

The IDF says it has wrapped up a two-day counterterrorism operation in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, during which seven Palestinian gunmen were killed.

Among the dead were several prominent members of a local terror network in Tulkarem, according to the military and Shin Bet.

The operatives were killed in drone strikes and in clashes with the troops.

The IDF says troops also destroyed explosive devices, seized weapons, and detained several suspects.

Prayers, tears mark 20 years since Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people

A woman sprinkles water on a stone marking a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — People started gathering in prayer and visiting the mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

Many openly wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village where more than 14,000 unidentified and unclaimed tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province. It was one of the areas worst-hit by the earthquake and tsunami, along with the district of Aceh Besar.

“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Lhue and Siron,” says Muhamad Amirudin, 54, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and has never found their bodies.

“This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, says.

A powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.

Asma al-Assad, wife of ousted Syrian president, said to have ’50/50′ chance of survival as leukemia returns

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on August 8, 2018, shows the Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad carrying papers as she begins treatment for early-stage breast cancer at a hospital in the capital Damascus. (AFP Photo/Syrian Presidency Facebook Page)

Asma al-Assad, the wife of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, is said to have a 50% chance of survival after an aggressive form of blood cancer is believed to have returned following treatment for the disease earlier this year, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper reports.

According to the report, the exiled former first lady, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May of this year, is completely isolated in Moscow as she undergoes treatment for the aggressive cancer.

An unnamed source tells the Telegraph that she is “dying,” although another source says that “she has been 50/50 in the last few weeks.”

While her husband fled to Moscow after his brutal regime was toppled in a lightning rebel offensive earlier this month, Asma is said to have already been in Russia for some time before that as she was seeking treatment there.

IDF says it carried out targeted strike on Islamic Jihad cell in Gaza’s Nuseirat

Following reports by medics with the Hamas-run Gaza health authorities earlier in the night that five people were killed in the vicinity of Nuseirat’s Al-Awda hospital, the IDF says that it carried out a strike on a “vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside.”

The military says that prior to the strike, it took “numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”

Palestinian media had said that the five people killed were journalists, and that the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp.

“The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in defense of the citizens of Israel,” the military adds.

‘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