US forces shoot down ballistic missiles, kill Houthi gunmen in Red Sea
U.S. forces opened fire in the Red Sea Sunday, shooting down two ballistic missiles and killing several armed crews.
South Africa files case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza
South Africa has launched a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks.
Gaza's growing number of war-wounded face tough decisions of losing limb or risk of death
Health officials say overwhelmed hospitals that now lack vascular surgeons at times had to amputate limbs, which in normal times could have been saved.
Biden orders strike on Iranian-backed group in Iraq after US troops injured in drone attack
The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack.
Pope Francis, in Christmas Day blessing, begs for Israel-Hamas cease-fire
Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus, “is a place of sorrow and silence" this year, Pope Francis lamented as he pleaded for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Christmas events canceled in Bethlehem due to Israel-Hamas war
The Israel-Hamas war has forced Christmas celebrations in the biblical birthplace of Jesus to be called off: "This year, without the Christmas tree and without lights, there’s just darkness."
War in Gaza: Palestinian death toll surpasses 20,000 as Israel continues invasion
Health officials in Hamas-run Gaza say the Palestinian death toll there has surpassed 20,000. That figure was released Friday.
Gad Haggai, US-Israeli man believed kidnapped by Hamas, declared dead
Gad Haggai, an Israeli American, had been thought to be among the more than 100 Israeli hostages still alive in Gaza.
Lincoln Memorial steps vandalized with ‘Free Gaza’ graffiti, red paint
National Park Service conservators removed almost all the latex and spray paint from the area around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The conservation team is scheduled to apply one more treatment and wash to remove the remaining light shadow from the spray paint on Thursday morning.
Israel finds large tunnel adjacent to Gaza border
The Israeli military said that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants and supplies, which raises more questions about how its surveillance could have missed such preparations for Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
Israeli airstrike killed a USAID contractor in Gaza, colleagues say
This is a rare report of the killing of someone with U.S.-government ties in the more than two-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops were waving white flag, IDF official says
An IDF official said the accidental killing of Israeli hostages was “against our rules of engagement," and was being investigated at the highest level.
US, British warships shoot down 15 attack drones over Red Sea
The destroyer USS Carney "successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems" launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the Pentagon said.
Israeli strike on school in Gaza kills Al Jazeera cameraman, wounds another, network says
An Israeli strike killed a Palestinian cameraman for the TV network Al Jazeera and wounded its chief Gaza correspondent as they reported at a school in the south of the besieged territory.
Pentagon orders US aircraft carrier to remain near Israel as war in Gaza rages on
U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier and one other warship to remain in the Mediterranean Sea for several more weeks as Israel's war with Hamas grinds on.
Biden to host Hanukkah ceremony at White House amid fears of rising antisemitism
Antisemitism has only intensified since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants sparked Israel's ongoing war in Gaza -- which faces heightened criticism for the mounting Palestinian death toll.
US vetoes UN resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
The U.S. was the only country to vote against calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. The United Kingdom abstained from the vote.
UN chief uses rarely exercised power to warn of impending 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which says the secretary-general may inform the council of matters he believes threaten international peace.
US announces visa bans to Jewish Israeli settlers who attack West Bank Palestinians
In a rare punitive move against Israel, the State Department says it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
FBI director warns of unprecedented terror threats since Oct. 7: 'Lights blinking everywhere'
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified Tuesday that the terror threat facing the United States has reached unprecedented levels since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.