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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to brief US President Donald Trump that any expansion of Iran’s ballistic missile programme could pose a threat requiring swift action, NBC News reported on Saturday (Dec 20). The report said Israeli officials believe Iran may be rebuilding nuclear enrichment sites bombed by the United States in June, and are preparing to present Trump with options for renewed strikes targeting Iran’s missile capabilities.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have presented a $112 billion reconstruction plan to Gulf officials to build a “high-tech metropolis” atop the remains of Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The 32-page PowerPoint presentation labeled "sensitive" and titled "Project Sunrise" was developed over 45 days and reportedly presented to officials from Qatar, UAE, Egypt, and Turkiye. The plan envisions turning the Gaza Strip into a "high-tech metropolis" over the next two decades with four phases of reconstruction beginning in southern Gaza. It also calls for turning Rafah into Gaza's new "administrative center," housing over 500,000...

Bondi Beach is meant to be neutral ground. A place without history. A democratic beautiful stretch of sand where politics dissolves into sunlight, surf, and families pushing strollers toward the water. That illusion died when Jews gathered there to light Hanukkah candles—and were slaughtered for it. The massacre belongs to a broader pattern that has accelerated since Oct. 7, 2023: Jews targeted far from any battlefield, in the ordinary spaces of civic life. Synagogues, campuses, cafés, city streets—and now a beach—have become killing fields aimed not at a state, but at a people. The mass murder at Bondi did not...

(2011 editorial) I have always been fascinated by the timeless parable of the scorpion and the frog. It’s a short yet powerful warning about the often immutable nature of certain beings. In this case, the deadly and incontrovertible nature of evil. As the story goes, a scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a body of water, since the scorpion cannot swim. The frog then rightly asserts that doing so would put its life at great risk, as the scorpion is known to lethally sting other creatures, sometimes without provocation. To counter the frog’s argument, the scorpion insists that...

ERUSALEM, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet has decided to give legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two that were vacated 20 years ago under a pullout aimed at boosting the country's security and the economy, Israeli media reported. The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned the move, announced late on Thursday. Some of the settlements are newly established, while others are older, Israeli media said. The move to legalise the settlements in the West Bank -- territory Palestinians seek for a future state -- was proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Defense...

When deadly clashes erupted last July between Bedouin and Druze militias in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, some members of the Druze community living in Israel crossed the border to protect their kin. For Safi Ibrahim, an IDF colonel from the community, the crisis sparked genuine solidarity and brought emotions to the surface. As part of the events, he participated in a military operation in Syria – a mission that became deeply personal for him, fusing his military service with his identity. snip Unlike the Druze of the Galilee and Carmel – who serve proudly and prominently in the...

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players — including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties — are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan — which was approved by the U.N. Security Council — lays out an ambitious vision for...

At first glance, Mike Waltz’s visit to Israel this week may look like a new UN ambassador’s routine orientation tour – a series of meetings, border briefings, and handshakes meant to signal continuity. But nothing about the timing or the choreography of this particular visit suggests anything routine. Waltz’s first major foreign trip since taking office is not just a symbolic gesture. It is the operational rollout of the Trump administration’s Gaza plan, carried out under the umbrella of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which the US drafted and pushed through. And the visit comes just days after the UN...

Qatar, Turkey trying to dissuade Hamas from disarming, as Phase II of ceasefire still under discussion. Alternatives proposed would see Hamas give up its weapons to the Palestinian Authority or transferred them to a secure storage under oversight, which could preserve Hamas' influence in Gaza; this is likely to be the main issue discussed at the Trump-Netanyahu meeting in Florida The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan is still being shaped by the Americans, though nothing has been finalized. Israel and the U.S. jointly drafted the original 20‑point plan, which included a clear agreement that Hamas must be disarmed....

Iran, Qatar, other foreign actors backing anti-Israel demonstrations, LA Israeli consulate says. The Israeli LA consulate warned that authorities need to pay attention to aggressive and violent protests before another Washington shooting occurs. By Michael Starr. December 5, 2025. Foreign actors backed protests like the Wednesday Los Angeles synagogue demonstration, claimed the Israeli Los Angeles consulate, also warning that unless authorities checked belligerent behavior, it could lead to another Washington embassy staff terrorist attack. Some of the protesters at the Innovating Safety, Empowering Communities public safety event at Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion had no connection to the Israeli-Palestinian...

Yasser Abu Shabab, an Arab militia commander who collaborated with Israeli forces in eastern Rafah, was murdered on Thursday in a violent scuffle in territory that is under Israeli military control. Defense officials estimate that the fight stemmed from internal disputes in the militia, which escalated over the past few weeks and became out of hand. Abu Shabab was punched and kicked by the members of his own militia. The defense establishment stresses that "Hamas terrorists were not involved." During the scuffle, Abu Shabab's second-in-command, Rasan a-Dahini, was injured. The two were evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. A-Dahini...

For two decades, Muhammad Abdulrahman, 58, lived with his wife and his beehives on a remote hillside in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But in May, Israeli settlers set up camp about 200 yards away and took control of the road leading to Mr. Abdulrahman’s home, blocking him from returning, he said. Israeli soldiers then evicted him and his wife, Suha Abdulrahman, the couple said. The Israeli military said that Mr. Abdulrahman left voluntarily, but he said that he has still been unable to return home. Last month, a video shared by an Israeli lawmaker on social media showed his house...

US President Donald Trump warned Israel via social media on Monday against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, shortly before holding a phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces in the south of the country. Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s current performance under former Islamist rebel President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a historic...

Special forces went into hostile village of Beit Jan in Syria to arrest two known terrorists, ambushed, six IDF injured, three badly. 16 jihadis killed, two terrorists arrested. Airlifted, and lost humvee blown up on the way out to prevent it being taken by enemies. Footage from conflict. Friend of Ashkar, fellow vet, speaking from party similar to Burning Man. Transcript linked below video.

Tens of thousands rallied in Paris on Saturday to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, as protesters accused Israel of violating a fragile US-brokered ceasefire and demanded tougher international action amid soaring death tolls and ongoing restrictions on aid. Gaza’s health ministry, run by Hamas, said Saturday that more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war began. “Gaza, Gaza, Paris is with you.” Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, tens of thousands of people, according to organizers, marched in Paris on Saturday to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, devastated by more than two...

Hamas gathered sensitive information on IDF movements, bases and weaponry from IDF soldiers’ social media accounts—and used that information to train for and execute the October 7 massacre. That’s according to a disturbing scoop by @Doron_Kadosh . I’ll break down his main findings. During the October 7 massacre, Hamas terrorists “managed to disable [IDF] tanks in the Gaza border area and render them unusable.” How? “The terrorists knew about a secret button in the tank which, when pressed, disables the tank for a certain period.” This left Israeli officials wondering: how on earth did Hamas have such sensitive information on...

In a significant shift in the Middle Eastern power dynamics, Iranian officials have admitted that their once-loyal proxy force, the Houthis in Yemen, is increasingly defying Tehran's orders. Reports indicate that the Houthis, who have long served as Iran's strategic arm in the ongoing conflicts against the United States and its allies, are now acting independently, much to the dismay of their former benefactors. A senior Iranian official disclosed that the Houthis have distanced themselves from Iran. “They have gone rogue for a while and are now really rebels,” the official stated, reflecting concerns within the Iranian regime as they...

Although WWII is fast (and dangerously) becoming a misty memory, it’s probable that most people still know about the infamous “Tokyo Rose” (actually a collective of English-speaking Japanese women) who would broadcast reports intended to demoralize troops fighting the Japanese. In England, Lord Haw-Haw (another collective) broadcast false news intended to demoralize troops fighting the Nazis. Indeed, Wikipedia has a long list of famous fake-news spouting propagandists during wartime.Image created using AI.Today, propagandists don’t use radios; they use social media, but the tactic is the same: disseminate false material to demoralize the enemy. Yesterday, X, whether intentionally or not (I’ve...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s chief of staff, in Beirut, calling him a "mass murderer" responsible for attacks on Israelis and Americans. Netanyahu framed the strike as part of Israel’s ongoing effort to dismantle Hezbollah’s leadership and prevent the group from rebuilding its arsenal after recent operations. He warned that Israel would not tolerate future threats from Lebanon and urged its government to disarm Hezbollah. "A few hours ago, the IDF eliminated Ali Tabatabai, the chief of staff of the Hezbollah terrorist organization," Netanyahu said. "Tabatabai is...

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Hamas rejected the United Nations Security Council passing a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, saying it fails to meet Palestinians' rights and demands and seeks to impose an international trusteeship on the enclave that Palestinians and resistance factions oppose. "Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation," the group added.