THE FALSE POPE CONDEMNS ISRAEL.2 HORNS BUT SPEAKS DEMONIC (DEFECTOR) THATS POPE FRANCIS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

THE FALSE POPE CONDEMNS ISRAEL.2 HORNS BUT SPEAKS DEMONIC (DEFECTOR) THATS POPE FRANCIS.

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

University of California settles six antisemitism, three Islamophobia complaints-Five campuses resolve Title VI of the Civil Rights Act cases, majority of which involved antisemitism, anti-Israel discrimination surrounding pro-Palestinian campus protests-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 3:59 pm-DEC 21,24

The US Department of Education announced it had resolved nine antisemitism- and Islamophobia-related civil rights complaints made against five campuses inside the University of California system on Friday, including some involving a prominent pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel encampment in Los Angeles that had descended into violence in the spring.The sweeping resolution comes in the final weeks of US President Joe Biden’s term, and as US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to eliminate the department altogether, which could potentially move antisemitism investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to the Justice Department.The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which handles Title VI cases, wrote in an open letter to Michael Drake, president of the UC system, that it had “identified compliance concerns that the Universities appear not to have responded promptly or effectively” to allegations of harassment. In addition, OCR said, three of the schools “appear to have engaged in different treatment of students based on actual or perceived national origin.”Four of the resolved cases involved the University of California, Los Angeles, where an unruly spring encampment ended in violence and arrests. UCLA received complaints on behalf of both Jewish and pro-Palestinian students that the school had failed to protect them during the encampments, which also recently earned the campus a legal rebuke based on accusations that protesters blocked Jewish students’ access to parts of campus.An internal antisemitism task force at UCLA also recently found that the school had fostered an antisemitic environment, including as a result of the encampments.At rallies, protesters chanted “death to Israel” and “no peace until they’re dead,” the department said. At the encampment, protesters maintained checkpoints that excluded Jewish students from the protest area and parts of the campus, prompting the school’s chancellor to issue a statement saying Jewish students on campus, among others, felt “a state of anxiety and fear.”Two more complaints involved UC Davis, where a faculty member in October 2023 posted threats to “Zionist journalists” on social media, and where Muslim and Palestinian students alleged they had been doxxed and stalked. It is unclear whether they were involved in the anti-Israel protests or were targeted merely because of their identities.The other three cases involved the targeting of a Jewish student body president at UC Santa Barbara; allegations of  “anti-Zionist propaganda” posted in the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies department of UC Santa Cruz; and UC San Diego’s alleged failure to respond to harmful activity from its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the UC system said it was “pleased” with the resolution agreement and that it “unequivocally rejects antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of harassment and discrimination.” The statement pointed to other steps the school said it had taken lately to address the issue, including establishing its own office of civil rights, an anti-discrimination policy, and new limits on protests and other activities.As part of the resolution agreement, the UC system agreed to annual Title VI training for staff and campus police, to report more information to OCR about how its campuses will respond to harassment complaints, and annual audits and regular campus climate assessments for the five campuses mentioned in the complaint.Six of the nine complaints involved harassment against Jewish and Israeli students; OCR said it dismissed one of those complaints, involving a Jewish UCLA student who said SJP had blocked her from joining the group, due to lack of evidence. The other three complaints involved harassment against Muslim, Arab or Palestinian students.Justin Samuels, a non-Jewish conservative legal activist whose complaint triggered one of the UC Davis investigations, told JTA he was “happy to have helped” in their resolution. Samuels has been active in filing Title VI complaints related to campus antisemitism in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in southern Israeli communities.He added, “I expect the Trump administration to be a lot more proactive on shared ancestry discrimination.”OCR has continued to resolve antisemitism-related Title VI cases since the election, though dozens more remain active in its system. A separate resolution agreement, also announced Friday, ruled that the University of Cincinnati did not appropriately respond to complaints of discrimination against Jewish students related to a “Spooky Zionist” student gathering.The university similarly agreed to regularly report its handling of discrimination cases to the office as well as additional employee training and campus climate assessments.“The university appeared to operate under the mistaken understanding that if a complainant could not identify a perpetrator by name; the conduct was not directed at a specific individual; the conduct involved multiple perpetrators or a registered student organization; or the conduct occurred off campus, the university did not have an obligation to address alleged harassment,” the office determined in a statement.

Death toll in German Christmas market attack reaches 5, with at least 200 wounded-Nearly 40 seriously injured; experts surprised by profile of alleged Saudi attacker who supports far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party; Riyadh condemns ramming-By Kirsten Grieshaber, SARA ABOUBAKR and Vanessa Gera Today, 2:17 pm-DEC 21,24

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germans on Saturday mourned both the victims and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least five people, including a small child, and injuring at least 200 others.Authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the site of the attack in Magdeburg on Friday evening and took him into custody for questioning.He has lived in Germany for nearly two decades, practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg. officials said.The governor of the surrounding state of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters that the death toll rose from two to five and that more than 200 people in total were injured.Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that nearly 40 of them “are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them.”Several German media outlets identified the suspect as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on the cold and gloomy day. Several people stopped and cried. A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed a previous Christmas market attack in 2016 sang “Amazing Grace,” a hymn about God’s mercy, offering their prayers and solidarity with the victims.The man behind the attack-There were still no answers Saturday as to what caused him to drive into a crowd in the eastern German city of Magdeburg.Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he said was the “Islamism of Europe.” Some described him as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann said he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.“After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar, ” Neumann, the director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence at King’s College London, wrote on X.“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,” Saxony-Anhalt’s governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters. “Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many.”Magdeburg is still shaken-The violence shocked Germany and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition. It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss. Berlin kept its markets open but has increased its police presence at them.Germany has suffered a string of extremist attacks in recent years, including a knife attack that killed three people and wounded eight at a festival in the western city of Solingen in August.Magdeburg is a city of about 240,000 people, west of Berlin, that serves as Saxony-Anhalt’s capital. Friday’s attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring many others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.Chancellor Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser traveled to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a memorial service is to take place in the city cathedral in the evening. Faeser ordered flags lowered to half-staff at federal buildings across the country.A recount of the horrifying attackVerified bystander footage distributed by the German news agency dpa showed the suspect’s arrest at a tram stop in the middle of the road.A nearby police officer pointing a handgun at the man shouted at him as he lay prone, his head arched up slightly. Other officers swarmed around the suspect and took him into custody.Footage claimed to show the moment that the Saudi National who committed the Ramming Attack earlier tonight on a Christmas Market in the City of Magdeburg, was Arrested by German Police. pic.twitter.com/niZonLmTik — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 20, 2024-Thi Linh Chi Nguyen, a 34-year-old manicurist from Vietnam whose salon is located in a mall across from the Christmas market, was on the phone during a break when she heard loud bangs and thought at first they were fireworks. She then saw a car drive through the market at high speed. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by the car.Shaking as she described the horror of what she witnessed, she recalled seeing the car bursting out of the market and turning right onto Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then coming to a standstill at the tram stop where the suspect was arrested.The number of injured people was overwhelming.“My husband and I helped them for two hours. He ran back home and grabbed as many blankets as he could find because they didn’t have enough to cover the injured people. And it was so cold,” she said.The market itself was still cordoned off Saturday with red-and-white tape and police vans every 50 meters (about 54 yards). Police with machine pistols guarded every entry to the market.Some thermal security blankets still lay on the street.Christmas markets are a German holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages, now successfully exported to much of the Western world.Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on X.

Missile detonates near play area in neighborhood park-Missile fired from Yemen explodes in south Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16-IDF says interception attempts failed; sirens send millions rushing to shelters throughout central Israel in the middle of the night, in second Houthi attack in as many days-By ToI Staff Today, 6:02 am-DEC 21,24

A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis exploded in a public park in Jaffa, south Tel Aviv, overnight Friday-Saturday after attempts to intercept it failed.Medics said 16 people were lightly injured by shattered glass, including a three-year-old girl, while 14 were bruised while rushing to shelters.Footage from the park showed a crater where the missile had impacted.The missile launch caused sirens to sound throughout central Israel at 3:44 a.m., sending millions rushing to shelters from their beds.It was the second time in as many days that a Houthi missile sparked sirens in the country’s center in the middle of the night.The military confirmed that a missile originating in Yemen impacted in Tel Aviv, saying “attempted interceptions did not succeed.”It said details of the event were being looked into.Footage also showed exploded windows and debris in several surrounding apartments, apparently as a result of the shockwave.On Thursday, a drone was intercepted off the Tel Aviv coast and on Monday a missile triggered sirens across the country.The latest missile attack from Yemen came only two days after the last one, and after the Israeli Air Force carried out a major strike on the country.Early on Thursday morning, a Houthi projectile was partially intercepted outside Israeli airspace by air defenses. 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.Shortly afterwards, the IDF carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen (the operation had been planned for weeks, with the planes already in the air when the missile was launched). Dozens of planes struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and, for the first time, in the rebel-held capital Sana’a,Fourteen fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers 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 tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack, as were power stations. A previous attack on the Hodeida 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.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.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 strikes marked Israel’s third counterattack on areas in Yemen held by the rebel group.The Houthis began their attacks following Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel, seeking to add pressure on Israel, along with other Iran-aligned groups such as Hezbollah. 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.After Thursday’s strikes in Yemen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 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.”Emanuel Fabian and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

Report: Families of several hostages receive signs of life from loved ones-Sides said to have agreed on list of Palestinian prisoners to be released but are in contention over whether dangerous convicts should be sent abroad or freed in West Bank-By ToI Staff Today, 9:49 am-DEC 21,24

Some hostages’ families have recently received signs of life from their loved ones who are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, Channel 12 news reported on Friday night.The report did not identify the families’ identities in order to protect their privacy, nor did it specify what form the signs of life took.After months in which no signs of life were seen from any of the hostages, Hamas released two videos in the last month of hostages Edan Alexander and Matan Zangauker that were seemingly filmed in the last few weeks.The families were told by unnamed officials familiar with the issue that the efforts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas are always ongoing, the report said, and that preliminary agreements could be reached within a week to 10 days. They added, however, that Hamas could stall the efforts at any point but that the military pressure of the ongoing war was helping.“The regional situation in general, the American influence, the status of the war, and more have led to a combination of circumstances that advances the possibility for effective negotiations,” the families were reportedly told.“Still, it’s important to note that even though the conditions have improved, there are still challenges ahead, and we’re working and hoping for a breakthrough,” the families were told.Channel 12 also claimed that the sides have agreed on the list of Palestinian security prisoners who will be released during the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for female, elderly and sick hostages.However, Kan reported on Friday that a recent point of contention in the talks has been regarding where the prisoners will be released to.According to the report, unnamed officials said that Israel was demanding for the more dangerous prisoners to be released abroad and not to the West Bank in order to prevent release parties and to stop them from returning to terrorism.However, the demand is not fully agreed upon within Israel either as other officials told Kan they opposed sending prisoners abroad because they could still perpetrate terrorism or help terrorists in Israel from abroad.Some officials involved in the negotiations have appeared cautiously optimistic in the last week as they say that progress is being made in the efforts to reach a hostage deal as CIA Director William Burns arrived in Qatar on Wednesday to aid in ongoing talks.Israeli officials appear more optimistic, however, as they have been telling Hebrew media in recent days that a deal could be days away while an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel on Thursday that it would more likely be weeks.Numerous attempts to reach a new hostage deal have repeatedly failed over the last year or so as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of sabotaging efforts and have refused to budge on key issues.However, the current round of negotiations has seemingly come close to securing a deal that would guarantee the release of at least some of the 96 hostages who were abducted during Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year and are still being held captive in Gaza.During the attack, some 3,000 terrorists rampaged through Israel’s southern communities, murdering some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

French court convicts 8 people of involvement in 2020 beheading of teacher-Two friends of dead attacker sentenced to 16 years in prison for complicity in murder; father of schoolgirl whose lies sparked killing sentenced to 13 years-By TOM NOUVIAN and Samuel Petrequin Today, 1:25 am-DEC 21,24

PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted eight people of involvement in the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty outside his school near Paris four years ago, a horrific death that shocked the country.Paty, 47, was killed by an Islamic extremist outside his school on Oct. 16, 2020, days after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. The assailant, an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, was shot to death by police.Those who have been on trial on terrorism charges at a special court in Paris since the end of November were accused, in some cases, of providing assistance to the perpetrator and, in others, of organizing a hate campaign online before the murder took place.The 540-seat courtroom was packed for the verdict, which marked the final chapter of the Paty trial. Heavy surveillance was in place, with more than 50 police officers guarding the proceedings.Seated in the front row was Paty’s 9-year-old son, accompanied by family members. As the lead judge, Franck Zientara, delivered sentences one after the other, emotions in the room ran high.“I am moved, and I am relieved,” said Gaëlle Paty, Samuel Paty’s sister, as she addressed a crowd of reporters after the verdict. “Hearing the word ‘guilty’ — that’s what I needed.”“I spent this week listening to a lot of rewriting of what happened, and it was hard to hear, but now the judge has stated what really happened, and it feels good,” she added, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes.Families of the accused reacted with gasps, cries, shouts, and ironic clapping, prompting the judge to pause multiple times and call for silence.“They lied about my brother,” shouted one relative. Another woman, sobbing, exclaimed, “They took my baby from me,” before being escorted out by police officers.The seven-judge panel met or went above most of the terms requested by prosecutors, citing “the exceptional gravity of the facts.”Naïm Boudaoud, 22, and Azim Epsirkhanov, 23, friends of the attacker, were convicted of complicity in murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison each. Neither can be paroled for two-thirds of their term, about 10 years. Boudaoud was accused of driving the attacker to the school, while Epsirkhanov helped him procure weapons.Brahim Chnina, 52, the Muslim father of the schoolgirl whose lies sparked the events leading to Paty’s death, was sentenced to 13 years for association with a terrorist enterprise. Prosecutors had sought 10 years for him.Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a Muslim preacher, was given 15 years for organizing a hate campaign online against Paty.The shocking death of the 47-year-old teacher left an indelible mark on France, with several schools now named after him.The trial had begun in late November. The defendants were accused of assisting a perpetrator or organizing a hate campaign online in the lead-up to the murder.At the time of the attack, there were protests in many Muslim countries and calls online for violence targeting France and the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had republished its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a few weeks before Paty’s death to mark the opening of the trial over deadly 2015 attacks on its newsroom by Islamic extremists.The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious. But the fallout from Paty’s killing reinforced the French state’s commitment to freedom of expression and its firm attachment to secularism in public life.Chnina’s daughter, who was 13 at the time, claimed that she had been excluded from Paty’s class when he showed the caricatures on Oct. 5, 2020.Chnina sent a series of messages to his contacts denouncing Paty, saying that “this sick man” needed to be fired, along with the address of the school in the Paris suburb of Conflans Saint-Honorine. In reality, Chnina’s daughter had lied to him and had never attended the lesson in question.Paty was teaching a class mandated by the National Education Ministry on freedom of expression. He discussed the caricatures in this context, saying students who did not wish to see them could temporarily leave the classroom.An online campaign against Paty snowballed, and 11 days after the lesson, Anzorov attacked the teacher with a knife as he walked home, and displayed the teacher’s head in a post on social media. Police later fatally shot Anzorov as he advanced toward them, armed.Chnina’s daughter was tried last year in a juvenile court and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Four other students at Paty’s school were found guilty of involvement and given suspended sentences; a fifth, who pointed out Paty to Anzorov in exchange for money, was given a 6-month term with an electronic bracelet.Sefrioui, the preacher on trial, had presented himself as a spokesperson for Imams of France although he had been dismissed from that role. He had filmed a video in front of the school with the father of the student. He referred to the teacher as a “thug” multiple times and sought to pressure the school administration via social media.Some of the defendants expressed regrets and claimed their innocence on the eve of the verdict. They did not convince Paty’s family.“It’s something that really shocks the family,” lawyer Virginie Le Roy said ahead of the verdicts. “You get the feeling that those in the box are absolutely unwilling to admit any responsibility whatsoever.”“Apologies are pointless, they won’t bring Samuel back, but explanations are precious to us,” Le Roy said. “We haven’t had many explanations of the facts.”

Iran should 'have no role whatsoever' in Syria -- US official-After Damascus meeting, US drops $10 million terror bounty for new Syrian leader-Senior diplomat Barbara Leaf says she received ‘positive messages’ on fighting terror from Ahmed al-Sharaa; new leaders say they wish to contribute to ‘regional peace’By Agencies 20 December 2024, 10:50 pm

A senior US diplomat told Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest, and welcomed “positive messages” from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.Barbara Leaf, Washington’s top diplomat for the Middle East, made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus — the first formal mission to Syria’s capital by United States diplomats since the early days of Syria’s civil war.The country’s new authorities said in a statement after the meeting that Syria wants to contribute to “regional peace.”“The Syrian side indicated that the Syrian people stand at an equal distance from all countries and parties in the region and that Syria rejects any polarization,” the statement said.The lightning offensive that toppled president Bashar al-Assad on December 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.Leaf’s meeting with HTS chief Sharaa came despite Washington’s designation of his group as a terrorist organization.“Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years,” Leaf told reporters after their talks.She said “we welcomed positive messages” from Sharaa, who until recently was referred to by his nome de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani.“We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words,” she said.“I also communicated the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition,” she said.“We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.”The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkey during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan.A Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed to AFP that the US delegation had met with Sharaa.“The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing,” the official said.The US delegation also included the US pointman on hostages, who has been seeking clues on missing Americans including Austin Tice, a journalist kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.On Friday, the US embassy added on social media platform X that the US and Syrian sides also discussed “regional events, Syria’s intention to be a good neighbor and the importance of common efforts on terrorism.”US strikes IS-On a regional tour prior to the Aqaba talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State group (IS) jihadists.The US military said on Friday its forces had killed an IS leader and another operative in Deir Ezzor province, part of escalated US military action against the group since Assad’s overthrow.The embassy said Leaf also met with Syria’s White Helmet rescuers, civil society leaders, activists and others “to hear directly from them about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.”Below a photograph of Leaf and others with a memorial wreath, the US embassy said she had also commemorated the tens of thousands of people murdered, tortured, disappeared or detained under Assad.“The US commitment to hold accountable those responsible for these atrocities is unwavering,” the embassy said.Leaf denied that her press conference in Damascus had been canceled for security reasons, saying she was delayed by street celebrations.Turkish pressure-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Assad’s opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.Turkey has been putting pressure on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, and Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy “terrorist” groups operating in the country, specifically IS and Kurdish fighters.“Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates — which threaten the survival of Syria — must be eradicated,” he told journalists following a summit in Cairo, referring to IS and the Kurdistan Workers Party, respectively.The autonomous administration in northeastern Syria is protected by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly made up of the People’s Protection Units (YPG).Turkey accuses the YPG of being a branch of the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist group.Kurdish leaders in Syria have welcomed Assad’s ouster and raised the three-star independence-era rebel flag, but many in the region fear continued attacks by Turkey and allied fighters.Leaf said Washington was urging a ceasefire between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF around the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.On a visit to Ankara Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the dangers of any “escalation” of the fighting, saying: “Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria.”Iran and Russia had long helped to prop up Assad, but on Friday Leaf said she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran.“If I’m to judge by today, Iran will have no role whatsoever, and it shouldn’t,” Leaf said.Iran, with its deployment of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah “really preyed upon and really viciously brutalized the Syrian people,” she added.Amy Pope, the head of the UN migration agency, on Friday urged “the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country.”Pope also called for the raft of international sanctions on Syria to be reassessed to help the country regain its footing.Syria’s civil war killed more than 500,000 people and sparked an exodus of millions of refugees.Since Assad’s departure, which sparked celebrations at home and abroad, rebels have thrown open prisons where tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and tortured.They have also located mass graves believed to hold some of the estimated 100,000 people who died or were killed in custody since 2011.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Toronto Jewish girls’ school fired at for third time this year-Building damaged but students still able to attend classes on Friday; condemning antisemitism, mayor says ‘enough is enough’By Joseph Strauss 20 December 2024, 10:27 pm

JTA — Toronto Police are investigating evidence of gunshots fired overnight on Friday at Bais Chaya, a Jewish girls’ school, the third such incident since May.As in the previous shootings, no one was injured in the incident.Police said they were notified of the shooting at around 2:30 a.m. on Friday. The department’s Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force is investigating, with support from the Hate Crime Unit.The building sustained property damage, according to the Toronto Jewish federation’s Jewish Security Network, but students were ultimately able to attend school Friday.Bais Chaya Mushka is part of a network of Chabad-Lubavitch schools. All three shootings at the school took place overnight when the building was closed.The first shooting occurred on a Shabbat in May at around 4 a.m. Then, in October, on Yom Kippur, gunshots were fired at the school from a vehicle. About a week later, two suspects — a 20-year-old man and 17-year-old boy — were arrested on firearm charges for that shooting.“Enough is enough. Antisemitism and antisemitic attacks have no place in Toronto,” Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement on Friday. “The latest shooting at the Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School is unacceptable. Once again students, families, and neighbors are waking up to safety concerns.”She added, “Toronto Police acted swiftly and arrested two individuals connected to the October 12 firearm discharge incident. I trust the police will do everything they can again.”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “I’m sickened by reports of shots fired at a Jewish elementary school in North York. This is a hateful, antisemitic attack on Toronto’s Jewish community.” I’m sickened by reports of shots fired at a Jewish elementary school in North York. This is a hateful, antisemitic attack on Toronto’s Jewish community. Law enforcement is investigating to bring the perpetrators to justice. Anyone with information about this…— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 20, 2024-The shooting comes just days after a Montreal-area synagogue was firebombed and is the latest in a series of attacks on Canadian Jewish institutions since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, which launched the war in Gaza and has sparked a global spike in antisemitism.In November 2023, assailants tossed a firebomb at the same synagogue, Congregation Beth Tikvah. The same month, shots were fired at two Orthodox Jewish schools in Montreal. In March, a venue postponed a Jewish film festival in Hamilton, Ontario due to “security and safety concerns,” despite objections from the local Jewish federation, which said that the concerns centered on opposition to Israeli films. In August, bomb threats were sent to dozens of Jewish institutions across Canada.“When houses of worship are being firebombed and schools are being shot at simply because they’re Jewish,” said Noah Shack, interim president of Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group. “That is unacceptable anywhere in Canada, whether it’s here or anywhere else. And the time for action is now.”

Civil rights probe finds Philly school district failed to tackle antisemitic harassment-US Education Department faults authorities for not doing enough to protect Jewish students despite ‘repeated, extensive notice’ they faced bigotry from peers, teachers and staff-By AP and ToI Staff 20 December 2024, 9:30 pm

The Philadelphia school district failed to show it protected Jewish students from harassment despite “repeated, extensive notice” that students, teachers and administrators were engaging in antisemitic behavior, the US Department of Education has concluded after a federal civil rights investigation.Philadelphia school administrators did not adequately address allegations that students were performing Nazi salutes, drawing swastikas on school property and uttering slurs and threats against Jewish students — in some cases neglecting to even document the incidents, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights found.Federal investigators also cited complaints about allegedly antisemitic social media posts by a school board member, an assistant superintendent and four teachers.The Philadelphia district, among the largest public school systems in the US, did not evaluate whether a hostile environment existed in its schools, and did not demonstrate that it took steps to “eliminate any such hostile environment and prevent its recurrence,” the civil rights office said in a December 18 letter to the district’s lawyers.The letter noted that Philadelphia officials have agreed to take various steps to resolve the case. The agreement includes annual training for administrators, faculty and staff; age-appropriate anti-harassment programming for students; better documentation of complaints; and an anti-harassment statement.“The Philadelphia School District has committed to taking essential steps to redress any hostile environment in its schools so that Jewish students, like all students, can learn in an environment free from discriminatory harassment,” Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement.The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy group, was among several Jewish groups to file complaints against the district earlier this year. The Education Department opened an investigation to determine whether district officials appropriately responded to the alleged harassment as required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on shared ancestry.ADL said it hopes the agreement between the Education Department and the school district will help prevent additional harassment and targeting of Jewish students.“We are grateful for the Jewish students and parents who had the courage to speak out against the pattern of antisemitic harassment, abuse and bullying they were experiencing,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s chief executive officer.ADL has filed similar complaints against other school districts, including Berkeley and Santa Ana in California.The Philadelphia district said it “takes all complaints of bullying, harassment, and discrimination seriously, including allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia.” The district also said it’s committed to “continue efforts to create welcoming and inclusive environments that allow our students to feel safe and heard.”Federal investigators said they were concerned that district staff had retaliated against parents who filed complaints. In one such incident, a teacher identified the complainant by name on her Instagram account and wrote she was “taking the gloves off,” adding: “Zionism is Racism,” the civil rights office said in its letter. Another teacher reposted the first teacher’s post and wrote: “These are some disgusting, cowardly, genocide-supporting fools. They thought they could hide.”Andrew Goretsky, the director of ADL’s Philadelphia office, said ADL believes that antisemitic harassment, assault and vandalism are underreported because of fears of retaliation.Regional director @AndrewGoretsky's statement on the Department of Education resolving its Title VI complaint against the School District of Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/V6umKywtHh — ADL Philadelphia (@ADLPhiladelphia) December 19, 2024-Colleges, universities and high schools nationwide saw a wave of anti-Israel student protests in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Many protesters used antisemitic rhetoric and explicitly supported the Palestinian terrorist group.The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking 251 hostages and killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in 14 months of war, a figure that cannot be verified and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.A congressional hearing earlier this year spotlighted antisemitism in K-12 education, with the leaders of New York City Public Schools, the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and the Berkeley Unified School District in California all vigorously denying they had failed to address hostility toward Jewish people.

Analysis-With Syrian regime’s collapse, Turkey gains the upper hand in rivalry with Russia-Despite mutual respect, Putin and Erdogan find themselves on opposing sides of conflicts across the globe, with the score now ‘Sultans 1 and Czars 0’ after Assad ousted-By AP 20 December 2024, 7:41 pm

The rapid downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has touched off a new round of delicate geopolitical maneuvering between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.With the dust still settling from the stunning events in Damascus, the outcome for now seems to be favoring Ankara, which backed the victorious rebels while Moscow suffered a bruising blow to its international clout.“In the game of Czars vs. Sultans, this is Sultans 1 and Czars 0,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute. “Far from being allies, Turkey and Russia are competitors. And in this case, Turkey has outsmarted Russia.”The Assad regime’s demise opens another chapter in the complex relationship between Putin and Erdogan, with wide-ranging implications not just for Syria but also for Ukraine and the two leaders’ ties with Washington.Russia and Turkey share economic and security interests — along with an intense rivalry. The personal relationship between Putin and Erdogan often sees them both praising each other, even as they jockey for political and economic gains.Get“There are currently only two leaders left in the world — there is me and there is Vladimir Putin,” Erdogan said recently, reflecting his respect for the Kremlin leader. Putin, in turn, has often praised Erdogan’s political prowess.Conflicts and deals-Russia and Turkey supported opposing sides in Syria’s civil war that started in 2011, putting them on a collision course. Tensions spiraled when a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkey-Syria border in November 2015, soon after Moscow launched its air campaign to support Assad.The Kremlin responded with sweeping economic sanctions that halted Turkish imports, drove Turkish companies from the lucrative Russian market and cut the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey’s resorts.Faced with massive economic damage, Erdogan apologized months later. Soon after, Putin staunchly supported him when he faced an attempted military coup in July 2016, helping to warm ties quickly.In 2018, Moscow and Ankara negotiated a ceasefire and de-escalation deal for the rebel-held Idlib province in northwestern Syria on the border with Turkey and sought to anchor the often-violated agreement with follow-up deals in the next few years.But even as they cooperated on Syria, Moscow and Ankara also vied for influence in Libya, where Russia supported forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter while Turkey backed his Tripoli-based foes. Turkey also aggressively sought to increase its leverage in the former Soviet Central Asian nations competing with Russia and China.In 2020, Moscow backed off when Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan routed ethnic Armenian forces in the fighting over the breakaway region of Karabakh. Even though Armenia hosted a Russian military base, the Kremlin has engaged in a delicate balancing act, seeking to maintain warm ties with both Azerbaijan and Turkey.While their political interests often clashed, economic ties boomed, with Russia boosting natural gas exports to Turkey via a Black Sea pipeline; by building Turkey’s first nuclear plant; and by providing the NATO member with advanced air defense systems — to Washington’s dismay.Relations amid the war in Ukraine-Ties with Turkey grew even more important for Putin after he invaded Ukraine in 2022, Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.The West responded with economic sanctions that barred Russia from most Western markets, restricted its access to the international financial system, shut transport routes and halted exports of key technologies. Turkey, which did not join the sanctions, has emerged as Russia’s key gateway to global markets, strengthening Erdogan’s hand in negotiations with Putin.While Turkey supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and supplied Kyiv with weapons, Erdogan echoed Putin in accusing the US and NATO of fomenting the conflict. Putin has praised Erdogan for offering to mediate a settlement.In March 2022, Turkey hosted Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul that soon collapsed, with both Putin and Erdogan blaming the West for their failure.Later that year, Ankara pooled efforts with the United Nations to broker a deal that opened the door for Ukrainian grain exports from its Black Sea ports, an agreement that helped drive down global food prices before falling apart the following year.Turkey’s balancing act in Ukraine is driven by its dependence on the vast Russian market, supplies of natural gas and a flow of tourists.Russia’s focus on Ukraine has eroded its clout in regions where Turkey and other players have tried to take advantage of Moscow’s withering influence.In September 2023, Azerbaijan reclaimed control over all of Karabakh in a one-day blitz while Russian regional peacekeepers stood back. That hurt Russia’s ties with Armenia, which has shifted increasingly toward the West.Moscow’s new look at Syria-Focused on Ukraine, Russia had few resources left for Syria at a time when Hezbollah similarly pulled back its fighters amid the war with Israel and Iranian support for Assad also weakened.Russia tried to sponsor talks on normalizing relations between Turkey and Syria, but Assad stonewalled them, refusing any compromise.Assad’s intransigence helped trigger the Turkey-backed opposition’s offensive in November. The underfunded and demoralized Syrian army quickly crumbled, allowing the rebels to sweep across the country and capture Damascus.Even as it has offered asylum to Assad and his family, Russia has reached out to Syria’s new leaders, seeking to ensure security for its troops still there and extend leases on its naval and air bases.At his annual news conference Thursday, Putin said Russia offered Syria’s new leaders to use the bases for humanitarian aid deliveries and suggested Moscow could offer other incentives.While Assad’s demise dealt a heavy blow to Russia, some believe Moscow could navigate the rapidly changing environment to retain at least some clout.“Syria’s opposition forces well understand that the country’s future is uncertain,” said Nikolay Kozhanov, a consulting fellow with Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia program, in a commentary. “They want Russia, if not as a friend, then a neutral party.”He noted that “Moscow’s main goal will be to maintain at least a minimal level of influence through a military presence, for example, at its existing bases, or through contacts with other regional players, such as Turkey.”Cagaptay observed that while Turkey would like to see an end to Russia’s military presence in Syria, Ankara’s position will depend on how relations evolve with Washington.“If we see a reset in US-Turkish ties where Turkey thinks it can comfortably lean on the US against Russia, I can see Erdogan adopting a kind of more boisterous tone vis a vis Putin,” he said.But if the US maintains its alliance with the Kurds and stands against Turkey’s effort to push back on Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, “Ankara may decide that it needs to continue to play all sides as it has been doing for about a decade now,” Cagaptay said.Putin noted Russia understands Turkey’s motives in securing its borders, but he also warned that the Kurds could offer strong resistance if attacked.Emre Ersen, a Russia expert at Istanbul’s Marmara University, also noted that while Assad’s fall will diminish Moscow’s influence, “the relationship between Turkey and Russia will not be devastated by the events in Syria.”“Obviously, they still need to reach out to each other regarding the crisis in Ukraine, but also because they have very significant economic relations,” Ersen said, adding that Erdogan could be expected to seek more concessions from Russia on energy and trade issues.

Syria’s de facto leader defends telling woman to cover her hair for photo-After igniting fears that fall of Assad will usher in Islamist regime, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham chief denies forcing woman to don veil and says ‘it’s my personal freedom’By ToI Staff 20 December 2024, 6:35 pm

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new de facto leader of Syria, defended telling a woman to cover her hair before being photographed with him after viral video of the incident ignited fears that post-Assad Syria could be veering toward a fundamentalist Islamic regime.“I did not force her. But it’s my personal freedom. I want photos taken for me the way that suits me,” Al-Sharaa, who has recently stopped using his nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Julani, told the BBC in an interview.The rebel chief has received backlash from both liberals and conservative Islamists upon asking the woman, Lea Kheirallah, that she cover her hair while he toured Damascus’s Messeh area on December 10. Kheirallah complied, pulling her hood over her head.The incident raised fears among liberal media outlets that al-Sharaa could seek to institute strict dress codes in Syria just as his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — a former al-Qaeda affiliate — did upon seizing control of the Idlib province in 2017. Those restrictions, however, were softened in recent years following public criticism.France 24’s Arabic channel published a headline asking whether Syria was headed toward “Islamic rule.” According to the BBC, one Syrian journalist said, “We replaced one dictator with a reactionary dictator,” and social media commentators wrote that “ultra-extremists” may be rising to power and that al-Sharaa “forced a free woman” to cover her hair.Meanwhile, conservative Islamists criticized al-Sharaa on Telegram for being photographed at all with a woman, which is considered by some to be immodest in Islam. According to the BBC, most of the critics appear to be from the Idlib region and include clerics and influential commentators, some of them previously members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.The news footage of Lea Kheirallah and the Ameer of HTS pic.twitter.com/mkWZfyQKWS— LndnRash (@LndnRash) December 14, 2024-Some critics called al-Sharaa’s behavior “indulgent” and that he was seeking “vain public attention” and “too busy taking selfies with young ladies” instead of addressing demands to release prisoners held in his organization’s jails in Idlib.For her part, Kheirallah said al-Sharaa’s request did not bother her, adding that he asked in a “gentle and fatherly way.”“It was his right to appear in a manner befitting his principles. He didn’t ask the women around him to cover their hair, but if they wanted to be photographed with him, the same standard applied even for the American journalist who interviewed him,” Kheirallah wrote in an Instagram post.Nevertheless, a photograph published by the Syrian Arab News Agency showed al-Sharaa posing with a German foreign ministry delegation that included a woman whose hair was uncovered.Seeking a contrast to his past as an al-Qaeda commander, al-Sharaa has portrayed himself as a moderate since toppling the Assad family’s 50-year rule on December 8. He has insisted that the rights of all Syrians will be protected and that he is committed to the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Israel.Following Assad’s ouster, the Israel Defense Forces seized a buffer zone between Israel and Syria that was previously manned in part by Syrian troops, who abandoned their posts amid the regime’s collapse. Israel has repeatedly said that control of the buffer zone and some areas beyond it is a temporary defense measure amid the chaotic takeover.On Monday, al-Sharaa said that Israel had reason to involve itself in the fighting in Syria while the Assad regime — which was backed by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group — was still standing, but that now “the excuse is gone.”“There is no justification for the Israelis to bomb Syrian facilities or advance inside Syria,” he said, according to the Wall Street Journal.The Islamist leader told foreign journalists that his nascent government intends to overhaul Syria’s constitution and institutions, but said it will take time, and that the country is not yet ready for elections due to remaining disorder, some 13 years after civil war broke out amid the so-called Arab Spring in 2011.Many countries and organizations have welcomed Assad’s fall but said they are waiting to see how the new authorities will treat minorities in the country.

One hurt after IDF opens fire at group protesting Israeli presence in south Syria-Army says soldiers shot suspect in leg after spotting ‘threat that required action to remove’; incident comes day after Maariya residents said troops blocked them from their fields-By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff 20 December 2024, 6:12 pm

Israeli troops wounded one person after opening fire Friday on demonstrators in southern Syria, with the military saying the soldiers did so to remove “a threat.”According to the local Daraa 24 outlet, residents of towns in the Yarmouk River basin gathered near a former Syrian army post close to the village of Maariya to protest against the IDF presence in Syria.The outlet said the soldiers opened fire in the air to stop the demonstrators from approaching, and one person was hit directly and wounded.The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed the incident. It said soldiers who were calling on suspects to move back amid the demonstration “identified a threat that required action to remove,” without elaborating.The troops acted according to the open-fire procedures, and shot one of the protesters in the leg, according to the IDF.“We emphasize that the IDF does not intervene in the events taking place in Syria,” the military said, adding that it will “continue to act to protect the State of Israel and its citizens.”Maariya, on the western edge of Syria’s southern Daraa province, is near the Israeli Golan Heights, but outside of a buffer zone in the Golan established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel.Friday’s incident came a day after villagers alleged that the troops stationed in the abandoned army base were preventing local farmers from accessing their fields.Israeli troops entered the buffer zone — a roughly 400-square-kilometer (154-square-mile) demilitarized zone separating Israel from Syria — shortly after Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled on December 8, saying it was a temporary move designed to ensure security for Israeli communities near the border amid the chaos of regime change. The IDF has also acknowledged operating in some areas just beyond the buffer zone.Israeli allies have said they understand Israel’s need to secure the border, although many have cautioned against remaining in the territory long term, and France, the UN and others have called for Israeli troops to pull back.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops during a visit to the area this week that they will have to remain in place there “until another arrangement can be found that guarantees Israel’s security,” indicating it was likely they would stay through 2025.Agencies contributed to this report.

Fighter pilots laud precision of operation to strike Yemen: ‘An incredible feeling’Pilots say they trained intensively for two weeks before attacking Houthi targets over rebels’ repeated attacks, were unaware of missile fired at central Israel during the sortie-By ToI Staff 20 December 2024, 4:35 pm

Israeli Air Force pilots who struck Houthi targets in Yemen early Thursday told Hebrew media that the operation went exactly as they had been planning for weeks until getting the green-light from the government.The strikes, which came in response to repeated attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, aimed to shut down ports used by the Iran-backed Houthis, and included Israel’s first-ever direct attack on the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.Fourteen fighter jets took part in the operation — along with dozens of support aircraft — dropping some 60 munitions.“There is a good feeling of having completed such a complex task and succeeded in doing it precisely,” one of the fighter pilots, identified only by his Hebrew initial “Nun,” was quoted as saying by Channel 12 news.Another pilot, Samech, told the Walla news site that it was “a very long flight [that involved] refueling at night-time.”“On the way there [we] dealt with synchronizing all the planes [and] making sure everything’s ready, and on the way back [we] thought about making it home safely,” he said. “The important thing is that there will be quiet here, and justice.”At five-and-a-half hours and 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), the flight was the longest ever for Maj. Dalet, 26.Dalet told Ynet that there was an emergency en route to Yemen when his monitor showed a technical issue with his fuel tank. He and his navigator had to manage the difficulty in mid-air.Still, Dalet kept his cool, with he and his colleagues having trained intensively for the operation over the previous two weeks. “We practice a lot of contingencies and responses,” he said.Dalet also said that until he touched down back in Israel, he was unaware that the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel amid the operation.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.Another Maj. Dalet, who helped guide the pilots from the IAF’s control room in Israel, said he had a hunch the Houthis would fire at Israel, and had prepared the saferoom in his home just in case.“My wife entered it in the middle of the night,” he said. “Then we beat them up half an hour later. Was an incredible feeling.”Lt. Col. Nun, one of the pilots who participated in the sortie, told Israel Hayom that the operation was his first time in Yemen, and that it gave him a sense of closure.“My grandfather came from Yemen in Operation Magic Carpet,” he said, referring to the evacuation of Yemenite Jewry after Israel’s founding. “Back then, it was a country where Jews were ruled by others, and now we come from thousands of kilometers away to protect the state of Israel.The operation marked the third time Israel had attacked Yemen, after months of the Houthi rebels’ attacks on Israel as well as on commercial shipping and naval vessels in the Red Sea.Israel has succeeded in shooting down most of the Houthis’ projectiles. Others have crossed into Israel, including a drone that killed a man and injured several people in Tel Aviv in July.The Houthi attacks began about a month after their fellow Tehran-supported ally, the Palestinian terror group Hamas, invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.The rebels claim their attacks are in support of Gaza amid the war there, but have struck many ships with no connection to Israel.

Sweden says it will stop funding UNRWA, will increase Gaza aid to other agencies-Minister Chikli hails decision as ‘courageous and critical,’ says UNRWA ‘lost its legitimacy’ due to Oct. 7 connections; Sweden says Knesset ban on UNRWA led to decision-By Reuters 20 December 2024, 2:49 pm

Sweden announced on Friday that it will no longer fund the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, UNRWA.The Nordic country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, told the Swedish TV4 network that Stockholm will instead bolster its humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via other channels.Sweden’s decision to end funding for UNRWA was in response to a recent Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid to the Palestinians via the agency more difficult, Dousa said.Sweden plans to increase its overall humanitarian assistance to Gaza next year, he added.“There are several other organizations in Gaza, I have just been there and met several of them,” the minister said, naming the UN World Food Programme as one potential recipient.Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli hailed Sweden’s decision, saying it was “courageous and critical,” and that UNRWA “has lost its legitimacy to exist” due to involvement in terror activities by staff members.A courageous and critical decision by the Swedish government. UNRWA, whose personnel actively participated in the October 7 atrocities, whose facilities became terror hubs, and whose schools spread Hamas propaganda and incitement, has lost its legitimacy to exist. pic.twitter.com/AIxxkpziOa— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) December 20, 2024-Israel has long had a combative relationship with UNRWA, which it argues has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee crisis by allowing the status to be passed down through generations. Frustration with UNRWA in Jerusalem has picked up over the past decade as Israel has found the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group embedded within the agency’s infrastructure.That anger has peaked since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, in which a number of UNRWA staffers were found to have participated, including kidnapping and killing Israelis. Israel has alleged that 10 percent of the UN agency’s staff in Gaza have ties to terror groups — a charge the agency says it has no evidence of.Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 people abducted as hostages to Gaza.In October of this year, the Knesset overwhelmingly voted in favor of banning the agency from operations inside Israel and severely limiting its operations in the West Bank and Gaza.The United Nations has repeatedly argued there is no alternative to UNRWA. Israel says its job can be carried out by other agencies it views as less corrupted by terror support.The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the attack and had been fired. Later, a Hamas commander in Lebanon killed in September by Israel was found to have had a UNRWA job.In October, UNRWA confirmed that a Hamas Nukbha commander killed in an Israeli strike, who led the killing and kidnapping of Israelis from a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7 last year, had been employed by the agency since July 2022.Top UN officials and the Security Council describe UNRWA as the backbone of the aid response in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have been at war for the past year, leaving the enclave in ruins.UNRWA was established in 1949 following Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. It provides aid, health and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and neighboring Arab countries — Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.It is only one of two UN refugee agencies. While UNRWA caters to Palestinians, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is responsible for all other refugees around the world.The United Nations has repeatedly argued there is no alternative to UNRWA. Israel says its job can be carried out by other agencies it views as less corrupted by terror support.

A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)

Pope condemns Israeli airstrikes in Gaza: ‘This is cruelty. This is not war’Comments come day after diaspora minister published open letter in Italian newspaper saying pontiff’s earlier remarks amounted to a ‘trivialization’ of the term ‘genocide’By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 3:17 pm-DEC 21,24

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza again on Saturday, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes a “genocide” of the Palestinian people.Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican’s various departments with what appeared to be a reference to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that medics said killed at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza.The IDF did not immediately comment on the strikes but has long said it only targets terrorists and that Hamas hides among civilians. “Yesterday, children were bombed,” said the pope. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart.”The pope, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but he has recently been more outspoken about Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.In book excerpts published last month, the pontiff said some international experts said that “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.”Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli sharply criticized those comments in an unusual open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio on Friday.Chikli said the pope’s remarks amounted to a “trivialization” of the term genocide.Francis also said on Saturday that the Catholic bishop of Jerusalem, known as a patriarch, had tried to enter the Gaza Strip on Friday to visit Catholics there, but was denied entry.The patriarch’s office told Reuters it was not able to comment on the pope’s remarks about the patriarch being denied entry.Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The pontiff’s comments were the latest barb in an increasingly fractious relationship between Jerusalem and the Holy See.Earlier this month, a seasonal nativity scene at the Vatican was removed after backlash over its depiction of the baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf used by Palestinians as a national symbol.The nativity scene drew criticism as it was suggestive of the trope that Jesus was a Palestinian rather than Jewish.The pope has met frequently with family members of those taken hostage and has repeatedly called for their release.However, a letter he wrote to Middle Eastern Catholics on the first anniversary of the attack never mentioned Hamas by name or made explicit reference to its atrocities, including the hostages. The letter also quoted passages from the Gospel of John that have historically been used to fuel religious antisemitism.The war began when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 45,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.