Weekly roundup of world briefs

White House denounces murder of Chabad rabbi in UAE ‘in strongest terms’

(JNS) — The White House National Security Council condemns the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates “in the strongest terms,” Sean Savett, a spokesman for the council, stated on Sunday evening.

“Our prayers are with his family, the Chabad-Lubavitch community, the broader Jewish community and all who are mourning his loss,” Savett said. “This was a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance and coexistence. It was an assault as well on UAE and its rejection of violent extremism across the board.”

Washington “is working in close coordination with Israeli and UAE authorities, and we have offered all appropriate forms of support,” the council spokesman added. “We commend the rapid efforts of UAE authorities who now have suspects in custody. Those who carried out this crime, and anyone supporting them, must be held fully accountable.”

Israel approves billions in military upgrades

(JNS) — The Israel Military Procurement Ministerial Committee on Sunday approved billions of shekels in acquisitions, including the Israeli Navy’s next-generation “Reshef” missile ships and hundreds of new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

According to a joint statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry spokesperson, the approvals follow interim recommendations by the “Nagel Committee,” which was established in August 2024 to examine the defense budget and force buildup.

Under the agreement, the Defense Ministry will purchase five “Reshef” ships from Israel Shipyards to replace the “Nirit” Sa’ar 4.5-class missile ship, which will be decommissioned after four decades of service. According to the announcement, the domestic production of the new vessels will employ hundreds of workers.

Additionally, hundreds of new JLTV armored combat mobility vehicles are to be supplied to the Israel Defense Forces in the coming years.

The Nagel Committee was tasked with making recommendations on Israel’s defense budget and long-term defense planning in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the ongoing multi-front war it sparked.

The approved projects will now be submitted to the Knesset’s Joint Committee for the Defense Budget. After receiving its approval, the Defense Ministry will proceed with finalizing the procurements.

Israeli police thwart large ammo transfer to Samaria terrorists

(JNS) — Officers of the Israel Police’s Northern District over the weekend seized a shipment of more than 20,000 bullets intended for “terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria,” the police announced in a statement on Sunday.

Two residents of Ma’ale Iron, a local council that consists of five Arab Israeli villages near Megiddo, were arrested.

The suspects, aged 22 and 35, were pulled over by officers on Friday in the area of the Megiddo Junction, located a mere minutes’ drive away from the Samaria security barrier.

Both men were detained for questioning by security services.

The Israel Police said, “This massive seizure, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, is another success of the Northern District in locating the sources of illegal arms and eliminating smuggling routes.”

Iran continues to instigate terrorism in Judea and Samaria by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli and Iranian officials.

The majority of the weapons smuggled into Judea and Samaria are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the U.S. and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

In the first six months of 2024, Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).

During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.

Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in Judea and Samaria between January and July, the rescue group said.

IDF apologizes after Lebanese army post hit amid fighting against Hezbollah

(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces issued an apology on Sunday after one Lebanese soldier was killed and 18 were wounded, some of them seriously, in an Israeli airstrike on a Lebanese Armed Forces position in Southern Lebanon.

“The incident took place in an area where fighting is ongoing against the Hezbollah terror organization,” the Israeli military confirmed in a statement in response to a query by local media.

“The IDF regrets the incident and clarifies that it is fighting in a targeted manner against the Hezbollah terror organization, and not against the Lebanese Army,” the statement continued, noting that the incident remains under investigation.

The LAF post in the Southern Lebanese village of Al-Amiriya on the Al-Qalila-Tyre Road was severely damaged by the strike, the LAF claimed in a statement.

Hezbollah has attacked Israel nearly daily in support of Hamas since Oct. 8, 2023, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. 

The cross-border attacks from Southern Lebanon have killed 76 people in the Jewish state, including 31 IDF soldiers and six foreign nationals, and have wounded 729 more, 66 of them seriously.

Hamas rocket chief killed in Israeli strike in Jabaliya

(JNS) — The head of rocket operations for Hamas’s Western Jabaliya battalion was among several terrorists killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza city over the weekend, the Israeli military reported on Monday. 

According to the IDF, Abd el-Halim Abu Hussein was responsible for numerous rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli civilians, as well as against Israeli forces in Gaza.

The strike also eliminated Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Zakout, one of the Hamas terrorists who carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.

While Hamas rocket fire has significantly decreased since the early days of the war as the IDF has severely degraded the terror group’s capabilities, it has not been eliminated.

Terrorist forces in Gaza launched a rocket at the Gaza border community of Kerem Shalom on Nov. 21, triggering sirens in the kibbutz, located at the Gaza-Israel-Egypt border near the crossing of the same name. The rocket was successfully intercepted, causing no injuries or damage, according to the IDF.

A rocket from Gaza set off sirens in Kibbutz Erez on Nov. 13, impacting in an open area. No injuries were reported in that incident.

The community is located less than a mile from the Strip’s northern border and is the namesake of the Erez Crossing.

Mount Hermon sees first snowfall of the season

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Israel’s Mount Hermon saw its first snowfall of the season on Monday morning as temperatures plunged in the northern Golan Heights.

The popular ski resort on the mountain remains a closed military zone, however, due to the ongoing war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, now in its 13th month.

“There is still uncertainty regarding the future of the winter season at the resort,” said Refael Naveh, its CEO. “The Hermon resort, which is a tourism anchor for the entire north, Galilee and Golan, remains closed.”

According to the Israel Meteorological Service, light snowfall can be expected in the northern Golan Heights throughout the day, as temperatures nationwide remain unseasonably low this week.

IDF kills two terrorists in northern Samaria

(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces shot and killed two Palestinians in the town of Ya’bad, 12 miles west of Jenin in northern Samaria, on Sunday night, the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency reported.

Confrontations erupted after Israeli troops entered the town from the east. Mohammad Rabi Jamal Hamarsheh, 16, and Ahmad Mahmoud Zaid, 20, were shot and killed, WAFA reported. The PA Health Ministry claimed Hamarsheh was 13 years old.

Troops from the Kfir Infantry Brigade’s Haruv Reconnaissance Battalion spotted the terrorists carrying explosives, were attacked, and shot them, Ynet reported. The incident is being investigated by the IDF, according to the report.

Over the weekend, officers from the Israel Police’s Northern District seized a shipment of more than 20,000 bullets intended for “terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria,” the police announced on Sunday.

Two residents of Ma’ale Iron, a local council that consists of five Arab Israeli villages near Megiddo, were arrested.

The suspects, aged 22 and 35, were pulled over by officers on Friday in the area of the Megiddo Junction, located a mere minutes’ drive away from the Samaria security barrier.

Both men were detained for questioning by security services.

The Israel Police said, “This massive seizure, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, is another success of the Northern District in locating the sources of illegal arms and eliminating smuggling routes.”

Israel reviewing Hamas claim that IDF fire killed hostage

(JNS) — Israel is investigating a claim made by Hamas on Saturday that an Israeli female hostage was killed during military operations in northern Gaza.

Abu Obaida, a spokesperson for the terrorist group, wrote on Telegram that “After re-establishing contact, which had been cut off for weeks, with fighters tasked with protecting enemy captives, it was revealed that one of the enemy’s female captives was killed in an area subjected to Zionist aggression in northern Gaza.”

On Hamas-affiliated channels, a photo surfaced said to be of the slain hostage. It shows what appears to be a human body, the head blurred, wrapped in a white fabric displaying blood stains. It is captioned: “A new victim of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi] Halevi.”

Another female hostage held alongside the woman was injured and remains in critical condition, Abu Obaida said.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said it could neither confirm nor deny the claim but is in contact with the family of the hostage in question, whose identity was not publicly made known by Hamas. “This evening, the terrorist organization Hamas released a document allegedly showing a slain female hostage,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, adding that the situation is under review.

“Hamas continues to engage in cruel psychological terrorism. Please refrain from spreading rumors and publications that harm the families of the hostages,” the spokesperson’s Unit said.

Israel has let 900,000 tons of food into Gaza, data show

(JNS) — Israel has let into the Gaza Strip almost 900 kilotons of food in some 40,000 trucks over the past year, according to official data.

The data was released on Friday following the International Criminal Court’s decision the previous day to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant. Israel has roundly rejected the allegations, which it called false and antisemitic. 

The food data appears to undermine the ICC’s reasoning for issuing the warrants, which it said was over suspicions that the two Israelis “knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

In addition to food, about 2,600 trucks containing more than 51,000 liters of water were let in, along with almost 30,000 tons of medical equipment. An additional 10,000 aid drops took place in 140 operations.

The water supply translates to 112 liters per person daily in the north of the Gaza Strip, 39 liters in the center, and 24 liters in the south.

More than 5.7 million vaccines, including polio vaccines, were administered, and 32,000 liters of fuel were let in as well as 26 kilotons of cooking gas.

In total, 57,480 trucks carrying 1,129,774 tons of aid have been delivered to the residents of the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered some 1,200 people in Israel and abducted another 251, triggering a regional war and an ongoing war against Hamas.

Canadian coffee chain boots franchisee at Jewish Montreal hospital

(JNS) — The Canadian chain Second Cup Café announced on Saturday that it shut down a franchisee’s cafe at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and terminated its relationship with that person after the latter “was filmed making hateful remarks and gestures.”

“Second Cup has zero tolerance for hate speech,” the chain stated. “In coordination with the hospital, we’ve shut down the franchisee’s cafe and are terminating their franchise agreement.”

The person’s actions, the chain said, both breach the franchise agreement and “violate the values of inclusion and community we stand for at Second Cup.”

Idit Shamir, the consul general of Israel in Toronto and western Canada, named the former franchisee as Mai Abdulhadi, and said that the latter had chanted “the Final Solution is coming” and performed a Nazi salute at Concordia University, “while running a café at Jewish General Hospital, a place built by Holocaust survivors.”

“Thankfully, Second Cup acted swiftly: café shut down, franchise revoked,” Shamir wrote. “Mai Abdulhadi—Hate speech isn’t just vile, it’s a threat, and it will be met with consequences.”

The company earned accolades—and some promises of business—from Paul Hirschson, the Israeli consul general in Montreal, and from leaders at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“This great Canadian, Montreal-owned company has taken this principled stand at risk to their own business. In so doing, they are showing the courage and leadership Canada needs right now but is so desperately lacking from those in the highest of public offices,” stated Leo Housakos, a senator from Quebec. “I hope everyone goes out and buys their coffee tomorrow.”

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, the Israeli special envoy for combating antisemitism, wrote that it “turns out moral clarity is not so difficult.”

“Thanks Second Cup for showcasing Canadian values standing up to lethal hate speech and incitement,” Cotler-Wunsh wrote. “Antisemitism is not a problem of Jews. It’s a problem of antisemites and the people and places that allow it to spread.”

US embassy extends do-not-travel advisory in Israel to 30 miles from Lebanese, Syrian borders

(JNS) — The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced that it is extending the zone in which Americans should not travel in Israel from 2.5 miles from the Syrian and Lebanese borders to 31.1 miles (50 kilometers), according to a Nov. 25 post on the embassy site.

The embassy “strongly recommends” that Americans avoid traveling near the two borders due to “ongoing armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, cross-border rocket, missile and UAV strikes,” or drones, which it says “have increased and continue to impact this area daily and have resulted in civilian injuries and deaths.”

The embassy continues to warn against travel in Israel and in Judea and Samaria and says not to travel to Gaza.

Hamas welcomes Lebanon truce despite broken Hezbollah pledge

(JNS) — Hamas has expressed willingness to support a ceasefire in Lebanon, even though its ally Hezbollah has reneged on its pledge to continue fighting Israel as long as hostilities persist in Gaza.

“Any announcement of a ceasefire is welcome. Hezbollah has stood by our people and made significant sacrifices,” Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas political official in Lebanon, told the Hezbollah-affiliated, Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV news channel.

Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terror organization’s massacre in southern Israel.

More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing attacks from the Land of the Cedars. The cross-border attacks have killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 IDF soldiers and six foreign nationals, and have wounded 729 more, 66 of them seriously.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to convene his Cabinet on Tuesday amid reports that Israel is set to approve a truce in the war against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s decoupling of its conflict with Israel from that of Hamas in Gaza marks a major reversal for the Iranian terror proxy. As early as last month, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassemstaunchly rejected calls to separate a ceasefire in Lebanon from the situation in Gaza.

“We insisted on the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza—and we did not agree to their request to separate Lebanon from Gaza,” Qassem declared.

Qassem replaced terror master Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israel Defense Forces strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Sept. 27.