News Digest — 12/11/25
Amnesty International Accuses Hamas Of Crimes Against Humanity During Oct. 7 Massacre
Amnesty International released a report on Thursday (11th) accusing Hamas of crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, for the October 7 massacre and and treatment of the hostages taken.
The report concluded that Palestinian terrorists killed the vast majority of civilians who died and presents evidence of hostages being subjected to physical and sexual abuse.
The report, titled Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza, condemns Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for crimes committed during the massacre, and calls for the return of the remains of the final remaining hostage, St.-Sgt-Major. Ran Gvili.
Amnesty International has previously accused Hamas of committing war crimes during the massacre, but has never stated that the scale and nature of violence met the threshold for crimes against humanity.
The NGO also condemned Hamas’ murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The report placed the blame for the massacre “primarily” on Hamas’ so-called military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, accusing them of being “chiefly responsible.”
It accused other Gazan terror groups of being responsible also, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and other supposedly unaffiliated Palestinian civilians who took part in the massacre.
The NGO in October, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all civilians who were then still held by Hamas and other terror groups in the Strip, but excluded soldiers.
‘Hamas Has To Go,’ Says US Envoy, Pledges Terror Group Will Be Removed
The US Ambassador to the United Nations reassured Israel that the Trump administration will not permit Hamas to continue to operate within the Gaza Strip following the Second Phase of the 20-point peace plan, vowing that the terror group will be removed either by disarmament or through force.
On Wednesday (10th), Ambassador Mike Waltz met with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, during which the two leaders discussed efforts to return the body of the final hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, and the Second Phase of the Gaza peace plan.
Herzog lauded the Trump administration for helping to secure the return of the hostages from Gaza, while warning that without a clear path forward, Hamas and other terror groups could use the ceasefire to regroup.
“We hope that the process will not take too long, because in the Middle East, if you wait for too long, then the vacuum fills in, and the rogue elements don’t rest for a moment,” Herzog said.
Waltz emphasized that President Donald Trump is committed to removing Hamas from power in Gaza – by force if necessary – and said that under no circumstances would the terror group be allowed to reassert control over Gaza following reconstruction of the Strip.
“What has been clear, and I want to be clear, is Hamas has to go,” Waltz told Herzog. “President Trump has been clear, that’s going to happen the easy way or the hard way, but there will not be any more Hamas.”
“And what we cannot do, what we’re determined to avoid, is what I call the definition of insanity: If somehow Hamas is allowed to survive, and they rebuild, and the international community pours billions into reconstruction, and Hamas strikes again, and Israel has no choice but to respond, and there we are in this cycle of insanity again. The President, and his team, is determined to break that cycle, and one of the many reasons I’m here is to see that implemented.”
After Anti-Hamas Leader’s Death In Gaza, Factions Grow To Fill The Gap
The killing of Yasser Abu Shahab, a figure central to efforts to build armed opposition to Hamas in Gaza, has triggered renewed recruitment among factions operating in Israeli-controlled zones, with their leaders vowing to expand operations despite the loss of their highest-profile commander.
His death last week in Rafah, described by his group as occurring during an attempt to settle a family dispute, has not slowed attempts by several factions to position themselves as actors in Gaza’s future.
The groups, though limited in size, have become more visible since the October ceasefire.
Israeli officials have acknowledged contact with certain clans, and three Egyptian officials said recruitment has risen sharply in recent weeks, estimating – that around 1,000 men are now aligned with anti-Hamas forces.
Several factions released videos after Abu Shahab’s death showing fighters assembled in Rafah and pledging to continue their campaign.
Despite these displays, diplomats say the factions lack broad public backing.
Hamas, which still controls areas where most Gazans live, denounced the groups as collaborators and said Abu Shahab met the “inevitable fate of all those who betrayed their people and homeland.”
A security official from a Hamas-led coalition dismissed the factions’ activities as “psychological warfare.”
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the security apparatus would pursue anyone working with its rivals but argued their protection by Israeli forces limits Hamas’ ability to act.
Other factions have also claimed momentum. Hussam Alastal, who leads a group in Khan Younis, told Reuters that he and al-Duhaini had “agreed the war on terror will continue,” describing their vision for “our project, a new Gaza.”
He said his fighters receive assistance from “friends” abroad and acknowledged coordination with Israel on supplies, though he denied receiving military support.
The House Passes $900B Defense Bill Wuth Major Pro-Israel Provisions
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday (10th) advanced the National Defense Authorization Act defense policy bill for the next fiscal year, sending it to the Senate for final passage,
Both Democrats and Republicans voted overwhelmingly to approve the measure, which sets out the nation’s defense policy agenda and authorizes nearly $900 billion in funding for military programs, including a 3.8%pay raise for service members.
The bill includes significant pro-Israel provisions , including $500 million in 2026 for US-Israel missile defense cooperation. This includes funds for Israeli procurement of Iron Dome, David’s Sling and the Arrow missile system, and for bilateral research development, testing and evaluation.
Other provisions include $80 million for the US-Israel Anti-Tunneling cooperative program and $35 million for US-Israel cooperation on emerging technologies, including directed energy, AI, cybersecurity, robotics, and quantum.
The bill also increases authorization for US-Israel cooperation or countering drones to $70 million, a $15 million increase from last year, and expands the program to unmanned systems across all warfighting domains.
Furthermore, it convenes the US-Israel Defense Industrial Base Working Group with a mandate to assess opportunities for deeper defense industrial base integration and potential Israeli entry into the National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB).
The legislation expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense must refrain from participating in any international defense exhibitions until the Secretary of Defense confirms that Israeli companies can fully and fairly take part. It also directs the Department to avoid any exhibitions that restrict or threaten to restrict Israel’s participation.
It also directs the Secretary of Defense, in cooperation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, to continually assess the impact of international arms embargoes on Israel.
AIPAC welcomed the approval of the bill, noting it “critically prioritizes US-Israel defense cooperation to further enable both nations to counter missile, drone, and emerging high-tech threats.”
“In adopting these important provisions, we appreciate the leadership of Senators John Thune (R-SD), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jack Reed (D-FL), and Representatives, Mike Johnson (R–AL), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Mike Rogers (R-AL), and Adam Smith (D-WA),” said AIPAC, which added it “urges the Senate to support the pro-Israel provisions in the FY26 NDAA.”
Beyond Israel, the bill includes a provision that increases pressure on the Pentagon to provide Congress with videos of its strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
Other provisions in the NDAA would repeal 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq, repeal sanctions on Syria, and seek to limit the Trump administration’s ability to significantly draw down troops from Europe.
Another provision aims to support efforts to recover Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russia.
First Material Evidence Of Judah Maccabee’s Battlefield Discovered Near Jerusalem
New archaeological finds in the hills south of Jerusalem may offer the first material evidence from one of Judah Maccabee’s battles, The Press Service of Israel has learned as the Chanukah holiday approaches.
The eight-day holiday of Chanukah, which begins on Sunday night (14th), marks the successful Hasmonean revolt against the Seleucid King Antiochus IV and the subsequent rededication of the Second Temple some 2,000 years ago.
In an exclusive interview with TPS-IL, Dr. Tvir Raviv of Bar-Ilan UNiversity said that a survey at Horbat Bet Zecharia in the Gush Etzion region south of Jerusalem, has uncovered objects that match both the date and the military profile of the famous battle described in the Book of Maccabees in 163 BCE.
The site, on a hill about seven kilometers southwest of Bethlehem, is widely identified with the ancient village of Bet Zecharia, where the Seleucid army and the forces of Judah Maccabee clashed in what is known as the fifth Maccabean battle.
According to First Maccabees and later Jewish historian Josephus, the Seleucid army advanced north along the Jerusalem-Hebron road with war elephants.
The battle ended in a Seleucid victory and a siege of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Raviv’s 2022 survey at the site documented ninety-two coins and hundreds of pottery sherds from the Persian, Hellenistic, and Hasmonean periods.
However, what drew his attention were four objects pointing directly to a Hellenistic battlefield – three cast lead sling bullets and a bronze coin minted in the city of Side in Asia Minor, today southern Turkey.
“This is the first time we may be holding objects that came from one of Judah Maccabee’s battlefields,” Raviv told TPS-IL.
At Bet Zecharia, we found a Side coin that is usually linked with Seleucid mercenaries, and three lead sling bullets that only appear in military contexts. Together, they fit very well with the description of the battle in First Maccabees.”
The sling bullets, discovered on the western slope of the hill, are typical Hellenistic ammunition. One carries the winged thunderbolt of Zeus, a common symbol on such projectiles.
Across Israel, similar bullets have been found at only about twenty sites, almost all known from historic sources as siege works, forts, or battlefields, including Jerusalem, Dor, Samaria, Maresha, Yodfat, and Mount Gerizim.
“We don’t expect to find Seleucid military equipment in a small rural village unless an army actually fought there,” Raviv explained.
He noted that the bullets were found in a cluster on the slope facing the ancient Jerusalem-Hebron road, exactly where the Seleucid army is said to have advanced.
“The finds sit where the sources place the battle, along the old road below the village. They give us, for the first time, an archaeological echo of the confrontation described in the texts.”
A bronze coin from the Asia Minor city of Side was found at Horbat Bet Zecharia south of Jerusalem, where the Maccabees fought the Greek Seleucid army. One side shows the Greek goddess Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet. The other features a pomegranate, which was the symbol of Side. Foreign mercenaries fTighting with the Greeks were paid with such coins.
The city of Side served as a recruitment center for mercenaries who fought in Seleucid armies. Although around 120 such coins have been found around Israel, this is the first time that a Side coin has emerged from a location explicitly connected to a documented Hasmonean battlefield, Raviv explained.
Raviv stressed that the new finds do not settle questions about exact location, numbers, or tactics. The importance, he says, lies in offering the first independent support for the historicity of the battle itself.
For Raviv, the implications go beyond technical analysis: “It is the first time we have possible archaeological evidence from one of Judah Maccabee’s battlefields,” he said. “This is where history, text and ground finally begin to meet,”
