U.S. Navy pilots eject from F/A-18 fighter jet after aircraft downed by friendly fire over Red Sea

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An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the 'Bounty Hunters' of Strike Fighter Squadron 2 launches off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff D. Kempton)
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the 'Bounty Hunters' of Strike Fighter Squadron 2 launches off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff D. Kempton)
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the ‘Bounty Hunters’ of Strike Fighter Squadron 2 launches off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff D. Kempton)

JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

Two U.S. Navy aviators eject F/A-18 after aircraft reportedly downed by friendly fire over Red Sea

The U.S. military announced late Saturday that one of its aircraft – an F/A-18 – was involved in what was reportedly a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea. The incident occurred on a night of drama as USAAF and RAF fighters dealt heavy blows to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but had not specified the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea. The USS Gettysburg guided missile cruiser has been identified as the ship which mistakenly fired on the F/A-18.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries, reported Ynet. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

U.S., U.K. jets strike Yemeni capital Sana’a

Fighter jets from the United States Air Force and Britain’s Royal Air Force struck several sites in and around Yemen’s capital Sana’a as tensions in the Middle East ratchet up yet further.

Among the targets of U.S. forces was a Houthi missile storage center and a “command-and-control facility,” the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.

Houthi ballistic missile strikes Jaffa, wounds 16

Israelis in the center of the country were once again woken hours before dawn to the sound of an incoming missile alert as the Houthis, Iran’s proxy in Yemen, fired more projectiles toward Tel Aviv. This time, the missile was not intercepted – which prompted an immediate and urgent review from the civil defense administration and the air force – and wounded 16 people in the process. One man in his 60s in Israel’s fourth-largest city Rishon LeZion died of a heart attack induced by the early morning sirens.

The IDF later confirmed that the projectile had fallen in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The hit created a crater in a playground between two residential buildings, reported Israel National News.

Sweden halts funding for UNRWA

Sweden announced on December 20 that it would stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA — the U.N. agency solely dedicated to the descendants of Palestinian refugees — and instead channel its aid to Gaza through other organizations. Swedish aid minister Benjamin Dousa said the decision was prompted because “[l]arge parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible” following the Israeli government ban on the agency in late October, according to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy.

The Swedish lawmaker added the organization was going through a “crisis of confidence,” citing its “lack of neutrality, hiring of terrorists, and antisemitic textbooks” in a post on social media. Israel has shared a dossier of evidence which shows UNRWA employees taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel.
IDF destroys 5-mile long terrorist tunnel in Gaza

WATCH: IDF destroys 5-mile-long Gaza terrorist tunnel

Egyptian national slated for deportation from U.S. planned terrorist attack on Israel’s N.Y. consulate

Federal authorities have arrested an Egyptian citizen in Virginia who allegedly plotted to attack the Israeli consulate in New York City while facing deportation proceedings, wrote Israel Hayom.

The suspect, Abdullah Azz al-Din Taha Muhammad Hassan, was charged last week with distributing information about explosives and weapons of mass destruction to further a federal crime, with court documents showing he allegedly shared detailed bomb-making instructions and attack plans with an undercover FBI source.

The FBI’s investigation began after receiving a tip from Fairfax County Police Department concerning social media posts on X which displayed “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior.” Federal prosecutors said Hassan’s posts included praise for ISIS and other extremist figures.

Israeli ministry hits back at Pope Francis for criticizing Gaza airstrikes, ignoring Hamas cruelty

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hit back at Pope Francis after he labeled an airstrike, which reportedly killed – according to Hamas sources – 25 Palestinians in Gaza, an act of “cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart.”

According to the Times of Israel, the Foreign Ministry retorted with accusations against the pope’s unwillingness to call out Hamas atrocities.

“Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them,” the ministry wrote in a statement.

Thousands of Israelis take to streets to call for hostage deal, Netanyahu resignation

As the claims and counter-claims of both Hamas and Israel suggest a deal to release some evil murderers for at least a proportion of the hostages known to still be alive, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv and elsewhere to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get a deal done.

Unofficially some reports claim a deal is as good as 90-percent done, according to the Jerusalem Post, although there are sticking points such as IDF troops maintaining a presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor – the means by which Hamas was able to smuggle inordinately large amounts of men and materiel into the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu to stay away from 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation over fears Poles would carry out ICC arrest warrant

In a twist of irony, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks likely to stay away from the events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, over fears the Polish government will activate its authorities to detain him as per the International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

The major event is planned for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 and is expected to be attended by dozens of leaders and heads of state, including Britain’s King Charles III, reported the Times of Israel.

According to Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, Israeli authorities haven’t contacted their Polish counterparts about attending the event, and officials in Warsaw believe the reason is related to Poland’s stance that it will adhere to the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu over possible war crimes in the Gaza war.

Iran recruiting European teens to target Israelis, Jewish sites

A Bloomberg investigation has revealed Iran is up to its old tricks again and is now attempting to suborn European teens to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets on the continent, according to a report on Ynet.

The report lists several disturbing incidents of teenagers and adolescents directed by their handlers to carry out such attacks.

In Sweden, a 15-year-old boy attempted to locate the Israeli embassy with a loaded gun in a taxi, while in Gothenburg, a 13-year-old fired shots at an Israeli defense firm. In another case, a 16-year-old planted explosives outside the same facility. Authorities attribute these actions to Iran-affiliated actors exploiting local criminal networks to further Tehran’s agenda in Europe.

Pentagon confirms U.S. forces in Syria bolstered to 2,000

The United States Department of Defense admitted it had more than doubled its troop numbers in Syria from a previously stated 900 to some 2,000 military personnel, according to the Media Line.

When asked about the Defense Department’s failure to alert the public to the surge during a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that he was personally unaware of the increase until that morning.

“Part of the explanation is the sensitivity from a diplomatic and operational security standpoint,” he explained, adding, “Given the difference in what we’ve been briefing and what the actual number is, I just felt that it was important to get you that information.”

The U.S. troops are based across Syria, including al-Tanf near the Iraq border, working alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to combat Daesh remnants and safeguard detention facilities housing fighters and their families.

PA launches Jenin crackdown on terrorist groups supplied with Iranian arms

The security situation in Judea and Samaria seems to be deteriorating as heavily armed terrorist groups and the ruling Palestinian Authority clash, particularly in the radical hotbed city of Jenin.

In a rare crackdown, PA security forces killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in Jenin last week, and have been conducting ongoing operations to “restore order” since then, accusing the terrorist group of adopting an “ISIS approach” and planning an attack on Palestinian civilians, reported the Jewish Insider.

There have also been exchanges of gunfire between the PA and terrorists in Tulkarem in recent days. On Tuesday, Hamas called to mobilize its forces in Judea and Samaria against the PA operation.

Israel has grown increasingly concerned at the development of what is effectively the third intifada – although it has never been given an official designation – in which heavily armed terrorist groups – backed with heavy weapons smuggled with Iranian assistance – have begun to challenge the PA over its two-decade plus rule of swaths of Judea and Samaria.

Canada introduces new national forum to combat Jew-hatred

Some may think it is too little too late, but on Friday – not usually a day one would want to release important news, especially the last one before Christmas – the Canadian government announced it had created a National Forum on Combating Antisemitism, which will be held in Ottawa in February 2025, in response to “a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents, threats and hate crimes,” according to the Jewish Press.

Richard Marceau, vice president of external affairs and general counsel at the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada, stated that “hate crimes against Jewish Canadians have skyrocketed.”

“In the past few days alone, a synagogue in Montreal was targeted for arson and a Jewish girls school in Toronto was struck by gunfire,” he stated. “These are just the latest examples of an escalating threat we’re seeing across Canada. The safety of our community is under attack—and so too are the values and way of life that define us as Canadians.”

In the last few months, Canada seems to be vying with Ireland as the most anti-Semitic country in the so-called Western world, with many laying the blame for the former’s skyrocketing ant-Jew hatred at the feet of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Slovenia calls for Israel’s ban from 2025 Eurovision Song Contest

With several months until the next version of the long-running European-wide singing contest to be held in Switzerland – although it is much more than that – Slovenia has already called for Israel’s ban over its opposition to the country’s war with Gaza.

In an official letter to the European Broadcasting Union, the broadcaster cited ongoing political concerns as the basis for its appeal, becoming the first European nation to formally call for Israel’s exclusion from the contest, reported Ynet.

The letter follows recent actions by Slovenia’s government, including its recognition of a Palestinian state and its support for legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Two additional proposals were reportedly raised in Slovenia: withdrawing from the competition if Israel participates or blacking out the screen during Israel’s performance. However, these more drastic measures were shelved for now.



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