US authorities arrested demonstrators in solidarity with Palestine, after they protested in front of the New York Times building against its coverage of the genocide in Gaza.

Circulating footage showed demonstrators gathering in solidarity with Palestine, on Saturday, in front of the American newspaper building located in the Manhattan area of New York.

The protesters denounced the American newspaper's handling of the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and its bias towards the Israeli army.

Protesters held up signs reading, "Fake New York Times... you set fire to Palestine!"

Later, the American police intervened to disperse the demonstration, arresting some of the participants.

According to the footage, one of the demonstrators shouted "Free Palestine" as she was being led into a police car after being arrested.

The Israeli occupation forces tightened their military measures around Nablus on Saturday evening.

According to local sources, the occupation forces tightened their military measures at the Deir Sharaf military checkpoint in both directions, and the Beit Furik checkpoint east of the city, and conducted a thorough search of vehicles, which led to the disruption of citizens' movement and transportation, and a stifling crisis in vehicles.

The Financial Times revealed today, Saturday, that the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump will re-use the “maximum pressure” policy to curb Iran’s ability to finance its regional proxies and develop nuclear weapons, and to force Tehran to sign a new nuclear agreement and change its regional policies.

The newspaper explained that Trump will seek to tighten sanctions on Tehran, including sanctions related to oil exports, and that Trump's team is working on drafting executive orders against Tehran that may be issued on his first day in the White House.

The newspaper quoted a national security expert as saying: “He (Trump) is determined to re-use the maximum pressure policy to reduce Iran’s financial capacity as quickly as possible.”

But the expert expressed skepticism about the possibility of Iran accepting Trump's conditions.

“We hope this will be an incentive for them to agree to negotiations that could lead to stability and even normalization of relations, but I think Trump’s conditions may be too difficult for Iran to accept,” the expert was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Today, Saturday, settlers severely beat a 13-year-old child in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the center of Hebron, in the southern West Bank.

According to local sources, a group of settlers severely beat the child Muhammad Rajab Abu Markhia (13 years old) while he was on his way to visit his grandmother in the Tel Rumeida area, which led to him sustaining bruises and being transferred to the Hebron Governmental Hospital.

The residents of that area suffer from continuous attacks by settlers, especially those residing in the "Ramat Yishai" settlement outpost, which was forcibly built on the lands and properties of citizens in Tel Rumeida in the center of Hebron, in addition to the oppressive and arbitrary measures imposed by the occupation forces on the residents of that area, which include permanent closures and strict restrictions imposed on the movement and travel of residents, in addition to storming and raiding citizens' homes and constantly abusing them.

Twenty Palestinians were killed today, Saturday, in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, while those trapped in Jabalia and Beit Lahia issued a distress call to rescue them.

The Israeli bombing by warplanes, drones and artillery caused deaths in Rafah and Khan Yunis in the south, and in Gaza City and nearby areas in the north.

Seven people were killed, including five who were killed by Israeli drone fire east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Two people were killed and others were injured in an Israeli bombardment that targeted displaced people in the Al-Junaina neighborhood in the same area.

At the same time, occupation tanks bombed the Al-Rayyan area, northeast of Rafah, while occupation forces blew up residential buildings west of the city.

In nearby Khan Yunis, a Palestinian was killed and others were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Qizan Rashwan area, southwest of the city.

Appeals for rescue

In the northern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that occupation aircraft targeted two houses in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia.

Those trapped in Jabalia and Beit Lahia camps are appealing for rescue after Israeli shelling of their homes.

Three Palestinians were martyred last night in an artillery bombardment around the Musab bin Omair Mosque in Beit Lahia.

Jabalia camp was also subjected to similar shelling, and at the same time, the occupation forces blew up more residential buildings in the area.

Since October 5, the Israeli army has been launching a large-scale aggression on the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of about two thousand Palestinians and the displacement of thousands of others south towards Gaza City.

This morning, 3 people were killed in a bombing of the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, while another Palestinian was killed in a bombing of the Sabra neighborhood in the south.

Palestinian sources also reported the recovery of the bodies of young men who were targeted by the occupation forces' fire in the Al-Karama neighborhood, west of Gaza City.

In the central Gaza Strip, one person was killed and others were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting Palestinians west of the Nuseirat camp.

A number of Palestinians were injured when an Israeli drone bombed Palestinians in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The camp had been subjected to shelling by Israeli warships, vehicles and drones before that, and at the same time, artillery shelled a brick factory northeast of the camp, while the occupation forces blew up residential buildings in the area.

In the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians were also injured as a result of Israeli drone shelling targeting Palestinians in the city of Deir al-Balah. The shelling also included the central region of the al-Bureij camp.

3 massacres

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip said that the Israeli occupation forces committed 3 massacres during the past 24 hours, resulting in 35 dead and 111 wounded being transferred to hospitals.

The ministry added that the number of victims of the Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, has risen to 43,799 killed and 103,601 wounded.

tragic situation

On the humanitarian level, the spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Basal, described the situation in the northern Gaza Strip as extremely tragic.

Basal told Al Jazeera that the occupation is demolishing homes over the heads of their owners in the area, which has been subjected to continuous attacks for about 6 weeks.

The Civil Defense in Gaza also said that for the 25th day, its work is still forcibly suspended in all areas of the northern Gaza Strip due to the ongoing targeting and aggression.

He added that thousands of residents in those areas are now without humanitarian response, care and medical relief.

The Civil Defense called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to respond to the calls, distress calls and suffering of thousands of citizens besieged in the northern Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli crimes, and to make serious efforts to restore the work of the Civil Defense and operate its disabled vehicles.

In this context, the Gaza City Municipality said that the occupation's continued prevention of the entry of cooking gas into the Gaza and North Gaza governorates deepens the humanitarian crisis.

For its part, Khan Yunis Municipality announced the suspension of fuel supplies needed to operate water and sewage pumps and waste collection and transport mechanisms.

The municipality spokesman said that the occupation has not brought in fuel for a week, which has caused the disruption of basic services.

Resistance operations

In military developments, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced today that it had succeeded, in cooperation with the Al-Ansar Brigades, in sniping an Israeli soldier south of the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City.

For its part, the Mujahideen Brigades announced today that it had bombed, in cooperation with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, the command and control headquarters of the occupation army in the Netzarim axis with a barrage of rockets.

The past few days have witnessed an escalation in Palestinian resistance operations in the northern Gaza Strip, as well as in the Netzarim axis, which separates the central and southern Gaza Strip from the northern regions.

The Israeli occupation bombed various areas in Lebanon today, Saturday, amid widespread destruction of buildings, facilities and infrastructure. The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced the death of 4 paramedics as a result of the raids on the towns of Burj Rahhal and Kfar Tibnit.

The occupation forces have renewed their shelling since dawn today on the areas of Mar Mikhael, Al-Kafaat, Sfeir, Bir Al-Abd, Habraj Al-Barajneh, Al-Shiyah, Al-Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The occupation aircraft and artillery bombed the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh and the towns of Adshit, Ma'arka, Mansouri, Shebaa, Halousieh, Tyre Harfa, Sheheen, Al-Jbeen, Nabi Sheet, Al-Khiam, Al-Bissarieh, Arabsalim, Jebshit, Ain Qana, Aba, Arnoun, Sayr al-Gharbiya, Sajd, and Armata in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa.

Today, Saturday, settlers forced the family of citizen Ali Eid Araara to evacuate their home and land in the village of Duma, south of Nablus.

Local sources said that settlers forced the Araara family to evacuate their home and land near the Ein Douma area, at gunpoint.

She added that many residents were forced to evacuate these lands under threat from the occupation and its settlers, especially in Khirbet Ein al-Rashrash, in addition to the seizure of hundreds of dunams.

Settlers also set up a gazebo in Khallet Khader in the northern Jordan Valley.

Human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh reported that dozens of settlers set up a hut in Khallet Khader, amid fears of the seizure of the surrounding lands.

It is noteworthy that the settlers stole citizens' tents and their property in the same area a few months ago.

The Israeli occupation committed 3 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, these massacres resulted in the death of 35 citizens and the injury of 111 others with varying degrees of injury.

This brings the death toll from the aggression to 43,799 dead and 103,601 injuries since October 7, 2023.

The Israeli occupation army announced today, Saturday, that it attacked 160 targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.

According to the occupation army's allegations, this included targets such as missile and shell platforms, infrastructure, complexes and sites, in addition to cells and wanted persons.

He claimed that his forces had found weapons and missiles during ground operations in Gaza and Lebanon, and had eliminated many militants.

Yesterday and today, Saturday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested at least 12 citizens from the West Bank, including former prisoners.

The Commission of Prisoners' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club explained that the arrests were distributed across the governorates of Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Qalqilya, and Salfit, and were accompanied by widespread acts of vandalism and destruction in citizens' homes.

It is noteworthy that the number of arrests since the beginning of the ongoing war of extermination and comprehensive aggression against our people has reached more than 11,700 citizens from the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

The occupation continues to arrest civilians from Gaza, specifically from the north, and is committing the crime of enforced disappearance against them, and refuses to fully disclose their identities and places of detention, knowing that the competent institutions, since the beginning of the war of extermination, have not been able to limit the cases of arrest from Gaza, which are estimated in the thousands.

The recent American statements since President Donald Trump won the elections have crossed all red lines and barriers, in light of the unprecedented attack on the Palestinian cause, and the expression of hostile behavior that is consistent with the approach of the Israeli occupation, and justifies its crimes and massacres against innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which confirms the full responsibility of the United States for the heinous war crimes against our people.

The US State Department’s issuance yesterday of a statement that does not agree with the UN committee’s reports on the occurrence of genocide and forced displacement of Gaza’s citizens, on the pretext that these accusations are without evidence, and that the United States has not yet witnessed displacement operations that amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, is a heinous crime that cannot be ignored. Therefore, this is a new green light for Israel to continue the killing, destruction, and slaughter of innocent civilians. These huge numbers of martyrs, wounded, and missing persons, and the size of the homes, shelters, tents for the displaced, hospitals, health and medical centers, and other civilian facilities that were completely blown up and destroyed, and entire villages, towns, and cities were demolished, did they not provide clear, tangible, and material evidence that the entire world acknowledges; that Israel is practicing war crimes, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing?

Trump himself appears and says that he will lift any ban on arms exports to the occupied entity, immediately after his inauguration, and with his team pledging to facilitate the arrival of arms and military equipment shipments to Israel on the first day he enters the White House, and the new US Ambassador Mike Happey launches with clear and public statements, expressing his opinion that the two-state solution is illegitimate, expecting Trump to continue to adhere to this position, saying that we must remember that Trump’s policy is the most pro-Israel of all presidents.

The ambassador, who seems to be very extreme, denies the existence of the West Bank, and goes so far as to say: I never agreed to use such a term, and adds: “I am talking about ‘Judea and Samaria’ and the Promised Land,” and these are biblical concepts, which are important to him and he will continue to use them.

Habi concludes by noting that Trump is the most supportive of Israel, starting with moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and not pushing for a two-state solution.

These statements and others made by the United States through current officials and those who will assume their positions in the Trump administration, express the extent of the racist bias towards the Israeli entity based on the logic of force and occupation. They are attempts to play a new role within the framework of the policy of the Great Satan, to impose colonial projects on our people on the so-called day after the war. However, the determination of our people and their insistence on their right to exist on their land and liberate it from the yoke of this colonialism will foil these conspiracies and projects, and will prove their falsehood and lack of any legal justification, or humanitarian or moral principle, thus proving that the United States is more extremist and aggressive than Israel.

The extremist groups and Netanyahu's government are betting on President Trump after his election, and what was revealed of plans to nibble, annex and Judaize the West Bank and Jerusalem, in settlement maps prepared according to the occupation doctrine, where they are consistent with the plans of the generals in Gaza, and converge in drawing a new map based on ethnic cleansing and expelling people from their land, homeland and homes, and imposing a policy of fait accompli in the absence of conscience and international voice, and the inaction of international bodies, foremost among them the Security Council, whose decisions clash with the American veto.

A state of mad hysteria was revealed in the past few days by the rush of statements that accompanied Smotrich’s 2025 plan, and a general identification within the circles of Netanyahu’s extremist government with its approval of all racist plans and justifications, whether related to Gaza and what is known as the generals’ plan, or the plans for nibbling and annexing in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This madness prompted some to raise their demands that reached the necessity of demolishing Al-Aqsa Mosque and building the alleged temple, and these voices continue to behave in a rampant and piracy manner, as they continue to impose their vision on the ground with the force of equipment and weapons, and with the generosity of American support, political and military.

The occupation's constant pursuit of piracy and annexation of the land was not limited to Trump's return, but rather it is an old-new policy followed by all occupation governments, benefiting from American cover, whether Republican or Democratic, and seeking the help of all its allies in the world. These days, it is betting on the state of regional weakness and Arab withdrawal.

A dangerous phase, unprecedented bias, and tacit approval for the continuation of the genocide operations, and targeting all components of the Palestinian people, politically, socially and economically, in their efforts to create a miserable reality that is incapable and unlivable, and to narrow all means of living, and the absence of features of solutions and the ambiguity of the situation in which the Palestinians live, while the forces of extremism and Zionist terrorism are growing, which does not care about the decisions of international legitimacy, in light of the complete absence of all international institutions and their failure to perform their duties, and the majority of countries’ dependence on the biased American decision that is complicit with the occupation.

The complex reality caused by the occupation and its policies, the absence of an international and regional role in proposing plans for peace and settlement in accordance with international legitimacy to achieve stability, the decline of left-wing and centrist forces within Israel, and the bias of American administrations towards the right and support for imposing the vision of extremism and terrorism, represented by annexation, nibbling, expulsion, displacement and ethnic cleansing, will lead to the explosion of the entire region, and this is what the hysteria of the ruling right in Israel will bring about, especially since all ethnic cleansing projects have failed since the beginning of the occupation, and even the raging war of extermination in Gaza.

It is true that Trump stands with the occupation plans, and it is true that in his first term he presented the deal of the century and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state, but Trump is not a fate to which we submit, and just as the deal of the century fell, all other plans will fall on the rock of Palestinian steadfastness, who dies in his land and refuses to emigrate and leave, and what is happening in Gaza is nothing but a living image, despite the death, oppression, hunger and nakedness, and despite the tons of gunpowder that were dropped on them, they insist on staying even on the rubble of their homes that were demolished and destroyed, refusing displacement, and their inner voice says what the old man said whose house was bombed in Gaza, we will stay here, we will stay as long as thyme and olives remain.

Today, Saturday, settlers attacked homes in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, and burned three vehicles.

Local sources reported that a number of settlers attacked houses on the outskirts of the Officers' Quarter in Beit Furik, some of which were under construction, and set fire to three vehicles, which led to their complete burning.

The Lebanese National News Agency said on Saturday that the Israeli army carried out a violent raid on Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

On Saturday, the occupation army issued a warning to the residents of buildings in Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut to evacuate them “immediately” in preparation for bombing them. Army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on the “X” platform, attaching maps in which buildings were marked in red, “To all residents present in the southern suburb area, specifically in the buildings specified in the attached maps and the buildings adjacent to them in Haret Hreik.”

He claimed that the residents of that area “are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, and the IDF will act against them forcefully in the near future.” He added: “For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately, and stay away from them at a distance of no less than 500 meters.”

On Friday, the Israeli army said it carried out four waves of raids in the southern suburbs of Beirut, claiming that it targeted “command headquarters, weapons depots, headquarters and terrorist structures.”

(Anatolia)

The UN Security Council will hold a briefing session on Monday under the agenda item "The Situation in the Middle East", entitled "Ending the War and Securing Lasting Peace", chaired by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The Council will hear a briefing from the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland.

The United Kingdom, which chairs the council this month, has prepared a concept note for Monday's session, which calls for ending the war in Gaza and Lebanon and focusing on ensuring a broader regional calm through a cessation of conflict.

According to the concept note, the session provides an opportunity to reflect on how the Council can “inject renewed momentum into efforts to end conflicts in the region, and to discuss how the end of the conflict could represent a turning point that would put the region on the path to a stable and secure future based on the two-state solution.”

Two senior Democratic senators are asking the Pentagon and law enforcement to investigate reports that billionaire Elon Musk "had multiple calls with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin," for national security reasons, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Musk, who was appointed to a senior government post by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, oversees billions of dollars in defense and intelligence contracts as CEO of SpaceX.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Defense Department inspector general that “Musk’s involvement in these SpaceX programs should be investigated for possible denial and exclusion from certain contracts and privileges” after reports in October of his conversations with Russian officials.

“These ties between a known adversary of the United States and Mr. Musk, a recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. government funding, raise serious questions about Mr. Musk’s credibility as a government contractor and privy to classified information,” they said in a joint letter dated Friday. Several Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for an investigation into Musk’s “contacts with Moscow” since The Wall Street Journal reported last month on the alleged contact, but the letter to U.S. officials who could order such an investigation has not been previously made public.

Shaheen and Reid’s call for a federal investigation is a long shot, as Trump prepares to return to the White House with the backing of Musk, who spent more than $119 million on Trump’s campaign and was named co-head of the new administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.

SpaceX, Musk and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Old contacts

Reports of Musk’s contact with Russian officials surfaced in 2022, when political expert Ian Bremmer, president of the consulting firm Eurasia Group, said Musk “told him he had spoken to Putin about the Ukraine war and Russia’s red line for using nuclear weapons.”

Musk denied Bremer's claim, saying he "talked to Putin 18 months ago, just about space."

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S., European and Russian officials, that Musk “had multiple conversations with Russian officials, including Putin and Sergei Kiriyenko, the first deputy chief of staff.”

Reed and Shaheen said in the letter that it was "deeply concerning" that Musk had conversations with Kiriyenko.

The U.S. Justice Department this year charged Kiriyenko and other Russian officials with running an AI-powered propaganda campaign on Musk's social media platform X and other sites to promote Russian interests and influence voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Source: Alhurra Channel

The Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip continues, leaving more dead and wounded as a result of a series of scattered raids.

Many citizens were killed and injured in a bombing that targeted the Samara family home in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

At least 3 citizens were killed as a result of the bombing of a group of citizens in the vicinity of Musab bin Omair Mosque in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes attacked several targets in different areas of the Strip, while artillery also bombed large areas.

The occupation forces also carried out a series of operations to blow up houses and buildings in Jabalia camp, north of Nuseirat camp, and northwest of Rafah city.

The Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of raids and arrests in various areas of the West Bank at dawn and on Saturday morning.

The young man, Abdul Rahman Al-Sayeh, was arrested after the occupation forces stormed his house in the old town of Nablus.

The occupation forces were exposed to gunfire during their storming of the area.

It also arrested a young man from the Arab camp north of Hebron during a raid campaign in the camp.

Meanwhile, the occupation forces stormed various areas, including villages in Nablus and Ramallah, as well as in Tulkarm and its surroundings.

The United Nations said on Friday that Israel has allowed the evacuation of only a quarter of the 21,000 patients from Gaza since October 2023.

This came in a press conference by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, where he indicated that the World Health Organization and its partners carried out a medical evacuation of 8 children and their companions, last Wednesday, from Gaza to Jordan.

Dujarric explained that these children will be transferred to the United States after undergoing special care in Jordan.

He reported that Israel allowed the evacuation of only 25% of the 21,000 patients in Gaza.

Dujarric stressed the need to create "evacuation corridors" for the safe and timely evacuation of people in need of special treatment.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced the implementation of 5 operations against the Israeli occupation forces in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, most notably the killing of 3 Israeli soldiers, the sniping of a fourth, and the targeting of 3 tanks and a military bulldozer.

It explained that its fighters killed 3 Israeli soldiers at point-blank range in the vicinity of Abbas Kilani roundabout in the city of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.

The Qassam Brigades added that it had sniped another soldier in the same area.

Al-Qassam Brigades also announced - in two separate statements - that its fighters targeted two Israeli Merkava 4 tanks and a D9 military bulldozer with two Al-Yassin 105 shells in Beit Lahia.

West of Jabalia camp, north of the Strip, specifically on Dawas Street, the Qassam Brigades announced targeting a Merkava 4 tank with a Shawaaz explosive device.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that the American proposal for a ceasefire stipulates the formation of a committee that includes Western countries to supervise the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, stressing that this is unacceptable to Lebanon, according to what was reported by the Lebanese News Agency.

Berri added that the American proposal for a ceasefire does not include any text that allows the Israeli army freedom of action in Lebanon if there is a suspected threat, as Tel Aviv demands.

He also stressed that including any clause that allows the Israeli army freedom of action in Lebanon is "unacceptable, and it is not possible to even open a discussion about it because it violates Lebanon's sovereignty."

The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs warned that the Israeli occupation authorities are proceeding rapidly to remove the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan in occupied Jerusalem.

The ministry pointed out in a statement issued on Friday evening to the significant increase in demolition operations in the city as a whole since the beginning of this year and in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in particular.

She said that the occupation authorities have demolished more than 183 buildings in East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year, including 33 in the town of Silwan alone, where the largest number of demolitions were in the Al-Bustan neighborhood.

The ministry warned that the escalation of demolitions in the Al-Bustan neighborhood indicates that the occupation is determined to erase the neighborhood from the map in favor of establishing a biblical park on its ruins, in a process that amounts to ethnic cleansing and a war crime. The ministry said that the occupation municipality demolished 3 buildings in the neighborhood last Wednesday, several days after demolishing 3 other buildings containing 7 residential apartments.

“This joins many homes that have been demolished in the neighbourhood since the beginning of this year and previous years, while several families have recently received notices of the imminent demolition of their homes,” she said.

She added: "The occupation municipality is not even ashamed to openly declare through its statements that it wants to remove the Al-Bustan neighborhood to build a biblical garden on its ruins."

"The occupation municipality wants to remove the neighborhood, even though it has existed since before the occupation itself," she continued. The ministry referred to the many official meetings it held with consuls and representatives of diplomatic missions operating in Palestine to inform them of the seriousness of the situation in Jerusalem and the significant escalation in the demolition of Jerusalemites' homes during the comprehensive and ongoing Israeli aggression against our people since October 7, 2023.

The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs called on the international community to quickly intervene to stop the massacre of house demolitions in Jerusalem in general and the Al-Bustan neighborhood in particular.

She said: “We welcome the many statements issued by international parties, including the European Union and the United Nations, against the demolitions, especially in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood, but the governments of these countries are also required to intervene effectively with Israel, the occupying power, to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes.”

Three people were killed and others were injured, Friday evening, in an Israeli drone strike on a residential area in the city of Tyre, south Lebanon.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that three people were killed and nine others were injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Al-Masakin Al-Shaabi suburb in Tyre, noting that the strike also caused extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The agency pointed out that the ambulance and civil defense personnel, with the support of the army, continue to search for missing persons at the targeted site.

11 citizens were killed and others were injured, Friday evening, in Israeli occupation aircraft and artillery shelling of the north and south of the Gaza Strip.

The official news agency "Wafa" reported that 4 citizens were killed and others were injured in the occupation's bombing of Al-Karama neighborhood, north of Gaza City, and that two citizens were killed and others were injured in the occupation's bombing of a house in Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of the city.

He added that the occupation forces executed a young man by shooting him while he was trying to flee from northern Gaza to the center of the Strip. They shot him and prevented ambulance crews from approaching him and left him bleeding until he died, before they allowed his body to be retrieved and transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

In the southern Gaza Strip, citizens, ambulances and rescue crews recovered the bodies of four dead who were killed in the occupation's raids on various areas east of Rafah city.

Medical sources reported that the number of dead in the Gaza Strip since dawn today has risen to at least 37.

The occupation's aircraft and artillery bombed the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, and the neighborhoods of Al-Karamah, Al-Sabra, Tal Al-Hawa, Al-Rimal and Al-Zeitoun in Gaza City, and the Al-Shaboura neighborhood in the center of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The occupation forces blew up a number of residential buildings west of Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip.

The occupation forces continue their aggression on the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, which resulted in the martyrdom of 43,764 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, and the injury of 103,490 others, in an incomplete toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.

During its attack on Iran on October 25, Israel destroyed the Parchin military facility, about 30 kilometers from Tehran, claiming that “top secret research activities on nuclear weapons” had been carried out there in the past year, according to three current and former American and Israeli officials, quoted in a report by journalist Barak Ravid on the American “Axios” and Israeli “Walla” websites today, Friday.

American and Israeli officials said the attack was a direct attack on Iranian efforts in the past year to resume research into nuclear weapons.

The former Israeli official who was briefed on the attack said that a sophisticated technological device used in designing the explosive material that encases uranium in a nuclear facility and is necessary to carry out a nuclear explosion was destroyed.

One of the targets of the attack in Iran was the Taleqan 2 facility inside the Parchin facility. The Institute for Science and International Security published a clear image after the Israeli attack, showing that the Taleqan 2 facility was completely destroyed.

According to Israeli and American officials, the activities at the facility were part of moves by Iranian government officials to conduct research activities that could be used to develop a nuclear weapon, but could also be presented as necessary for civilian purposes.

"They did scientific work that could be put on the ground to make a nuclear weapon," a U.S. official said. "This was top secret. A small part of the Iranian government knew about it, but most of the Iranian government didn't."

Israeli and American intelligence spotted the “suspicious activity” earlier this year. Iranian scientists at the facility carried out computer modeling, metallurgy research and research into explosives that could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.

White House officials warned the Iranians, during direct talks last June, against continuing “suspicious research activities.”

An American official said that in the months preceding the Israeli attack, there was concern about these Iranian activities, and that this concern prompted the American Director of National Intelligence to change his assessment of the Iranian nuclear program, according to which Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon.

Israel has placed this facility among its targets for attack, although US President Joe Biden has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack nuclear facilities in order to prevent a war with Iran.

The report indicated that the "Talaqan 2" facility was not part of the declared Iranian nuclear program, and therefore Iran could not acknowledge its existence.

"The attack was a not-so-subtle message to Iran that Israel has significant access to what's going on inside the Iranian security establishment, even when these are secret matters and are known to a very small group of people in the Iranian government," a US official said.

Informed Palestinian sources revealed today, Friday, that Abdul Aziz Al-Minawi, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement, was killed yesterday in the raid carried out by Israeli aircraft against the movement’s targets in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The sources told Al-Quds that the attack against targets of the Islamic Jihad movement also led to the death of Rasmi Abu Issa, one of the movement’s leaders, the official in charge of the foreign relations file, and its representative in Algeria for several previous years.

The sources indicated that they were killed in a building that houses the Islamic Jihad's finance headquarters.

She said that a number of members of the leaders' families were killed with them.

Al-Minawi is considered one of the prominent leaders in the Islamic Jihad, and is very close to its Secretary-General, Ziad al-Nakhalah.

He stayed for periods in Beirut, and moved between it and Damascus.

Yesterday, the Islamic Jihad Movement confirmed the death of many of its members as a result of the Israeli bombing.

Syrian sources reported that at least 15 people were killed as a result of the Israeli raid.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today, Friday, that the death toll from the Israeli occupation's aggression on Gaza has risen to 43,764 dead and 103,490 wounded, since October 7, 2023.

She added that the occupation forces committed, during the past 24 hours, 3 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 28 citizens and the injury of 120 others.

She pointed out that thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.

UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Waterridge said on Friday that there has not been enough aid in the Gaza Strip throughout the brutal 13-month Israeli war, and that living conditions for Palestinians are "unbearable."

"There is simply not enough humanitarian aid in Gaza, not only in recent days and weeks, but also throughout the 13-month-long brutal Israeli war," the UNRWA spokeswoman said in press statements.

Describing the situation in the Gaza Strip, Waterridge said: “We are surrounded every day by people asking for pieces of bread, trying to get to water.”

Waterridge stressed that the situation in which Palestinians were forced to live in the Strip was "unbearable."

Recently, international and UN organizations warned against officially declaring famine in the northern Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide since October 5, coinciding with a comprehensive military siege that has prevented food, water, and medicine supplies from entering the Strip.

In the past weeks, a real crisis has begun to loom in the central and southern Gaza Strip, due to the depletion of flour and basic materials in the markets and homes of Palestinians, forcing them to use spoiled flour to feed their families, and to search for unhealthy alternatives.

The residents of Gaza and the North have previously suffered from a real "famine" in light of the scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel, due to the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation on the two governorates since the beginning of its ground invasion on October 27, 2023, which caused the death of a number of children and the elderly.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, the occupying power, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 147,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to end them immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

US President-elect Donald Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he supports reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon, while a Wall Street Journal report has highlighted a sticking point currently standing in the way of a settlement.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday that Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer met with Trump and senior officials in his administration last Sunday, and discussed with them a wide range of issues.

"Trump has officially given the green light to continue trying to reach a settlement on Lebanon," she added.

The Israeli Authority quoted a source familiar with the talks as saying that the US President-elect told Dermer, "I want you to reach an agreement on Lebanon. I have no objections to the current plan."

The broadcaster noted that Trump's meeting with Dermer "took place even before the latter's meeting with senior US administration officials this week."

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal said that Trump expressed to Dermer his hope to achieve a settlement with Lebanon before he arrives at the White House.

The American newspaper explained that the broad outlines of the settlement proposal stipulate preventing the Lebanese army, UNIFIL, and Hezbollah from returning south, and stated that the sticking point in the settlement currently is ensuring that Israel imposes a ceasefire if UNIFIL and the Lebanese army fail in their mission.

She pointed out that Israel is seeking assistance from Russian forces in Syria to prevent Hezbollah from replenishing its weapons stockpile through smuggling.

Expert warnings

The Wall Street Journal reported that security experts in Israel warned that expanding operations in Lebanon could lead to a war of attrition, and that Israel's incursion into Lebanon to pressure Hezbollah regarding a settlement is fraught with risks.

A former Israeli military official told the newspaper that Israel must review its goal of completely destroying Hezbollah as a military organization.

In turn, The Economist newspaper confirmed that the talks mediated by the United States to reach an agreement in Lebanon have become more advanced now.

According to Israeli media, Washington has presented a proposal stipulating that Hezbollah withdraw to the north of the Litani River, deploy the Lebanese army in the south, prevent the party from re-establishing positions in the region, and prevent the transfer of weapons to the party through Syria.

But Israel wants to retain the right to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon even after the agreement, which Lebanon strongly rejects.

While the party stresses that indirect negotiations with Israel must be based on two things: stopping the aggression and protecting Lebanese sovereignty in full and without any compromise.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar claimed in recent days that "progress has been made in the negotiations for a ceasefire in Lebanon."

While Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, in a statement contradicting Sa'ar's statement, stressed that he would not allow a settlement with Lebanon that did not include Hezbollah's disarmament and withdrawal beyond the Litani River.

About 90 Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress have urged President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on two members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, a letter released Thursday showed.

Members of Congress urged Biden to send a message to US partners before he leaves office, saying Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had incited Israeli settlers to violence in the occupied territories.

“We write to express our deep concern about the escalation of settler violence, settlement expansion, and measures taken to weaken the Palestinian Authority and destabilize the West Bank,” the lawmakers said in the letter.

The letter, signed by 17 senators and 71 members of the House of Representatives, said Israeli settlers carried out more than 1,270 recorded attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, an average of more than three violent attacks per day.

Three members of Congress said the letter was dated Oct. 29 but was released yesterday because lawmakers had not received a response from the White House.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Democratic Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Sean Casten told reporters that Biden has the authority to impose sanctions under an existing executive order. The three lawmakers are leading the effort to implement the letter’s demands.

They explained that doing so would send a message not only to Israel and the Palestinians, but also to US allies elsewhere in the world, that the United States would stand up for humanitarian issues.

extreme actions

“We believe it is more important than ever for President Biden to make clear now that the United States will not always stand for the extremist actions of the Netanyahu government,” Van Hollen said.

Spokespeople for the White House and the Israeli Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States has for decades supported a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and has urged Israel not to expand settlements.

The West Bank is among the territories Israel occupied in the 1967 war, and the Palestinians, with international support, seek to establish their state there. Most world powers consider Israeli settlements in the area illegal. Israel rejects this, citing historical claims, and describes the West Bank as a security bastion.

Netanyahu and his allies celebrated the re-election this month of Donald Trump, a staunch but sometimes unpredictable ally of Israel, as U.S. president. In his first term, the Republican president-elect delivered significant gains for Netanyahu.

Moreover, Smotrich said this week that he hopes Israel will extend its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank in 2025 and that he will push the government to engage the incoming Trump administration to gain Washington’s support.

Smotrich also has a role overseeing settlers, a role the Defense Ministry holds under the coalition agreement with Netanyahu.