Posted on X December 24, 2024

Netanyahu to the Knesset (Israeli parliament):
"There is some progress and there are three reasons for this particular progress.

1. First, Sinwar is no longer with us;
2. Hamas hoped that Hezbollah and Iran would come to their aid but they are licking their wounds;
3. and Hamas itself is also taking more and more blows.

So there is progress. I don’t know how long it will take, but we are making efforts...

We are not taking our eyes off Iran, which threatens to destroy us, and we are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and other weapons that could threaten our cities and our homeland."

Also at a commemoration event for local security officers, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatens the Houthis in Yemen after the
Iran-backed terror group continues to carry out attacks on Israel.

"In these days when the Houthi terror organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them:
1. We have defeated Hamas,
2. we have defeated Hezbollah,
3. we have blinded the defense systems in Iran,
4. and damaged the [missile] production systems,
5. we have overthrown the Assad regime in Syria,
6. we have dealt heavy blows to the 'axis of evil,'
7. and we will also severely strike the Houthi terror organization in Yemen, which remains the last one standing,"

(Israel was not directly involved in overthrowing the Assad regime in Syria, but assesses that its strikes on Iran's proxies in the region contributed to the fall of the regime)

Katz says, referring to the slain leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah:
"We will strike [the Houthis] strategic infrastructure and decapitate its leaders.
Just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah, in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon -- we will do in Hodeidah and Sanaa,"

"Whoever raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off, and the long arm of the IDF will strike them and settle the score"

Doubts among (former) colleagues whether suspect in Magdeburg Christmas market attack is actually a doctor: 'He first looked everything up on Google'
Modified: Yesterday, 23:15Yesterday, 21:07in Abroad

MAGDENBURG - Former colleagues of suspected attacker Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, the Saudi Arabian doctor who drove a rented car through the Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday, are openly questioning his methods and the diagnoses he made in the German media. "More than ever, we are asking ourselves whether he was really a doctor. He had to look everything up." In any case, Germany is reacting in a divided manner in the run-up to new elections.

Taleb Al Abdulmohsen had, among other things, a gun on one of his social media accounts.
© ANP / Imago Stock & People

More than two hundred people were injured on Friday. Five others were unable to tell the tale of their visit to the Christmas market, including André, who was only 9 years old and for whom more than a ton has been collected. The shock in Germany, but also the sympathy, is great.

The motive is still a mystery. German media spoke to former colleagues and associates of suspect Al Abdulmohsen after the tragedy in Magdeburg. Because they clearly had something to say. "We had long had serious doubts about his competence as a doctor. That's why we called him 'Dr. Google'. He consulted Google for every diagnosis. As if he had to look up everything", it sounds.

Angry phone calls
“In addition, there were many misunderstandings about diagnoses because he spoke such poor German. More and more patients refused to be treated by him because of this,” says a former medical secretary who had to answer angry phone calls from patients all the time.

A nurse who worked with Al Abdulmohsen for a while resigned. "There were constant complaints to other doctors and superiors about Taleb Al Abdulmohsen." According to her, an investigation was not conducted. The ex-employee also has nothing good to say about Al Abdulmohsen personally: "He was completely disrespectful to female staff and slammed the doors in our faces. When we asked questions because we didn't understand something, he reacted aggressively."

'Wrong medicine'
"Al Abdulmohsen repeatedly endangered the lives of patients by prescribing the wrong medication," another former colleague told Focus anonymously. When colleagues complained about this to management, they were sent away.

Al Abdulmohsen eventually disappeared for a few weeks. “We all thought our suspicions were right and that he had left because he wasn’t a real doctor. There was a lot of gossip about that at the time. But then he suddenly reappeared and went back to work. Until he went on sick leave in October.”

See also:

Dutch people continue to visit German Christmas markets en masse: 'You are still busy with Magdeburg'

Colleagues do not understand what possessed him. But, it sounds, that something was wrong with him, was clear to them. You did not even have to be a doctor for that. "However, talking to him was not an option. He was not open to it."

Since the attack, many colleagues are almost certain that he was not a qualified doctor and that he had wrongly claimed that title. It will now all be part of the police investigation into Al Abdulmohsen.

A memorial in Maagdenburg in eastern Germany after a fatal tragedy involving a man who drove into the crowd at a Christmas market.
© ANP/AFP

A memorial in Maagdenburg in eastern Germany after a fatal tragedy involving a man who drove into the crowd at a Christmas market.

'Deport!'
The aftermath has divided Germany to the core. In Magdeburg, the anti-immigration AfD party held a memorial march for the victims on Monday. Shortly before the march, AfD leader Alice Weidel had called at a rally for changes “so that we can finally live in safety again.” Her call came ahead of early elections, which are likely to be held in two months. Her audience chanted: “Deport, deport, deport.”

Wild speculation about 'true nature' of attacker Taleb Al Abdulmohsen: 'The ex-Muslim story is nonsense'

At the same time, the left-wing activist group Give Hate No Chance (Gib Hass keine Chance) formed a human chain, as a symbol of solidarity and against extremism. The anti-AfD movement said in a statement that “we are all shocked and angry to see that people want to exploit this brutal act for their own political purposes.” The chain of people, many of whom carried candles, went around the Alter Markt, where the attack took place.

Both demonstrations attracted several thousand participants. Police counted 4,000 at the counter-demonstration and 3,500 at the AfD rally and march, according to regional broadcaster MDR.

From: Reuters December 24, 2024
Israel asks diplomats to seek Houthis' listing as terrorists

"The Houthis pose a threat not only to Israel but also to the region and the entire world.
The first and most basic thing to do is to designate them as a terrorist organization," Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said in a statement.

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Iran-backed Houthis rebel group in Yemen designated as a terrorist organisation.

Sa'ar said he sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council and asked for an emergency session to be convened to,
"condemn the Houthis' attacks and Iran's ongoing support for them."

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Israel currently designate the Houthis as terrorists, according to Sa'ar.

The Houthis attacks have, in what the group describes as acts of solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israeli forces in Gaza,
1. repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel
2. disrupted international shipping routes,
3. forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys
4. that have in turn stoked fears over global inflation.

The Israeli military on Saturday failed to intercept a missile from Yemen that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, injuring 14 people.

From: Sky news December 24, 2024
Hundreds protest in Damascus after Syrian Christmas tree set on fire

A religious leader from the victorious rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said the tree would be restored and the people who torched it would be punished.

Hundreds of people have protested in Christian areas of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a video emerged showing hooded fighters setting a Christmas tree on fire in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near the city of Hama.

Dutch fight for HTS in Syria
News
December 23, 2024
2 minutes
Daniel de Liever
HTSANP
The terrorist organization HTS, which seized power in large parts of Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, also has Dutch 'fighters'. These are mainly former IS fighters, De Telegraaf reports .

The internet was shaken after a video circulating on social media showed men taking a selfie and shouting in Dutch 'This one is for Instagram, guys!' among all the 'Allah Akbar' cries.

It is still unknown who the Dutch fighters are or how many Dutch people are fighting for HTS in Syria. NSC faction leader Pieter Omtzigt asked Prime Minister Dick Schoof last week for clarity on the number of Dutch people fighting in Syria. Schoof did not have these figures, but promised to look into this.

So far, research by the AIVD has shown that there are a total of 45 adult Dutch travellers in Syria, 25 of whom are in the northwestern part of Syria, where HTS began its advance in recent years. The other twenty are spread across the rest of Syria. There are also said to be 170 children with 'Dutch roots' in Syria.

A year ago, one of these Dutchmen, Victor Droste, from Heeten in the province of Overijssel, said that he was fighting alongside 'his Syrian brothers': 'I am Dutch, but I am fighting here with my Syrian brothers to make our project a success. One day, we will all be standing together at the presidential palace in Damascus to celebrate the victory.' Droste left for Syria in 2013 to fight for IS. He later joined Jabhat al-Nusra, the predecessor of HTS.

How Jewish is Volodymyr Zelensky?
The Ukrainian President is hailed as one of the few Jewish world leaders not from Israel, but how Jewish is he

https://www.thejc.com/news/world/how-jewish-is-volodymyr-zelensky-n4utji15

From: The Times of Israel December 27, 2024
Israel and Syria:
'There exists a people who want coexistence. They want peace'

Damascus governor says new Syrian regime wants peace: ‘Our problem is not with Israel’

Apparently speaking on behalf of al-Sharaa, official says they ‘don’t want to meddle in anything that will threaten Israel’s security,’ and Jerusalem’s concern over new regime is ‘natural’

In an interview with the US public broadcaster NPR, apparently on behalf of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the governor of Damascus said Thursday that the newly-installed government wants to have cordial relations with Israel.

Peace:
“We have no fear toward Israel, and our problem is not with Israel,” Maher Marwan told NPR, “There exists a people who want coexistence. They want peace. They don’t want disputes.”

“And we don’t want to meddle in anything that will threaten Israel’s security or any other country’s security,” he said. “We want peace, and we cannot be an opponent to Israel or an opponent to anyone.”

He added that Israel’s initial trepidation after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad was “natural.”
“Israel may have felt fear,” he said. “So it advanced a little, bombed a little, etc.”

From: The Jerusalem Post December 28, 2024
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar: Not falling for Syria’s facade

The regime in Damascus is,
1. 'a gang – not a legitimate government'
2. fractured state plagued by competing factions and extremist ideologies.

From: The Times of Israel December 27, 2024
‘Houthis are simply insane’:

‘Houthis are simply insane’: In Tel Aviv, Yemeni activist Luai Ahmed, explains current conflict
Rebels are 'willing to sacrifice Yemen for the Palestinians'

Ahmed fled Yemen for Sweden after rebels rose to power, becoming an activist against Islamic fundamentalism;
He joined the social media fray against antisemitism after October 7

An October 2024 clip, in which he debated American college students on the war in Gaza while dressed in traditional Yemeni garb, garnered two million views on Twitter.

Ahmed fled Yemen in 2014 shortly after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels – an extremist ethno-religious group from northern Yemen, affiliated with Shiite Islam – hijacked the pro-democracy Arab Spring revolution that had erupted in the country in 2011 toppled the government, and took over the capital, Sanaa.

They have recently stepped up the bombardment, launching five early-morning attacks on central Israel in eight days.

On Thursday, the IDF launched a series of airstrikes in Yemen, targeting infrastructure used by the Houthis, including Sanaa International Airport, after several previous attacks on the country.

Houthis indifference to the plight of their own people:
Indifferent to the plight of civilians under their control, the rebels have for months been firing missiles and drones at Israel, claiming it as a campaign in support of Gaza during the ongoing war there against the Hamas terror group.

There are millions of Yemen children who are malnourished and living below the poverty line.

People have no money, no food, no water, no gas.

Instead of focusing on allocating resources to the most vulnerable, the Houthis hand them out to Hashemites, the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and the rest is spent on throwing rockets at Israel, to kill Jews.

How is that going to help Yemen? But to them, it’s a religious war.

From: The Times of Israel December 28, 2024
In first US THAAD system deployed in Israel assists in Houthi missile interception

Iran-backed rebels say fresh air strikes hit Yemeni capital, several hours after terrorists launch ballistic missile at Israel for fifth time in eight nights

An American missile defense system battery participated in the interception of a Houthi ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen early on Friday, the first time the system has been used since being deployed by the US in Israel in October

The THAAD or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, was used to try to intercept the missile, and an analysis would determine THAAD’s success, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Footage posted to social media showed the THAAD system launching an interceptor.
“Eighteen years I’ve been waiting for this,” an American soldier can be heard saying in the clip.

The IDF said the Houthi missile was intercepted by air defenses, without specifying if this was an Israeli or American system.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Security sources speaking to the Walla news site said THAAD intercepted the missile and added that the interception projected strength in the Middle East by demonstrating to Israel’s adversaries the US-Israeli partnership over missile defense.

Former IDF Air Defense commander Brigadier General (res.) Zvika Haimovich told Walla that US air defense activity in Israel is unusual because the US has subordinated its forces to Israeli command, whereas in other parts of the world, the US takes charge.

The THAAD battery was deployed in Israel following Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack.

Houthis:
Fresh strikes on Houthi targets:
On Friday evening, the Iran-back Houthis said a fresh air strike hit Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa, although it was not immediately clear who was behind the strike.

The Houthis blamed the strike on “US-British aggression,” but there was no immediate comment from Israel, the US or Britain.

The Iran-backed group claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.

On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and deeper within the country, including “infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime for its military activities” at Sanaa International Airport, and the Hezyaz power plant just outside the Houthi-controlled capital.

The strikes followed days of increasingly bellicose threats from Israeli leaders vowing to decimate the Iran-backed terror group after its near-daily attacks.

Houthis attacks on Israel:
The Houthis, a rebel group that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and Jews, have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year, according to the IDF.

Houthis Red Sea traverse:
The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping.

The Houthis initially said they were going to attack Israel-linked ships but few of the vessels targeted had ties to Israel.

From: Haaretz December 29, 2024
The Houthis Are Israel's Weakest Enemy: So Why Are They So Hard to Stop?

Some in Israel's military and intelligence advocate that instead of retaliating against the Houthis directly, Israel should punish Iran.
This is a more risky policy

Tel Aviv prides itself on being "a city that never sleeps," with nightclubs, bars and restaurants open long after midnight.

But people who live in Israel's second-largest city know that this reputation is somewhat exaggerated, and only applies to very specific streets and neighborhoods; on most nights, and in most parts of the city, it can be serenely quiet after sundown.

From: The Times of Israel December 29, 2024
Hamas and Hezbollah:
IDF chief says war not nearing end, though Hamas and Hezbollah both routed

IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi says the war Israel has been waging for nearly 15 months is far from over, but both Hamas and Hezbollah are no longer militarily viable.

He says at a ceremony for wounded soldiers at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv:
“This is a long war, and I cannot say we see it ending,”

“But after the heavy prices we have paid, we are also seeing results"
1. The military arm of Hamas has been defeated.
2. Hezbollah has been completely routed.”

Hezbollah:
Earlier, while visiting southern Lebanon, Halevi said that the defeat of Hezbollah was not yet truly a victory for Israel.

“The way to truly win over Hezbollah — because we won militarily, our victory is quite clear — but true victory, victory that is
long-term, that means lots of civilians here, lots of tourism here, that there will be restaurants here, and cafes, and people will go on bike rides, and the agriculture here, everything will prosper,” he said, seemingly referring to northern Israel.

Syria:
Halevi repeats the remarks at Sheba, according to the Ynet news site, adding that Israel’s security situation on the Golan Heights is much better now, presumably referring to the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime and Israel’s taking of part of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Yemen and Iran:
“We’re fighting on all the border, and operations are also taking place very far away from Israel,” he adds, likely referring to Israeli actions in Yemen and Iran.

Israeli Fighter jets hit rocket launchers amid resurgent fire from the Gaza Strip;

months-long operation in Jabalia appeared to approach its end, despite several instances of rocket fire from the enclave, which has been a rare occurrence at this stage of the war.

An IDF soldier was killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the military announced

The killing brought Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against the Hamas terror group in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 394

Hamas fierce resistance: Day 451
The IDF has been operating in the Jabalia area since early October, facing relatively fierce resistance by remaining Hamas cells in the area, military sources said.

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck rocket launchers in Beit Hanoun, which had been used to fire two long-range rockets at the Jerusalem area on Saturday.

More rocket fire:

IDF intercepts rare 2 long-range rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem area
No injuries in attack, the second time this weekend that the capital was targeted, following an overnight missile from Yemen

Israeli air defenses on Saturday intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza’s Beit Hanoun toward the Jerusalem area, an increasingly rare occurrence after nearly 15 months of war.

On Sunday, five more rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip, this time at the southern city of Sderot, along the border with the enclave, one of the largest rocket attacks from Gaza in recent months.

According to the IDF two rockets were intercepted, while the other three apparently struck open areas.

Rocket attacks from Gaza have been rare at this stage of the war, after frequent barrages during and in the months after the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which started the war.

Thank you for the Camp David Accords Jimmy Carter.

Even Wilders here responded.

Geert Wilders
@geertwilderspvv
My condolences to the American people and the family of the 39th US President Jimmy Carter, who passed away today after a long life of devotion to peace and charity.

Camp David Accords 1978
Egypt and Israel:

Consequently, the 13 days marking the Camp David Accords were considered a success, in part due to US President Jimmy Carter's determination in obtaining an Israeli–Egyptian agreement, which represented considerable time focused on a singular international problem.

The talks failed to produce much as Palestinian representatives refused to participate, and the gap between Egyptian and Israeli positions on Palestinian self-government, not to mention their respective stances on Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and the legal status of East Jerusalem, proved unbridgeable.

Sadat assassination:
Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in 1981 although the motive has been debated, likely stemmed from Islamists who opposed Sadat's peace initiative with Israel and the United States, relating to the Camp David Accords.

Some other notable peace attempts:

Oslo Accords 1993
establishment of Palestinian Authority:

The peace process was strained by the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre as well as by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bombings and attacks.

Rabin assassination:
Far-right Israelis also opposed the Oslo Accords, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by a right-wing Israeli extremist for signing them.

Wadi Araba Treaty 1994
Israel and Jordan:

The Israel–Jordan peace treaty (formally the "Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan") sometimes referred to as the Wadi Araba Treaty, is an agreement that ended the state of war that had existed between the two countries since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and established mutual diplomatic relations.

Abraham Accords 2020
While Palestinians also rebuffed the 2020 Abraham Accords, the initiative served as a milestone in Israeli-Arab relations, ultimately winning over,
1. United Arab Emirates,
2. Bahrain,
3. Morocco,
4. and Sudan

They also undermined the conditions set forth by the Arab Peace Initiative and thus far Saudi Arabia has been unwilling to break with its 2002 proposal.

From: Haaretz December 31, 2024
The U.S. military said, it carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Sanaa and coastal locations in Yemen on Monday and Tuesday.

U.S. military's Central Command CENTCOM said, in a post on X "On December 30 and 31 U.S. Navy ships and aircraft targeted"
1. Houthi command and control facility
2. advanced conventional weapon (ACW) production
3. and storage facilities that included missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV)

The U.S. and U.K. conducted strikes in the Hodeidah province in northwestern Yemen, according to Yemeni news agency SABA

Houthi spokesmen said Yemen will continue to defend itself and attack Israel, and that
"Yemen has purged the country of Western intelligence agents and terrorist groups."

A top Houthi politician, Ali al-Emad, told the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen that
"Yemen has purged the country of Western intelligence agents and terrorist groups."

Al-Emad said that the Houthi rebel group takes Israeli threats seriously, but
"assassinations and attacks will not deter Yemen from continuing to attack Israel."

Al-Emad also added that the Houthis are working to build "a strong intelligence system on enemy territory."

The spokesperson of Yemen’s Houthi rebels Mohammed Abdulsalam said, on Tuesday, after strikes were conducted by the US for a second day, the US aggression on Yemen is,
1. blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state,
2. and blatant support for Israel to encourage it, to continue its crimes of genocide against the people of Gaza

France said it carried out missile strikes last weekend in Syria targeting Islamic State sites in the country.

French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday,
"France carried out missile strikes last weekend in Syria, targeting Islamic State sites in the country"

Lecornu wrote on social media platform X
"On Sunday, French air forces carried out targeted strikes against Islamic State sites based on Syrian territory,"

The French airstrike followed a similar military strike by the United States in Syria, which the U.S. said had killed two Islamic State operatives.

From: Haaretz December 31, 2024
Palestinians are souring on Hamas – and they want an end to the war

Most Israelis know one thing about Palestinian public opinion during the last 15 months:
surveys show a large majority support Hamas' attack on October 7

From: The Associated Press January 3, 2025
Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel.

Israel [and allies] struggles to deter escalating attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels as other fronts calm

Israel, U.S. and partner forces have launched multiple rounds of coordinated airstrikes against Houthi launch sites and weapons storage sites. But repeated fire from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel.

The rockets from Gaza have mostly fallen silent.
A ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has taken hold.

Israel has repeatedly bombarded ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Israeli leaders have threatened to kill central Houthi figures and have tried to galvanize the world against the threat.

Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have all but shuttered an Israeli port in the city of Eilat and have prompted ships destined for it to take a longer, more costly route around Africa to Israel’s Mediterranean ports.

The Houthi strikes are also a symbolic reminder for Israel of the Iran-backed enemies that encircle it, known as the “Axis of Resistance,” and the last major holdout.

And because Israel’s counterstrikes have yet to deter the Houthis, their persistent attacks defy Israel’s image as a regional military powerhouse.

“They are the only ones who are active now,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

Israel unable to neutralize Houthis in contrast to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, head of IDF Spokesperson's Unit, acknowledged the battle would be complex.
And despite massive Israeli air power, the Houthis have continued their assaults.

That stands in contrast to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran — three other enemies Israel has largely neutralized over the past 15 months.

“Israel has many years of familiarity with those enemies.
There is intelligence and there is the important element of a ground maneuver, and in Yemen we can’t do that.

The scale here is different,” said Eyal Pinko, a former Israeli defense official and senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, an Israeli think tank.

Yemen does not border Israel, and Israel cannot easily stage a ground invasion as it has in Gaza and Lebanon to dismantle enemies’ infrastructure. Israel has to orchestrate complex air missions to fly to Yemen, which are costly and limited in what they can achieve.

Pinko also said the Houthis have learned over years of fighting against a Saudi-led coalition how to bounce back from airstrikes.

Israel’s intelligence in Yemen “an issue”

While the Houthis have been active as an insurgent force for years, Israel hasn’t seen them as a priority or invested as much in gathering intelligence against them.

Against Hamas, yearslong intelligence helped target and erode the group’s forces.

With Hezbollah, Israel penetrated deep into the organization, allowing it to unleash an offensive last year that detonated the pagers of rank-and-file members and decimated its senior ranks in secret bunkers.

In Iran, Israel struck Hamas’ top leader in an apartment in Tehran and knocked out many of its air defenses in an October strike that left parts of the capital exposed.

But the Houthis’ hideouts, weapons and infrastructure are less known to Israel, making its counterstrikes somewhat less effective.

Hagari recognized that Israel’s intelligence in Yemen was “an issue” and said the military was working to improve.
Until then, some in Israel are steeling themselves for a war of attrition with the distant enemy.

“There’s no quick fix,” Citrinowicz said. “Even if the war in Gaza ends, this is a threat that will not disappear.”

From: Haaretz January 3, 2025
Trump names pro-Israel favorite Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Mideast Peace Special Envoy

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump named Morgan Ortagus, a favorite among pro-Israel advocates as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace Friday and will serve under Special Envoy Steven Witkoff who was one of the first appointments Trump made.

Both of them are Jewish.

Ortagus was a member of the Abraham Accords team.

From: The Daily Telegraph January 3, 2025
Support Terrorists Get Terrorism

How anti-Israel fervour fuels terrorism ‘I really do condemn anti-Semitism but …’