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| World News |
| Trump says he’s ‘trying to help very strongly’ to bring hostages home |
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US President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he is working to secure the release of the hostages in Gaza. “We are trying to help very strongly in getting the hostages back,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The Trump transition team has been working together with the outgoing Biden administration in the past weeks to try to secure a hostage release and ceasefire deal before the president-elect enters office. The initiative has made progress in recent days, though major obstacles remain, three US, Israeli, and Arab officials have said. If the hostages are not home by his January 20, 2025, inauguration day, “all hell is going to break out,” Trump added, reiterating a threat he issued earlier this month. Trump confirmed that he held a “recap call” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend, but did not go into specifics. “We had a very good talk, and we discussed what is going to happen, and I’ll be very available on January 20, and we’ll see,” he said. |
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| Israel News |
| Budget bill narrowly passes 1st reading, after Ben Gvir and party vote against |
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The Knesset narrowly approves the 2025 Budget Bill in its first reading 59-57, after members of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, vote against it. The passage of the first reading of the Budget Bill bill comes on the heels of the passage of the state budget framework bill, which passed 58-53, also in the face of Otzma Yehudit opposition, with Ben Gvir abstaining. Following the vote, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slams Ben Gvir, accusing him of being “allied with the Arab MKs and the opposition” and of “endangering the right-wing government in the middle of a war.” “Ben Gvir and his friends, who seem to have completely lost their way, voted against transferring a critical budget for victory, reconstruction, and reservists, thereby jeopardizing a historic opportunity for the future of settlement in Judea and Samaria and the State of Israel with the incoming Trump administration,” Smotrich tweets. “We will continue to work for the people of Israel and for victory in the war, with or without Ben Gvir.” According to the bill, total government expenditures for 2025 will total NIS 755.9 billion ($210 billion), with a regular budget of NIS 547.36 billion ($152 billion) and a capital account budget of NIS 208.53 billion ($58 billion). |
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| Houthi ballistic missile triggers sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel |
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A ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen set off sirens across most of central Israel on Monday afternoon for the first time in that area in close to a month. The IDF said that the missile was successfully shot down by air defenses before crossing the country’s borders. It said that sirens sounded across central Israel over fears of falling shrapnel following the interception. According to reports, shrapnel from the interceptor fell in the northern West Bank and did not cause any injuries. The sirens rang out across Tel Aviv, Holon, Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, Herzliya and many surrounding areas, including several settlements in the northern West Bank. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics treated five people who were lightly injured while running for cover during the sirens in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikvah, Kfar Saba, Holon and at the Em Hamoshavot junction. The injured were taken to hospital for treatment, MDA said in a statement. |
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| Heavy Israeli airstrikes reported on Syrian military sites in coastal Tartus region |
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Heavy Israeli airstrikes were reported in Syria’s coastal Tartus region overnight Sunday-Monday, allegedly targeting military sites, in the latest such raids since rebels brought down Bashar al-Assad’s regime last week. The attacks were reported by local media and several monitors, with some footage distributed on social media showing explosions, ostensibly from the bombings. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said early Monday that Israel Defense Forces jets had targeted a series of sites, including air defense units and surface-to-surface missile depots, calling the campaign “the heaviest strikes in Syria’s coastal region since the start of strikes in 2012.” The Israeli military did not immediately comment, and the SOHR report could not be independently verified. The reported strikes followed a major campaign launched by Israel after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 to destroy the Syrian military’s strategic military capabilities, in a bid to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile elements. Targets have included chemical weapons sites, missiles, air defenses and air force and navy targets. |
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