News Digest — 12/20/24
After Yemen Strikes, Netanyahu Says Israel Hitting Houthis On Behalf Of ‘Entire World’
Hours after the Israel Defense Forces carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday (19th) that Israel’s operations are protecting not just itself from the Iranian-backed rebel group but the entire world.
“They are not only attacking us,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, “they are attacking the entire world . They are attacking international shipping and trade routes.”
Dozens of planes struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and, for the first time, in the rebel-held Sanaa, in the early hours of Thursday morning (19th).
“When Israel acts against the Houthis, it acts for the entire international community,” Netanyahu said, adding that “the US and many others “understand this well.”
He suggested that the rebel group was among the last Iranian proxies still active “after Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria.”
The Houthis, he said, “are learning and they will learn the hard way that anyone who attacks Israel pays a very heavy price.”
Fourteen fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers in the early hours of Thursday morning (19th) and dropped over 60 munitions on Houthi “military targets,” the IDF said.
Israeli military sources said the strikes in Yemen were aimed at paralyzing all three ports used by the Iran-backed group.
The targets included fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats used at the Houthi-controlled ports.
All of the tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack, as were power stations. A previous attack on the Hodeidah port targeted cranes used to unload shipments.
Israel now believes that all activity at the ports controlled by the Houthis is paralyzed, sources said Thursday (19th).
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed that among the targets hit in the “precise strikes” were “ports and energy infrastructure,” which he accused the Houthis of harnessing for “their military actions,” including missile and drone launches against Israel and attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The military, which released videos of the strikes and the aerial refueling amid the operation, called the destruction of the targets a major blow to the military operations of the Houthis.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday (19th) in a statement that he was ”warning the heads of the Houthi terror group: The long arm of Israel will reach you. Whoever lifts a hand against the State of Israel will have it severed. Whoever harms us will be harmed many times over.”
Katz said that Jerusalem “will not accept firing of missiles at Israel, nor harm to trade routes.”
Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel, with most being shot down but some managing to reach the country and cause death and destruction. Thursday’s (19th) strike marked Israel’s third counterattack on areas in Yemen held by the rebel group.
The Israeli Air Force had been preparing for the strike for several weeks, military sources said, and the planes were already on their way to Yemen when the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Israel shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday morning (19th).
The projectile was partially intercepted outside Israeli airspace by the long-range Arrow air defense system. However, the warhead didn’t explode in the air and crashed into an empty school building in the city of Ramat Gan, causing severe damage but no injuries.
The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.
The group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping.
The Houthis began their attacks following Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel, seeking to add pressure on Israel, along with other Iran-aligned groups such as Hezbollah.
For months, Israel argued that others in the international community should bear the responsibility of dealing with the Houthi threat, referring to it as a global problem – a position endorsed by Washington, which has also launched strikes on the Houthis.
On Monday (16th), the US military’s Central Command said it hit “a key command-and-control facility” operated by the Houthis in Sanaa, later identified as the Al-Ardi complex once home to the government’s defense ministry.
UNGA Passes Resolution Asking ICJ To Force Israel To Save UNRWA
The UN General Assembly Convened on Thursday (19th) where a vote passed by a majority a resolution requesting the ICJ for an advisory opinion whose purpose is to clarify the legal obligation of the State of Israel to allow the free operation of UN humanitarian agencies in general, and UNRWA in particular.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, spoke before the vote and said: “We are back in this Assembly Hall debating the same recycled nonsense, where all that matters is attacking and challenging Israel’s right to protect its citizens. This time the Palestinians are using a new tool in this diplomatic circus: the International Court of Justice. While they take advantage of your indifference and the court’s surrender to their terrorist-supporting agendas, 100 innocent civilians are still being held in Gaza by the Hamas terrorists, and while the Iranian regime is racing towards nuclear weapons.”
“This Assembly clings to the past: Hamas is being dismantled. Hezbollah has been humiliated. Asad has fallen. Instead of seizing this moment to foster peace and stability, this resolution would have you choose to continue a cycle of hate. We must take advantage of this rare, historic opportunity and free the world from the murderous Iranian regime,” he said.
The Ambassador added: “While you are dealing with the past, the State of Israel is dealing with the future – a future that is not controlled by evil Iranian forces. Help us make the Middle East a place of peace and stability and not one of hatred and terrorism.”
The resolution passed with 137 countries voting in favor and 12 countries voting against it. In addition to Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Fiji, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Pala, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga, and the US voted against the resolution.
FBI Arrests College Student For Plotting Mass Casualty Attack On Israeli Consulate In NYC
New York – The FBI has arrested a suspect for a planned mass casualty terror attack against the Israeli consulate in New York City, the consulate said on Thursday (19th).
The suspect, Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, an 18-year-old Egyptian national living in Falls Church, Virginia, instructed an FBI informant to carry out the attack, according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday (16th). He was later confirmed by the Washington Post to be a freshman at George Mason University.
Hassan ran several social media accounts that supported ISIS, al-Qaeda and Hamas, and advocated for violence against Jews, the FBI said in the complaint filed in a federal court in Virginia.
Local police located Hassan after receiving a tip about one of Hassan’s accounts on X. An undercover FBI asset then connected with Hassan on social media, securing messaging apps.
Hassan allegedly instructed the informant on how to join ISIS and shared jihadist propaganda, including a video that advocated for killing Jews.
He encouraged the informant to carry out an attack, sending him instructions on how to create a martyrdom video,” the complaint said.
The suspect sent the informant bomb-making instructions and told the informant, who said he was in New York, to target a building representing Jews, later settling on the Israeli consulate. The bomb-making instructions allegedly included the suggestion that packing the explosive with 30 mm aluminum ball bearings, for shrapnel, “will do the trick.”
Hassan told the informant how to surveil the consulate and how to escape to ISIS territory after the attack, and also suggested he could “lay havoc on them with an assault rifle” instead of a bomb. He also told the informant to livestream the attack so Hassan could give footage to ISIS.
The conversations took place last month and this month, the complaint said.
Hassan, who according to a court filing was arrested on December 17, is accused of crimes related to distributing information on explosives and weapons of mass destruction.
Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul-general in New York, thanked US security services for thwarting the planned attack.
“The attempted attack by terror organizations is an attack on the sovereign soil of the State of Israel in its entirety,” Akunis said in a Thursday (19th) statement to the Times of Israel. “It’s proof that terror knows no boundaries and that we must fight it everywhere and every time.”
There was no immediate comment from the US Justice Department on the arrest.
Authorities have prevented other recent terror attacks against Jews in New York.
In September, a suspect was arrested in Canada while attempting to enter the US to attack a Jewish center in Brooklyn in support of ISIS.
And in July, a neo-Nazi was indicted for planning mass casualty attacks against Jews in New York City by distributing poisoned candy to Jewish children.
Reasons To Be Hopeful – Nicky Blackburn
In a crisis, you are going to want an Israeli on your side. In times of difficulty, Israelis have a way of stepping up to help that goes way beyond the norm. Whether you were a farmer who couldn’t get the crop in on time, the partner of a reservist struggling to support the family, or a business from the north or south in trouble, Israelis rushed in their hundreds of thousands to help. During the first two weeks of the Oct. 7 war, more than 1,000 civil initiatives emerged across Israel and 48.6% of the Israeli population engaged in volunteering, according to a report from Hebrew University.
In addition, locally-based international humanitarian aid organizations continued to send out dedicated and trained staff to help in all sorts of crisis situations. In January, SmartAID sent help to earthquake-hit Japan, then to Taiwan after another earthquake in April. In October, SmartAID provided solar power units and communication systems to communities in Florida and North Carolina in the wake of two devastating hurricanes. In June, IsraAID sent help to Papua New Guinea after a deadly landslide. It also expanded access to safe water in Ukraine and drilled new bore holes in Kenya after the country suffered its worst drought in 40 years.
Israeli villages and towns near Gaza are finally rebuilding. Destroyed buildings are being bulldozed and rebuilt, volunteers are cleaning and clearing, residents are returning, businesses reopening. Since the ceasefire with Hezbollah on Nov. 27, the north has also seen signs of recovery. Citizens are beginning to return home, communities are regrouping, farms are getting back to normal, businesses are reopening, and rebuilding is beginning.
Israel’s air defense Systems more than proved themselves in the last 15 months. According to Rafael CEO Yoav Turgeman, the Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems intercepted more targets than all other air defense systems combined in the past 50 years. In one year, since Oct. 7, there had been 26,000 rockets, missiles and drones launched at Israel – 13,200 from Gaza, 12,400 from Lebanon, 400 from Iran, 180 from Yemen, and 60 from Syria. (Israel21c)
Unfazed By Anti-Semitism, Hundreds Of Teens Gather In Berlin To Recite ‘Shema Israel’
In a powerful display of Jewish pride and resilience, hundreds of Jewish youth from across Europe gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of Nazi power, to celebrate their identity, despite rising anti-Semitism throughout the continent. The December 2024 gathering, organized by Chabad’s global CTeen movement, brought together young Jewish leaders for a three-day conference focused on community building and cultural preservation in challenging times.
Standing where Hitler’s forces once marched, they joined together in declaring “Shema Israel,” followed by an uplifting performance of the beloved Israeli song “Od Yoter Tov” that has resonated throughout the Jewish world.
Over the three days, the youth engaged in a comprehensive program addressing their pressing concerns, including forthright discussions about the challenges facing Jewish communities and strategies for addressing them. The landmark gathering was led by Berlin’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal and attended by notable figures, including Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor.
The conference proceeded under heightened security measures, reflecting a particularly difficult year for Jewish communities worldwide, especially in Europe, where anti-Semitism metrics continue their concerning upward trend. Current data reveals that 44% of Jewish youth have faced anti-Semitic harassment, while 41% contemplate emigration due to safety concerns, and 45% avoid visible Jewish symbols.
“During these turbulent times across Europe, this seminar stands as compelling evidence that the Jewish people endure,” Rabbi Teichtal reflected. “These challenging circumstances have actually strengthened the bonds among Jewish youth, who now share a deeper sense of family connection.”
