Important Takeaways:
- The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
- The ICC accused Netanyahu and Gallant of a string of human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip, where local health officials said the death toll from the Israeli military’s yearlong assault on the Palestinian enclave had now passed 44,000.
- Israel responded furiously to the warrants, with Netanyahu’s office branding the decision “antisemitic,” rejecting the charges as “absurd and false” and condemning the ICC as a “biased and discriminatory political body.”
- Hamas welcomed the warrants as an “important step towards justice”…
- Both Israel and the United States do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, which has no police to enforce its warrants. But the warrants do put the Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries, including much of Europe.
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Important Takeaways:
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately wrote to the President-elect, stating, “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!
- “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!
- Incoming Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “Together, we’ll strengthen the US-Israel alliance, bring back the hostages, and stand firm to defeat the axis of evil led by Iran.”
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X saying: “Yesssss.”
- Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party Leader Bezalel Smotrich writes: “God bless Israel, God bless America.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Trump is “a true and dear friend of Israel, and a champion of peace and cooperation in our region. I look forward to working with you to strengthen the ironclad bond between our peoples, to build a future of peace and security for the Middle East, and to uphold our shared values.
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Important Takeaways:
- Two days after Israel’s historic strike on Iran, the Middle East is still processing its impact. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the attack on Iran was precise, powerful, and achieved all of its goals.
- “We severely damaged Iran’s defense capacity and the ability to produce missiles aimed at us,” he said.
- Three waves of attacks, involving more than 100 warplanes, struck targets over 1,000 miles from Israel. However, the IDF Chief of Staff noted that Israel used only a fraction of its capabilities.
- Satellite images reveal extensive damage to key Iranian military installations, potentially delaying Iran’s ballistic missile production for years. Israel also dismantled air defenses in Iraq, Syria, and Iran, including advanced S-300 and S-400 systems.
- Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman sees this as a powerful message to Iran. “Most importantly, it’s sending the message to Iran. Anytime, we want. We gotcha,” Friedman told CBN News. “And we didn’t do it this time but keep it up, keep up this nuclear program and you’ll see us in the near future.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had “settled the score with him,” but stressed that “the task before us [Israel] is not yet complete.”
- Netanyahu said Israel’s focus was on securing the return of the roughly 100 hostages still in Gaza, taken during Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack last year, of whom a third are believed to be dead.
- “This is an important moment in the war,” Netanyahu said to the families of the hostages, according to the Reuters news agency. “We will continue full force until the return home of all your loved ones, who are our loved ones, too. This is our supreme obligation. This is my supreme obligation.”
- President Biden said Sinwar’s death after almost two decades of Hamas rule in Gaza was good news, “for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.” Along with other senior U.S. officials, he indicated that it should bring new hope for a cease-fire in the year-long war.
- But Hamas did not mention any renewed push for a cease-fire agreement with Israel after the killing of its leader.
- Deputy Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya confirmed Sinwar’s death Friday in a televised speech, and said the group would continue on the same path it’s been on. Al-Hayya said Hamas would not release the remaining hostages without a cease-fire deal and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
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Important Takeaways:
- The UNSC “emphasized the need for diplomatic endeavors that would bring a durable end to the conflict and allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes.”
- The United States, which has typically blocked such measures, backed the statement. The carefully worded statement did not mention either Israel or Hezbollah, but rather referred to “the parties.”
- UNSC members expressed their “deep concern for civilian casualties and suffering the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people.,” Baeriswyl said. “They called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law,” she added.
- Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said, “We will continue to strike Hezbollah without mercy everywhere in Lebanon – including Beirut. Everything is according to operational considerations.
- “We have proven this recently and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well,” he stated prior to holding security consultations later that night in the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.
- For the second day in a row, he also called on the United Nations to remove the peacekeepers from the border during the IDF operation to remove Hezbollah from that area.
- [Netanyahu] “Hezbollah uses UNIFIL facilities and positions as cover while it attacks Israeli cities and communities. These attacks have claimed the lives of many Israelis, including yesterday,” Netanyahu said as he referred to the Hezbollah drone that attacked an airbase in Israel, wounding 63 people and killing four.
- “Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu stated.
- “We regret any harm done to UNIFIL personnel and the IDF is doing its utmost to prevent such incidents,” he stressed.
- “But the best way to assure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s request and to temporarily get out of harm’s way,” Netanyahu said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Netanyahu says IDF will attack Hezbollah everywhere, including Beirut
- His words followed two briefings from a senior Israeli diplomatic source that dismissed multiple media reports about a US request that Israel stop attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
- Two Israeli tanks crossed into Syria on Monday, according to Israeli media, citing Syrian reports.
- According to the reports, the tanks positioned themselves near the border town of Kwdana/Kodna, south of Quneitra, which has been the site of several tank battles, most famously in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
- Hezbollah drone explodes near Binyamina, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens.
- According to the IDF’s tally, the death of Sgt. Bitan raises the total of soldiers killed on or since October 7 of last year to 740.
- Some 353 of this number were killed since the start of the military’s ground operations in the Strip on October 27.
- 101 hostages remain in Gaza
- 48 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says
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Important Takeaways:
- The call, under way late Wednesday morning U.S. time, was the leaders’ first known chat since August and coincided with a sharp escalation of Israel’s conflict with both Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
- The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon.
- The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.
- Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said, as Israeli media reported Netanyahu wanted first to speak with Biden.
- Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a ceasefire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
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Important Takeaways:
- US officials tell Axios that the Biden administration is increasingly distrustful of what Israel is saying about its military and diplomatic plans.
- Two of the officials tell the outlet that White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Friday that the US expects “clarity and transparency” from Israel over its plans for a potential attack on Iran after Tehran fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel last week.
- The officials note that any Israel strike would have an impact on US forces in the region.
- An official says that Sullivan’s message was a signal that if the US is not given a heads-up as to Israel’s plans, it won’t necessarily join a coalition to defend Israel against a potential future attack from Iran.
- The report says the US is also concerned about the most recent operation launched by the IDF in north Gaza, despite the fact that Israel has told Washington that the evacuation orders for civilians there will not lead to a permanent displacement of the population.
- “They tell us what we want to hear — the problem is lack of trust,” a US official says.
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Important Takeaways:
- Israeli forces have killed the would-be successors of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, without naming them.
- “We’ve degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities. We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of the replacement,” Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message.
- Netanyahu did not identify by name Nasrallah’s replacement that he claimed Israel had killed.
- It was not immediately clear who Netanyahu meant in his comments by the “replacement of the replacement”.
- “Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years,” Netanyahu said in his video message, which was directed at the people of Lebanon.
- “Israel has a right to defend itself. Israel also has a right to win. And Israel will win,” Netanyahu said.
- He urged Lebanon to “take back your country” and return it to a path of peace and prosperity and take advantage of an opportunity that hasn’t existed in decades.
- “If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense. It doesn’t care if Lebanon is dragged into a wider war,” he added. “Christians, Druze, Muslims — Sunnis and Shiites — all of you are suffering because of Hezbollah’s futile war against Israel.
- “Don’t let these terrorists destroy your future any more than they’ve already done,” Netanyahu added. “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
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Important Takeaways:
- The Islamic Republic will collapse sooner than people think, and the Iranian people will be free, paving the way for relations between these two ancient cultures, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
- “When Iran is finally free and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think – everything will be different,” he said.
- “When that day comes, the terror network that the regime built in five continents will be bankrupt, dismantled,” Netanyahu explained, adding that Iran will thrive as never before.”
- “There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said on Monday. “There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country.”
- On Monday he released a statement in English aimed at the Iranian people, explaining that “at this pivotal moment, I want to address you – the people of Iran. I want to do so directly, without filters, without middlemen.
- “Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza.
- “Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war,” he said.
- “With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss,” he stated.
- “The vast majority of Iranians know their regime doesn’t care a whit about them,” Netanyahu said.
- “There are tens of millions of good and decent people with thousands of years of history behind them and a bright future ahead of them,” he said.
- When that day comes, he said, “Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace.”
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