ISSUES

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Fire heavily damages Melbourne synagogue, investigation underway

The Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, was heavily damaged in an arson attack on Friday.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

Hamas threatens to ‘neutralize’ hostages if Israel launches rescue operation

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza's Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to "neutralize" the captives if any such action took place, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Read more: Reuters

IDF finds slain hostages were likely shot by captors in February amid Israeli airstrikes

More than three months after their bodies were recovered from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an Israel Defense Forces investigation has found that six former hostages were likely executed by their captors amid airstrikes on a Hamas tunnel in February.

Read more: The Times of Israel

Children in the north are not all right: ‘My daughter cries at night, my son runs to the shelter from any noise’

Noam (not his real name), a father of three from northern Israel, experiences the war’s impact on his children daily. “Our oldest acts as if everything is normal, but she’s extremely tense and grappling with deep fears. Our middle child suffers from severe anxiety – at night, she curls up silently and cries, as if she wants to disappear. She’s...

Qatar said resuming Gaza mediation role as Trump envoy pushes for deal by Jan. 20

US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy traveled to Qatar and Israel to kick-start efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he takes office on January 20, a source said, amid indications that Doha was resuming its role as a mediator in the talks.

Read more: The Times of Israel

Hezbollah begins rebuilding militarily, financially

The Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization Hezbollah has already begun rebuilding its military capabilities and financial operations, just over a week since a ceasefire with Israel went into effect after 13 and a half months of war.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

‘Another nail in UNRWA’s coffin’: Hostage family sues agency

The family of Yonatan Samerano, whose body has been held by Hamas since October 7, filed a landmark lawsuit on Monday against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The lawsuit comes in response to Samerano's murder and abduction, which occurred at the entrance to Kibbutz Be'eri after he fled from the Nova music...

Trump administration to focus on hostages, Iran nuclear deal, says new Middle East adviser

The first priority for the Trump administration will be the release of the hostages immediately, with no further delay, President-elect Donald Trump's newly-appointed Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, told French paper Le Point in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Read more: The Jerusalem Post

Pro-Palestinian group files war crimes complaint against new IDF attaché in Brussels

A pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel group in Belgium reportedly filed a complaint to the Belgian government against Israel’s new military attaché in Brussels, accusing him of war crimes.

Read more: The Times of Israel

IDF says 3 gunmen planning ‘imminent terror attack’ killed in West Bank drone strike

An Israeli drone strike in the northern West Bank on Tuesday morning killed three Palestinian gunmen whom the IDF and Shin Bet said were planning an “imminent terror attack.”

The three, members of Hamas, were struck near the Palestinian village of Aqabah in the Jordan Valley.

Read more: The Times of Israel

Slain Israeli-American hostage remembered as ‘hero of Israel’ at NY memorial service

Hundreds of people on Tuesday packed into the pews at the Midway Jewish Center in Long Island, New York, for a memorial service for American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra, whose death at the hands of the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, was finally confirmed by the IDF after more than 400 days during which his family believed him to be captive...

IDF kills seven Hamas terrorists involved in October 7 massacre

IDF troops of the 99th Division killed seven Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre, the military said on Tuesday.

Nukhba terrorist Abd Alrazak, who was also an engineering operative in the center of the Gaza Strip, was eliminated along with Marzuk Alhur, who was a Hamas terrorist who infiltrated southern Israel on October 7.
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IAF hits Hezbollah after terror group fires mortars at Mount Dov

The Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah terrorist assets across Lebanon on Monday night in response to the Iranian proxy’s firing of two mortar shells across the border hours earlier in violation of the Nov. 27 ceasefire.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

Syria: Israel strikes car on road to Damascus Airport

Syrian state media reported on Tuesday that Israel had carried out an airstrike against a vehicle on the road to Damascus International Airport.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

Hamas leadership welcomed by multiple countries, including Malaysia

Various countries—including Turkey, Iran and Russia—have welcomed Hamas members in recent weeks after the terror group’s leadership was asked to leave Qatar, Israel’s Kan News reported on Monday night.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

Trump warns there will be ‘all hell to pay’ if hostages aren’t released by Jan. 20

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threatened those holding hostages in the Middle East with unprecedented American firepower if they are not released by the time he enters office on January 20.

Read more: The Times of Israel

Israeli military says Hezbollah is smuggling weapons into Lebanon during ceasefire

Hezbollah terrorists are smuggling weapons into Lebanon despite an ongoing cease-fire agreement with Israel, the Israel Defense Forces alleged Saturday.
IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X that "earlier today, Air Force fighter jets, under the direction of Military Intelligence, attacked military infrastructure near the border...

Israeli drone strike targets Hamas cell near Jenin

The Israeli military carried out a drone strike against a Palestinian terrorist cell near Jenin in northern Samaria on Sunday morning, killing a Hamas operative responsible for a deadly shooting in the Jordan Valley last summer.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate

IDF confirms Iranian-led forces sent to repel Syrian rebels

Iraqi forces backed by Iran have moved into Syria to support the government's efforts to counter insurgents who recently captured parts of Aleppo, according to the IDF and monitoring groups, marking an escalation in the regional conflict. IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari told Sky News on Monday that the movement of the Iranian proxies into Syria...

Israel forces Iranian plane to reverse course over Syria

Israeli fighter jets on Sunday night intercepted an Iranian plane over Syria suspected to be transporting weapons to Hezbollah, forcing it to return to Tehran.

Read more: Jewish News Syndicate