Israel lashed out at Pope Francis for condemning Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and suggesting the world should investigate whether Israel’s military offensive there constitutes a “genocide” after dozens of Palestinians, including children, allegedly died in weekend attacks.
The U.S. military says it has conducted airstrikes targeting a missile storage facility and a command-and-control post operated by Houthis in Yemen after the Iran-backed group struck Israel, injuring dozens of people.
After an empty school in central Israel was damaged by a partially intercepted Houthi missile overnight, Israel carried out retaliatory air strikes in Yemen which killed nine people on Thursday morning, Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. No one was injured in the Houthi strike but extensive damage was caused to the school and to surrounding cars in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv.
Sparking UN concerns that Israel may seek to annex the bordering 1974 demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that Israel Defense Forces will remain in that area until another arrangement is in place “that ensures Israel’s security,” the Associated Press reports.
Having blamed both the US and Israel for the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Islamic insurgents Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on December 1, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated Tuesday that Israelis would be “greatly mistaken” to think the uprising in next-door Syria is now over, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Israel carried out one of its most intense military campaigns in Syria in over a decade, striking air defense systems, missile depots, and strategic sites in Tartus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the strikes as the “heaviest in years,” with massive explosions registering as a magnitude 3.0 seismic event. Videos on social media captured fireballs and mushroom clouds lighting up the night sky.
Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered an ancient sword engraved with a hieroglyphic representing the royal rule of Ramesses II, the Pharoah recorded in the Biblical Book of Exodus as having refused Moses’ request to let the enslaved Israelites go, Archaeology News (AN) reports.
The Israeli Air Force intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen using the Arrow defense system. Sirens sounded across central Israel, causing millions to seek shelter.
Israel and Jordan held secret talks on Friday to coordinate the situation in Syria, according to three Israeli officials cited by Axios.
TIME Magazine announced on Thursday via X/Twitter that President-elect Donald Trump has been named its “Person of the Year.” In an exclusive interview, Trump discussed his plans to end the Gaza war, expand the Abraham Accords to include nations like Saudi Arabia, and hinted at a potential conflict with Iran. While emphasizing his desire for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conclude the Gaza conflict, Trump notably avoided endorsing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, despite proposing a version of Palestinian statehood in his 2020 “deal of the century.”
Dutch prosecutors have demanded up to two years imprisonment for several suspects involved in the Netherlands’ first pogrom since World War Two.
Israel announced this week that its airstrikes have destroyed 70-80% of Syria’s military capabilities following the rapid collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus.
Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that IDF tanks have entered Syria and are approaching Damascus following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports. At the same time, the IDF said it has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria to ensure that weapons and equipment that may be used against neighboring Israel do not fall into the hands of “hostile elements” entering the power vacuum left by Assad.
Israel struck more than 100 targets in Syria in less than 12 hours on Monday, a war monitor said, after the Israeli military admitted it crossed into Syrian territory to protect the Jewish nation amid concerns about chemical weapons.
In a remarkable find, archaeologists have uncovered an inscribed fragment of a 500-year-old genuine Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Ha’aretz reports.
Israeli Air Force jets struck dozens of targets across Syria on Sunday, neutralizing weaponry at risk of falling into hostile hands amid the rapid collapse of the Assad regime. Israel also secured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone and strengthen key defensive positions along the border.
Israel struck a chemical weapons factory belonging to the former regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to prevent it from falling into rebel hands. The attack occurred just days after the United Nations Security Council was warned about potentially large quantities of unaccounted-for chemical warfare agents in Syria.
Israel rushed to send reinforcements to the Golan Heights as they border Syria, where Islamic rebels rapidly gain territory, threatening long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power.
Israel’s military said Friday it had “eliminated” a mastermind of aerial attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed by Hamas and other air strikes targeting Israeli forces.
Egypt has presented Hamas with an updated proposal to free some of the roughly 100 remaining hostages and initiate a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli officials said.