President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Trump announced Tuesday. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” (AP))

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a powerful message to the Iranian people, urging them not to lose hope and envision a future free from the oppressive rule of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In a direct address, Netanyahu shared his belief that ordinary Iranians hold the power to bring about change. “A few weeks ago, I spoke directly to the people of Iran. Millions worldwide, including millions within Iran, viewed that message,” Netanyahu began, noting the significant responses received from Iranian citizens. “Today, I want to speak to you again.” Netanyahu criticized Khamenei’s regime for its costly attack on Israel, estimating the recent missile assault at $2.3 billion.

Two people were killed after a rocket strike in Nahariya, a northern coastal city, a short while ago. Magen David Adom responded and found two victims in critical condition. Sadly, they were both Niftar a short while later. MDA EMT Dor Vaknin said that this was a warehouse hit by a rocket. Vaknin says “we arrived quickly at the scene, where there was significant destruction and an active fire. We conducted medical assessments on two men who were lying unconscious and suffering from severe injuries. Unfortunately, their injuries were too severe, and after our assessments, we had to pronounce both of them deceased.” The IDF reports that 10 rockets were launched in the attack, with some intercepted and others hitting populated areas or open spaces in the Western Galilee.

Countless incredible nissim have occurred daily in Israel amid potentially deadly heavy barrages of rockets, drones, and missiles fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon for over a year. An especially astounding neis occurred on Tuesday morning when an explosive drone fired by Hezbollah scored a direct hit in the yard of a kindergarten in Nesher, a city near Haifa. No siren sounded beforehand. Nevertheless, no one was injured as the teacher and children were in the bomb shelter, possibly because the teachers heard the sirens from afar. Videos of the impact site show how the drone damaged the kindergarten’s yard, adjacent to the bomb shelter. The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority stated: “After searches, the drone was located in the yard of a kindergarten.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has released the names of four soldiers who were killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip: – Staff Sergeant Orr Katz, 20, from Ma’ale Adumim, served as a combat medic with the 92nd Battalion, Kfir Brigade. – Staff Sergeant Nave Yair Asulin, 21, from Carmit, served with the 92nd Battalion, Kfir Brigade. – Staff Sergeant Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat, 21, from Afula, served with the 92nd Battalion, Kfir Brigade. – Staff Sergeant Ofir Eliyahu, 20, from Holon, served with the 92nd Battalion, Kfir Brigade. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF signed agreements with yeshivah bochurim behind the backs of their Roshei Yeshivos and Rabbanim, Army Radio reported on Monday. The yeshivah in question is Itri, which is a Chareidi yeshivah in Jerusalem but is a bit more open and offers secular studies, a yeshivah high school [ישיבה תיכונית] similar to those in the US. As mentioned, the IDF went behind the backs of the Roshei Yeshivos and Rabbanim to sign the deal with the bochurim. The bochurim signed that they would enlist in the IDF within 20 months of ending their limudim in yeshivah gedola in exchange for the removal of personal sanctions. The yeshivah ended up finding about the agreement the bochurim signed because they began receiving funds for those bochurim since they were no longer defined as draft dodgers.

President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to appoint Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, sources tell the New York Times. As Trump accelerates efforts to assemble his foreign policy and national security team, Rubio’s name has reportedly risen to the top for the nation’s top diplomatic post. While Trump could make a last-minute change, he appears settled on Rubio, whom he also considered for the vice-presidential nomination earlier this year. Rubio, elected to the Senate in 2010, is known for his strong stances on foreign policy issues, particularly against China and Iran.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid is demanding that newly appointed Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to issue 7,000 enlistment orders to Charedim, warning that failure to do so would label Katz “the minister of evasion” rather than a true defense minister. The draft orders were announced last week under Katz’s predecessor, Yoav Gallant. “If these orders stop, or disappear, or evaporate or dissolve, then Israel Katz is not the defense minister… he’s a petty politician who received a political appointment because Netanyahu said to himself that ‘there is no problem pushing him around, he has no backbone,'” Lapid asserted.

Six young Arabs were arrested on Sunday near the Chareidi neighborhoods in Antwerp for planning to attack Chareidi Jews. Antwerp police confirmed the information to local media. “A few young people planned yesterday to carry out a similar action as in the Netherlands (an hour and a half drive from the Netherlands) in the Jewish quarter of Antwerp, and as a result, we increased patrols,” said Antwerp police spokesperson Wouter Bruyns. The police arrested six suspects, including several minors. Some of the suspects were caught in a local park and others were caught in the Chareidi neighborhood itself. “Suspects with suspicious items in their pockets, or flags, were detained for several hours,” Bruyns said.

A disturbing incident captured on video shows two people on a motorcycle swiping a yarmulka off the head of a Jewish man as he was crossing a street in Staten Island. The video, shared on social media by Staten Island Shomrim, depicts the riders approaching the man and knocking off his kippah before speeding away. Shomrim posted the footage on X, urging the public’s assistance in identifying the individuals involved. “Help us apprehend these individuals. Wanted for a despicable act of pushing a Kippah off a Jewish man’s head,” the Shomrim’s statement read. Shomrim encouraged anyone with information to contact the NYPD’s 121st Precinct Detective Squad at 718-697-8712 or the Shomrim hotline directly at 718-370-2121. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)