Israel’s protection minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ high chief final summer time and is threatening to take comparable motion in opposition to the management of the Houthi insurgent group in Yemen.
The feedback by Israel Katz appeared to mark the primary time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was broadly believed to be behind the blast and leaders have beforehand hinted at its involvement.
In a speech Monday, Katz mentioned the Houthis would meet an identical destiny as the opposite members of an Iranian-led alliance within the area, together with Haniyeh. He additionally famous that Israel has killed different leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft techniques.
“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and reduce off the top of the management,” he mentioned.
“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we’ll do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he mentioned, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in earlier Israeli assaults.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel all through the warfare, together with a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and wounded at the very least 16 folks.
Israel has carried out three units of airstrikes in Yemen through the warfare and vowed to step up the strain on the insurgent group till the missile assaults cease.
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US says it struck Islamic State group in Syria
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says U.S. Central Command forces have killed two operatives for the Islamic State militant group in a airstrike in Syria.
The U.S. army mentioned the airstrike Monday in Deir Ezzour Province was geared toward IS militants who had been transferring a truckload of weapons, which was destroyed. Another IS operative was wounded.
Central Command mentioned the world was previously managed by former President Bashar Assad’s regime and its Russian supporters. Assad fled to Moscow after insurgent forces seized management of Damascus earlier this month and ended his household’s 50 years of iron rule.
UN group serving to examine crimes in Syria says new authorities are receptive to cooperation
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. group helping in investigating and prosecuting probably the most severe crimes in Syria says the nation’s new authorities had been “very receptive” to its request for cooperation throughout a just-concluded go to to Damascus.
The go to led by Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, was the primary because the group was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 2016 to help in evidence-gathering and prosecution of people answerable for doable warfare crimes, crimes in opposition to humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil warfare started in 2011.
Since the current insurgent overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar Assad and the opening of prisons and detention amenities there have been rising calls for from Syrians for the prosecution of these answerable for atrocities and killings whereas he was in energy.
U.N. affiliate spokesperson Stephane Tremblay mentioned Monday the investigative group “is getting ready for an operational deployment as early as doable and as quickly as it’s approved to conduct actions on Syrian soil.”
The spokesperson for the group, who was on the journey, went additional, telling The Associated Press, “We are getting ready to deploy, on the expectation that we’ll get authorization.”
“The representatives from the caretaker authorities had been very receptive to our request for cooperation and are conscious of the size of the duty forward,” the spokesperson mentioned, commenting on situation of not being named.
By Edith M. Lederer
UN says 23 help vans had been plundered in central Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. meals company studies that 23 vans in a 66-truck convoy carrying meals and different humanitarian provides to central Gaza had been plundered and misplaced.
U.N. affiliate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay mentioned Monday that the World Food Program convoy departed from the Kerem Shalon crossing through the not too long ago permitted Philadelphi Corridor on Sunday.
Despite Israeli assurances that security circumstances could be in place, she mentioned an airstrike passed off.
Tremblay mentioned the primary 35 vans made it to a WFP warehouse with out losses. She mentioned Israeli Defense Forces delayed the remainder of the convoy.
News of the convoy’s motion unfold, Tremblay mentioned, resulting in plundering alongside the way in which, with a complete of 43 vans making it to the warehouse whereas 23 others had been misplaced.
She referred to as it “one other instance of why we proceed to emphasize the necessity for the secure, unimpeded passage of help to achieve populations that want it probably the most.”
Aid truck in central Gaza looted after Israeli airstrike kills 4 police defending the automobile
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian witnesses and hospital officers say an help truck carrying flour has been looted in central Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed 4 policemen inside a automotive securing the supply.
An Associated Press journalist noticed folks strolling away with flour luggage, some stained with blood, after the blast. AP footage confirmed dozens of individuals gathered on the scene as emergency employees checked the burnt automobile, which had spilled flour subsequent to it.
U.N. officers and worldwide help organizations have mentioned they’re struggling to ship help, together with much-needed winter provides, into Gaza, partially due to looting and an absence of safety defending the convoys.
Israel typically strikes armed males guarding the deliveries, saying they’re Hamas militants. The Israeli army had no fast touch upon Monday’s strike.
Earlier this month, the U.N. company for Palestinian refugees mentioned it might halt help deliveries by means of the principle cargo crossing into the Gaza Strip due to the specter of armed gangs who’ve looted convoys. It blamed the breakdown of regulation and order largely on Israeli insurance policies.
Pentagon acknowledges there are greater than 2,500 US troops in Iraq
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon acknowledged Monday that there are greater than 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, the entire routinely touted publicly. It additionally mentioned the variety of forces in Syria has grown over the previous “a number of years” as a result of growing threats, however was not brazenly disclosed.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, mentioned in a press release that there are “at the very least 2,500” U.S. army personnel in Iraq “plus some extra, non permanent enablers” which might be on rotational deployments. He mentioned that as a result of diplomatic concerns, the division is not going to present extra specifics.
The U.S. concluded delicate negotiations with the federal government of Iraq in September that referred to as for troops to start leaving after the November election. The presence of U.S. troops there has lengthy been a political legal responsibility for Iraqi leaders who’re below elevated strain and affect from Iran.
U.S. officers haven’t offered particulars concerning the withdrawal settlement, but it surely requires the mission in opposition to the Islamic State group to finish by September 2025, and that some U.S. troops will stay by means of 2026 to assist the anti-IS mission in Syria. Some troops might keep within the Kurdistan area after that as a result of the regional authorities would really like them to remain.
Ryder introduced final week that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria – greater than double the 900 that the U.S. had acknowledged publicly till now. On Monday he mentioned the additional 1,100 deploy for shorter instances to do power safety, transportation, upkeep and different missions. He mentioned the quantity has fluctuated for the previous a number of years and elevated “over time.”
Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas chief
JERUSALEM — Israel’s protection minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ high chief final summer time and is threatening to take comparable motion in opposition to the management of the Houthi insurgent group in Yemen.
The feedback by Israel Katz appeared to mark the primary time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was broadly believed to be behind the blast and leaders have beforehand hinted at its involvement.
In a speech Monday, Katz mentioned the Houthis would meet an identical destiny as the opposite members of an Iranian-led alliance within the area, together with Haniyeh. He additionally famous that Israel has killed different leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft techniques.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon say they noticed Israeli military destroying residential areas
BEIRUT — The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon on Monday mentioned it has noticed current “regarding actions” by the Israeli military in southern Lebanon, together with the destruction of residential areas and street blockages.
A spokesperson for the peacekeeping mission, Kandice Ardiel, informed The Associated Press that peacekeepers additionally noticed on Monday an Israeli flag flying in Lebanese territory close to Naqoura. The city hosts the headquarters of the peacekeeping mission, generally known as UNIFIL.
Under the phrases of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire settlement that ended the 14-month warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli military is required to finish its withdrawal from Lebanon inside 60 days of the settlement’s signing on Nov. 27.
Since the ceasefire went into impact, the Israeli military has carried out near-daily army operations in southern villages, together with firing gunshots, home demolitions, excavations, tank shelling and strikes. These actions have killed at the very least 27 folks, wounded greater than 30, destroyed residential buildings and, in a single case, a mosque.
“Peacekeepers proceed to watch the state of affairs on the bottom and report violations of Resolution 1701,” Ardiel mentioned. “We reiterate our name for all actors to stop and chorus from violations of Resolution 1701 and any actions that will upset the present delicate steadiness.”
On Monday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited the positioning of an Israeli airstrike within the southern city of Khiam as a part of a tour of front-line areas alongside military chief Joseph Aoun and UNIFIL Head of Mission Aroldo Lazaro. Mikati and Lazaro urged the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory to permit the military to totally assume its duties.
Israeli army says 3 troopers killed in fight in Gaza
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says three troopers had been killed Monday in fight in northern Gaza.
The army didn’t present particulars of the circumstances. According to a press release launched Sunday, the brigade through which the three had been serving accomplished its operational actions within the northern city of Beit Lahiya on Sunday. It then started working within the close by city of Beit Hanoun following intelligence suggesting the presence of militants there.
Since the beginning of the bottom offensive within the Gaza Strip, 389 Israeli troopers have been killed.
Israeli PM Netanyahu says there’s ‘some progress’ in ceasefire and hostage deal efforts
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Monday there’s “some progress” in efforts to achieve a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, though he added he couldn’t give a timeframe for a doable settlement.
Of the roughly 250 individuals who had been taken hostage within the Hamas-led raid on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that sparked the warfare, round 100 are nonetheless contained in the Gaza Strip, at the very least a 3rd of whom are believed to be useless.
Speaking within the Knesset, Netanyahu mentioned “we’re taking vital actions by means of all channels to return our family members. I want to inform you cautiously that there’s some progress.”
Netanyahu mentioned he couldn’t reveal particulars of what was being completed to safe the return of hostages. He mentioned the principle causes for the progress had been the demise of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and Israel’s army actions in opposition to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who had been firing rockets into Israel from neighboring Lebanon in assist of Hamas.
“Hamas hoped that Iran and Hezbollah would come to its help however they’re busy licking the injuries from the blows we inflicted on them,” he mentioned, including that Israel was additionally placing “relentless army strain” on Hamas in Gaza.
“There is progress. I don’t know the way lengthy it’s going to take,” Netanyahu mentioned.
Israel shoots down a drone from Yemen, army says
JERUSALEM — Israel’s army mentioned Monday it intercepted a drone launched from Yemen earlier than it entered Israeli territory, days after a long-range rocket assault by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit Tel Aviv, injuring 16 folks from shattered glass.
The army mentioned no air raid warning sirens had been sounded Monday. Israel says the Iran-backed Houthis have fired greater than 200 missiles and UAVs, or unmanned aerial autos, through the Israel-Hamas warfare in Gaza.
The Houthis have additionally been attacking transport within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — assaults they are saying gained’t cease till there’s a ceasefire in Gaza.
The assaults on transport and Israel are happening regardless of U.S. and European warships patrolling the world. On Saturday night time and early Sunday, the U.S. carried out airstrikes on Yemen. Last week, Israel launched its personal airstrikes on Yemen, killing at the very least 9 folks, and a Houthi missile broken a college in Israel.
Qatari delegation meets with high Syrian insurgent chief in Damascus
DAMASCUS, Syria — A Qatari delegation visited the Syrian capital on Monday for the primary time in additional than a decade and met with the nation’s high rebel commander, who mentioned strategic cooperation between Damascus and Doha will start quickly.
Qatar, together with Turkey, has lengthy backed the rebels who now management Damascus, and the 2 international locations need to defend their pursuits in Syria now that former President Bashar Assad has been overthrown.
The Qatari delegation was headed by the minister of state for international affairs, Mohammed al-Khulaifi, who met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, chief of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the rebel group that overthrew Assad on Dec. 8.
Al-Sharaa was quoted as saying by Syrian media that they’ve invited the emir of Qatar to go to Damascus including that relations will return to regular quickly. Al-Sharaa mentioned Qatar will again Syria through the transitional interval and the 2 international locations will quickly begin “huge strategic cooperation.”
Al-Sharaa additionally met Monday with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in addition to a Saudi official.
Unlike Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan had relations with Assad’s authorities till he was faraway from energy.
Palestinian Authority says one other member of its safety forces is killed in Jenin
JENIN, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority says a second member of its safety forces has been killed within the West Bank city of Jenin throughout clashes with Palestinian militants.
Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab, the spokesman for PA safety forces, mentioned 1st Sgt. Mehran Qadoos was killed on Monday by “outlaws” within the risky northern city, the place the safety forces launched a uncommon crackdown earlier this month. A member of safety forces additionally was killed on Sunday.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard heavy gunfire and explosions, apparently from a battle between the safety forces and Palestinian militants. There was no signal of Israeli forces within the space.
Militant teams had earlier referred to as for a basic strike throughout the territory, accusing the safety forces of making an attempt to disarm them in assist of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally acknowledged however deeply unpopular amongst Palestinians, partially as a result of it cooperates with Israel on safety issues. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to behave in opposition to armed teams.
The Palestinian Authority workout routines restricted authority in inhabitants facilities within the West Bank. Israel captured the territory within the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians need it to kind the principle a part of their future state.
Israel’s present authorities is against Palestinian statehood and says it’s going to preserve open-ended safety management over the territory. Violence has soared within the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault out of Gaza, which ignited the warfare there.
Palestinians in Jenin observe a basic strike
JENIN, West Bank — Palestinians within the risky northern West Bank city of Jenin are observing a basic strike referred to as by militant teams to protest a uncommon crackdown by Palestinian safety forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian safety forces. It was not instantly clear if anybody was killed or wounded. There was no signal of Israeli troops within the space.
Shops had been closed within the metropolis on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian safety forces and wounded two others.
Militant teams referred to as for a basic strike throughout the territory, accusing the safety forces of making an attempt to disarm them in assist of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally acknowledged however deeply unpopular amongst Palestinians, partially as a result of it cooperates with Israel on safety issues. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to behave in opposition to armed teams.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s assault on “outlaws.” It says it’s dedicated to sustaining regulation and order however is not going to police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority workout routines restricted authority in inhabitants facilities within the West Bank. Israel captured the territory within the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians need it to kind the principle a part of their future state.
Israel’s present authorities is against Palestinian statehood and says it’s going to preserve open-ended safety management over the territory. Violence has soared within the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault out of Gaza, which ignited the warfare there.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister visits army positions within the nation’s south
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has begun a tour of army positions within the nation’s south, nearly a month after a ceasefire deal that ended the warfare between Israel and the Hezbollah group that battered the nation.
Najib Mikati on Monday was on his first go to to the southern frontlines, the place Lebanese troopers below the U.S.-brokered deal are anticipated to regularly deploy, with Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops each anticipated to withdraw by the top of subsequent month.
Mikati’s tour comes after the Lebanese authorities expressed its frustration over ongoing Israeli strikes and overflights within the nation.
“We have many duties forward of us, an important being the enemy’s (Israel’s) withdrawal from all of the lands it encroached on throughout its current aggression,” he mentioned after assembly with military chief Joseph Aoun in a Lebanese army barracks within the southeastern city of Marjayoun. “Then the military can perform its duties in full.”
The Lebanese army for years has relied on monetary help to remain useful, primarily from the United States and different Western international locations. Lebanon’s cash-strapped authorities is hoping that the warfare’s finish and ceasefire deal will result in extra funding to extend the army’s capability to deploy within the south, the place Hezbollah’s armed items had been notably current.
Though they weren’t lively combatants, the Lebanese army mentioned that dozens of its troopers had been killed in Israeli strikes on their premises or patrolling convoys within the south. The Israeli military acknowledged a few of these assaults.
