News Digest — 12/9/25
IDF Hits Hezbollah Training Sites In South Lebanon
Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon Monday night (8th) according to an IDF statement released Tuesday morning (9th).
The statement read, “The IDF recently attacked under the leadership of the Northern Command and through the Air Force, infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in several areas in southern Lebanon.
As part of the attacks, the IDF hit a training complex that was used by the Radwan Force unit for the planning and execution of terrorist plots against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel.”
The IDF reported that the training complex was used for shooting exercises and training in the use of various types of weapons.
Other military structures and missile launch sites were also reportedly targeted in the attack.
The strikes were a part of larger, ongoing IDF attempts at combating and destroying Hezbollah’s rearmament capabilities following failed attempts at disarming the Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization.
On Sunday (7th), the IDF destroyed an abandoned Hezbollah terror tunnel shaft containing mortar rounds intended to be used against Israel, as well as a warehouse previously used by Hezbollah to store weapons.
On Friday (5th), the IDF struck several Hezbollah targets embedded in civilian areas around the villages of Jibaa and Mahrouna. Residents were advised to evacuate to a distance of at least 100 meters from target areas prior to the strike.
The strike successfully targeted several Hezbollah weapons stores.
The IDF’s Arabic -language Spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee stated that the purpose of the strikes was “to address the prohibited attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild its activities in the region.”
President Herzog Speaks To Zionists In NYC
During his ongoing visit to New York, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog addressed the Biennial National Assembly of the American Zionist Movement, a forum from over 50 Jewish organizations based in the United States. In his remarks, Herzog spoke of the importance of the global fight against anti-Semitism, recent developments affecting the Jewish community in New York, and the ongoing challenges facing the State of Israel.
President Herzog stated that he was “extremely disturbed”by the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States today. “Anti-Semitism has never been so apparent in the public discourse,” he said, “and it comes with hate from both the left and right.” “As a Jewish leader,” President Herzog affirmed that “no Jew should be harassed anywhere in the world because of his or her faith.” To respond to this surge in hatred, he said “We have to fight together, with all the legal tools we have, to combat anti-Semitism and explain our case that the only nation state of the Jewish people is protecting the free world and is a beacon of ‘tikkun olam’(healing) to the entire world.”
Noting that New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, President Herzog said that there is now “a mayor-elect who shows utter contempt to the nation state of the Jewish people.” Addressing reactions to the protests outside an Aliyah event at a Manhattan synagogue, President Herzog affirmed the importance of the right to freedom of religion, underscoring that “Jews have prayed three times a day for hundreds of years and thousands of years to Jerusalem, and we yearn to go back to Jerusalem – this is a basic tenet of Judaism.” “The fact that a mayor-elect, an elected official, speaks in contempt about this whole idea, which is part and parcel of all of us here and the great Zionist movement, worries me a lot.”
President Herzog also issued a strong refutation of the genocide claims made against Israel. “Israel is a law-abiding nation. The law is part of our DNA,” he remarked. “Our guidelines are the rules of international humanitarian law. Our sons and daughters went to fight in order to defend our people and operate according to the rules.” President Herzog added that “If we make mistakes, we also expose them and deal with them, Israel was never operating in any genocidal form. On the contrary, we supplied humanitarian aid from day one. I was extremely active on this. We care for the pain of the people in Gaza. We care, and I still care very much, for their future,” he concluded.
Reflecting on the resilience of Israeli society after October 7, President Herzog said, “We’re a very strong, resilient nation which carries a scar of agony from generation to generation, and in this generation, we are carrying the scar of the pain and agony of October 7 and onwards.”
On the Iranian threat facing Israel, President Herzog stated that “Iran is trying to regroup and continue the battle against Israel big time with all of their capabilities.” He added, “They want to get to the bomb. They want to advance their terror agencies. We follow this closely. We see what they’re trying to do in Lebanon. We see what they are trying to do elsewhere. We should not be naive for a moment.”
Storm ‘Byron’ Arrives In Israel With Heavy Rains, Major Flooding Risks
Storm “Byron” arrived in Israel overnight Tuesday (9th), bringing heavy rainfall to northern areas and marking the beginning of what forecasters say will be a significantly intensifying weather system.
During the night, 43 millimeters of rain were measured in Nahariya, 38 millimeters in Eilon, 19 millimeters in Acre, 15 in Atlit, 15 along Tel Aviv’s coastline and 6 inside the city. Meteorologists warn that these figures are only the first wave, with totals expected to climb sharply over the next 48 hours.
Coastal and lowland cities are expected to receive exceptionally high rainfall-between 100 to 200 millimeters (3.93 to 7.87 inches) within a day or two, raising serious concerns about flooding and flashfloods. Rainfall is forecast to strengthen markedly during the coming night, spreading nationwide by Wednesday afternoon (10th) as temperatures drop and storm conditions intensify.
The storm is expected to persist through Thursday (11th), though rainfall will become intermittent. Its peak is forecast from Thursday evening until Friday morning (12th). On Friday, showers will gradually weaken but the weather will remain very cold. :ight rain remains possible for Saturday (13th).
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority issued urgent warnings, stressing a complete ban on entering riverbeds on foot or by vehicle, while streams are flowing. The authority cautioned the public to avoid approaching stream banks during floods due to the risk of sudden collapse.
‘We Will Not Be Silent:’ Arab Journalists Reveal Death Threats From Hamas
“For more than a year, Hamas has incited violence,against Gazan journalists who work with us, simply because we dare to expose the reality of terror, brutality and corruption,” says Hadeel Oueis, a US-based journalist originally from Syria and editor -in-chief of the media platform Jusoor News. The platform, whose mission is to amplify voices of resistance to Iranian influence in the Middle East, has come under increasing threat from Hamas, particularly targeting its contributors in Gaza.
Speaking to Ynet amid growing threats toward media activists in the enclave who dare to criticize Hamas publicly, Oueis said: “Hamas wants to prove to Gazans that it ‘won’ by silencing dissent. The easiest targets are the journalists and activists who openly opposed them during the war.”
Operating under the name “Jusoor News” on social media, the platform runs YouTube and Telegram channels, along with X and Facebook accounts. It is a pan-Arab, non-governmental media initiative based in the United States, with contributors in Egypt, Jordan, Gaza and countries aligned with Iran’s Shiite axis. Beyond opposing Iranian dominance in the region, Jusoor News also promotes a message of resistance to islamist extremism and a vision for regional cooperation.
Throughout the war, Jusoor News journalists reported from across Gaza, broadcasting voices of opposition to Hamas. Now, during the ceasefire, its team has become a direct target. Oueis and her reporters in Gaza have been subjected to slander and death threats.
On Sunday (7th), Oueis posted on X: “For over a year Hamas has incited violence against Gaza journalists who work for @JusoorNews… Last summer, they abducted and tortured three of our staff. Now they are issuing explicit death threats against us, including me personally. Threats to murder journalists – whether American citizens, Arab nationals, or a woman like me who is both – should alarm anyone who champions human rights or freedom of expression.”
She held Hamas and its affiliates responsible for any harm that may come to her team, stating firmly, “We will not be silent.”
Queis’ comments have drawn expressions of solidarity from White House insiders and senior figures in American media. But backlash has also intensified. One particularly virulent post against her included an Ai-generated image depicting Queis holding dogs with the faces of Jusoor News reporters superimposed on them. The caption accused her of being “a pro-Zionist Syrian living in the United States” who runs “a platform funded by the UAE and the Zionist Lobby in America.”
“It’s overwhelming to face this kind of harassment,” Oueis told Ynet from her home in the United States. “We’re talking about hundreds upon hundreds of posts inciting against me and the Jusoor News team in Gaza. Hamas has targeted our journalists before. Anytime they see someone interviewed by Jusoor criticizing Hamas, they go after them. They send members of the Al Qassam Brigades to interrogate them and demand to know who interviewed them. Some of our reporters are now in hiding, moving from tent to tent. They’re in serious danger—Hamas can find them at any moment.. They call us collaborators. We’re journalists. And they attack us for it.”
The ceasefire, she said, has only intensified the pressure. “During the war, Hamas fighters were preoccupied with Israeli airstrikes and focused on staying alive. Now that things have quieted down, they’re working to rebuild their control. And that starts with silencing us.”
Queis added that operating in Gaza is far more dangerous than working in other Arab countries. “Hamas isn’t used to Arab networks criticizing them so directly. They go after the people we interview. We know of one woman who spoke to us and was beaten nearly to death by Hamas supporters from her own family. Others have been summoned for interrogations—held in hospitals, schools or other places Hamas uses as bases.
Media networks aligned with the pro-Hamas axis are filled with hostile coverage targeting the Jusoor News platform. In October, the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news agency Shehab published a report on the outlet. The article was later quoted by Lebanon’s Al Manar channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah. It started: “At the forefront of the platform stands Hadeel Oueis, a Syrian journalist based in the United States, known for her close ties to Zionist lobbying circles and her media role in promoting the Israeli narrative.
The report also claimed that “investigations have linked her name to efforts to recruit Arab writers, journalists and artists for normalization purposes, using Jusoor as ‘a soft front, with an Arab face, for a Zionist project.’” It alleged that the initiative is part of a psychological warfare campaign involving the purchase of followers and automated bots aimed at “demonizing the resistance.”
Jusoor News activists emphasize that the platform is a rare voice in the Arab media landscape, one that finally allows Palestinians and other critics of the regional axis to say what is otherwise forbidden.
More People Died In One Month In One City In Sudan Than In The Entire Gaza War – Daniel Greenfield
What is going on in Sudan is being reported. If you look for it you can find plenty of horror stories like these:
In deadly October, nearly one in six civilians were killed in El Fasher, including children. (Save the Children)
“Our job is only killing” —How Sudan’s brutal militias carried out a massacre. (BBC)
RSF massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse,’ satellite images show — Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – (The Guardian)
There are more people dead in one month of fighting in El Fasher, a city in Sudan, than the fake Hamas casualty figures in Gaza.
So what’s different in the coverage?
• The media reports on it but doesn’t make it the lead, doesn’t push the story constantly and treats it as something happening ‘over there’ the way it does most foreign wars.
That is very different from the coverage of Israel, where even the most minor confrontation, like clashes between Jewish farmers and Muslim/leftist activists in which no one is hurt, somehow becomes a major story.
• The reporting doesn’t directly clarify the players in a way that’s easily understandable. That’s opposed to the media’s constant denunciations of Israel.
Who is the RSF? Most people don’t know or care. Tell them that the RSF is really an Arab militia known as the “Janjaweed” and that it’s backed by Muslim countries and they might have more clarity. Which is why the media tends to bury that part, especially the Muslim racism.
• Leftist activist groups haven’t taken up the cause, so there are no protests, little in the way of social media posts, and little conversation.
• Whatever conversation there is isn’t amplified by the media in the same vicious cycle that saw Gaza take over everything in 2024.
Neither Muslims nor the Left are especially interested in discussing the topic, some genuine human rights activists care, but they’re not going to get any traction.
And That’s why real Islamic genocide gets ignored, whether in Sudan or Nigeria, while any self-defense against Islam, such as by Israel, America, or India, is falsely labeled as genocide by the actual Muslim genociders.
We know why this happens. And we can see it happening again. It’s not about the genocide, it’s about the propaganda.
