IDF strikes Syrian army post with tank fire after rockets launched into Golan Heights
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Four rockets were launched from Syria toward the Golan Heights; one fell in an unpopulated area, and three fell short in Syrian territory. The IDF said it struck the source of the launches with artillery fire and a Syrian army post with tank fire.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition war monitor, reported that Israel fired at targets in Syria's Daraa and Quneitra.
Earlier, four rockets were fired at Kiryat Shmona, triggering air raid sirens in the northern city and neighboring communities. Police sappers were deployed to at least three impact sites across the city where rocket fragments were found, including the yard of a residential building.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Monday that international shipping lanes were safe for non-Israeli ships or vessels not headed to Israeli ports, writing off any claims otherwise as “American propaganda.”
"The shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea are safe, and there is no danger to ships, except for those belonging to Israel or those heading to Israeli ports,” said Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam.
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A Houthi gunman walking past the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, hijacked by Iranian-backed rebels in November
(Photo: EPA/YAHYA ARHAB)
“Any other claim is unrealistic American propaganda aiming to build an international rampart to protect Israel at sea, following the collapse of its concrete walls in the Al-Aqsa Flood," he added, referring to the Hamas’ name for the October 7 attack on Israel and the consequent war.
Meanwhile, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council, told Al Jazeera in an interview that the Iranian-backed group is “capable of confronting any coalition formed by the U.S. operating in the Red Sea.”
Jordan's King Abdullah said on Monday Washington can play a key role in ending the Israeli military campaign in Gaza by pushing for an immediate cease-fire, state media reported.
The monarch, a staunch U.S. ally, met with General Charles Q. Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during his visit to Jordan. They discussed regional developments and the ongoing war on terrorism.
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Israeli hostages Amiram Cooper, Chaim Peri and Yoram Metzger in Hamas propaganda video
Hamas on Monday released a new propaganda video depicting three elderly Israeli hostages, offering the first sign of life from the men since their capture during the October 7 attack.
Titled "Don't Let Us Grow Old Here" in English, and "Cast me not off in the time of old age" in Hebrew, a reference to Psalm 71 from the Hebrew Bible, the footage is designed to exert pressure on the Israeli public and officials.
The video features Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper who were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Peri is the only one who identifies himself and speaks for the group. He reveals that they are being held with other elderly individuals and appeals to Israel for their rescue.
A Golani Brigade fire team was engaged in intense fighting against Hamas terrorists in Gaza City’s Shijaiyah neighborhood, the IDF said Monday evening.
Golani Brigade forces operating in Shijaiyah
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
According to the army, since the beginning of the ground operations in the eastern Gaza neighborhood, the brigade has eliminated many terrorists, located and destroyed over 10 tunnels and seized weapons and intelligence materials found in the houses of Hamas operatives.
The brigade's reserve engineering unit uncovered and destroyed dozens of rocket launchers, some located near schools and cemeteries. Troops in the area found combat equipment, communication devices, and tunnel shafts.
Since the start of the fighting in the Hamas stronghold, soldiers have been engaged in close-quarters combat, with Israeli forces coming under attack by numerous armed terrorist cells with explosives, anti-tank fire and gunfire from civilian buildings, often using civilians, including women and children, as human shields.
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Weapons and combat gear seized by Israeli forces in Shijaiyah
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
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Rocket launcher uncovered by Israeli forces in Shijaiyah
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Speaking at a joint press conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that an Israeli victory against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is tantamount to a victory for the "free world led by the United States."
“Our common enemies around the world are watching and they know that [an] Israeli victory is a victory of the free world led by the United States,” the defense minister says.
Gallant also announced plans for a phased transition in Gaza war operations, potentially enabling the local population to return to the northern part of the coastal Strip sooner than the south.
Austin said that he discussed the shift from major combat operations to lower-intensity warfare with the Israeli leadership but stressed that Washington would not dictate timelines.
Meanwhile, the IDF released Monday the names of two fallen soldiers who died in Gaza battles. Captain Yarin Gahali, 22, from Rehovot, a platoon commander in the Givati Reconnaissance Unit, who fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip, and Captain (res.) Netanel Silberg, 33 from Moshav Na'omi, a Yahalom special forces commander, fell in battle in the northern part of the Strip.
An Israeli aircraft struck areas from which launches were fired from Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement on Monday evening. According to the army, air defenses also intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
Furthermore, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles toward the area of Moshav Avivim in northern Israel. In response, IDF artillery struck in Lebanese territory.
Mossad Chief David Barnea is scheduled to meet with CIA Director William Burns and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar later on Monday to discuss a possible deal to release hostages held captive in Gaza.
Officials in Israel said a number of possible outlines would be discussed but negotiations were expected to be long and complex.
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David Barnea, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, William Burns
(Photo: Yariv Katz, AP)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Charles Brown arrived in Israel on Monday to meet with leaders to discuss the IDF's plans in the war against Hamas in Gaza. After meeting with defense officials, Austin will meet the full cabinet, the Prime Minister's Office said.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and U.S. Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin
(Photo: Defense Ministry)
At least 70% of gas stations in Iran were disabled on Monday, the Iranian oil minister said in a television broadcast. He said Israel and the United States were behind the attack because of their defeats in the war in Gaza.
A group of Israeli hackers claimed they carried out a cyber strike in response to Iranian aggressions amid the war in Gaza. Gas stations were targeted in a similar strike last year. Earlier, the Cybersecurity authority said that Iran and Hezbollah were behind a cyber attack on the Ziv Hospital in Safed last month.
A senior member of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen said on Monday that the Red Sea was an additional front in the struggle for Palestine. Houthis have attacked ships sailing in the Bab el Mandeb Straits forcing major shipping companies to announce they would divert their vessels to longer routes around Africa to avoid strikes.
The UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early on Monday that it had received reports of an incident near the Bab-el-Mandeb Straits, 30NM off the coast city of Mokha in Yemen. "Master reports a possible explosion in the water 2NM off one of the vessels," UKMTO said in a post on X.
The U.S. confirmed that the Norwegean-owned M/V SWAN ATLANTIC, carrying chemicals, came under attack by multiple projectiles fired at it, when sailing in the southern Red Sea and that the USS Carney, the Navy's warship in the area, sailed toward it when it received a distress call amid the attack. The Reuters news agency was told by the owner that the ship's crew was unhurt.
A 27-year-old woman was injured from gunfire in a terror attack in the West Bank. Terrorists opened fire at two Israeli vehicles before fleeing into Ramallah. The woman suffered gunshot wounds to her shoulder but continued driving to a nearby settlement where she was treated by MDA emergency teams. A man and a baby who were with her in her car, escaped injury.
The IDF said on Monday that its forces operating in the Jabaliya neighborhood in Gaza, found cash amounting to five million shekels in the home of a senior member of the Hamas terror group.
Earlier, the military released the names of four fallen soldiers in the Gaza fighting. Master Sergeant Tal Filiba, Master Sergeant Etan Naeh and Sergeant First Class Liav Aloush were killed in battles in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday
The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Monday on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip - via land, sea and air routes - and set up U.N. monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered.
Diplomats said the fate of the draft Security Council resolution hinges on final negotiations between Israel's ally and council veto power, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, which has drafted the text.
First published: 07:20, 12.18.23