The US is poised to announce the latest arms package for Ukraine drawn from US inventories, this one totaling about $725 million and including the second shipment of antipersonnel mines that President Joe Biden has authorized, according to two officials.
The 71st Presidential Drawdown Authority package will be the largest since April, when the administration issued one valued at $1 billion. In addition to the battery-powered anti-personnel mines, which can be set to deactivate after a certain period of time, the newest package includes antitank, counter-drone and other munitions, according to the US officials, who asked not to be identified in advance of the announcement.

John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor, defended U.S. President Joe Biden, who was photographed carrying an anti-Israel book as he exited a bookstore in Nantucket, Mass., over the weekend.
During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, as Biden traveled to Luanda, Angola, on Monday, a reporter asked Kirby and Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, about the president’s decision to carry The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi as he left the bookstore.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter on Monday, attributing it to “war politics” influencing the legal proceedings regarding Hunter’s gun and tax fraud charges. She further asserted that despite this, the Justice Department was not politically biased, contrary to former President Donald Trump’s accusations.
Jean-Pierre was confronted by sharp questions from journalists aboard Air Force One, as President Biden, 82, was en route to Angola for an official visit following the pardon issued late Sunday night.
“The president took an action because of how politically infected these cases were,” Jean-Pierre explained to a skeptical press corps.

First lady Jill Biden expressed her full backing of her husband’s decision to grant a pardon to their son, Hunter Biden, on Monday, stating that she, “of course,” supports the action.
While revealing the White House’s holiday decorations, Jill Biden told the press, “Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
President Joe Biden, 82, made the announcement of Hunter’s pardon on Sunday evening, asserting that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted”—a claim that remains controversial, particularly considering the leadership of his own appointed Justice Department officials.

Israel “is committed to the ceasefire. Sixty days is a gradual phase to ensure that Hezbollah does not harm us or violate the agreement, as happened in 2006,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Monday.
“UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese government must fulfill their roles—this is also in their interest. We need this period to ensure there are no terror bases there,” the admiral added.
He emphasized that the Lebanese people and government must ensure that “Beirut and Southern Lebanon are free of weapons—not in homes, not in yards and not in children’s rooms.”

President-elect Donald Trump issued a stern warning on Monday, declaring that there would be “all h— pay” in the Middle East if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages in Gaza before he takes office next month.
Having previously insisted that Israel find a way to end the Gaza conflict before his term begins, Trump has now delivered his most severe ultimatum yet, threatening direct American intervention in the war if his demands are not fulfilled.
“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

American “hearts are heavy today” as the news came out that terrorists killed Omer Neutra, a U.S. citizen, during the Oct. 7 attacks and that Hamas continues to hold his body in Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Monday.
“Omer was just 21 years old when he was taken by Hamas. He was serving as a tank commander in an Israel Defense Forces unit that was among the first to respond to Hamas’s campaign of cruelty—risking his life to save the lives of others,” Biden stated.
“A Long Island native, Omer planned to return to the United States for college. He dreamed of dedicating himself to building peace,” the U.S. president added, noting that he met less than a month ago with Omer’s parents at the White House.

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have deployed to Syria to back President Bashar Assad’s counteroffensive against Sunni jihadi insurgents who have captured large portions of northwestern Syria, including most of the city of Aleppo.
An Iraqi military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Iraqi militias in Syria have already been deployed to the war effort and that additional forces have crossed the border, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Some 200 Iraqi militants on pickup trucks crossed into Syria overnight on Sunday through the strategic Al-Qa’im border crossing, near Abu Kamal in Deir ez-Zor Province, said the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor.

This morning, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich stated his hopes for the safe return of hostages, but emphasized that any deal to secure their release must be carefully considered. Speaking on Kan Reshet Bet, Smotrich clarified, “We will not make an irresponsible deal. We will not make a deal to surrender. I supported the previous deal, but I have red lines.” He explained that each scenario related to the conclusion of the war must be evaluated individually. “I find releasing terrorists repulsive, in every cell of my body. There’s a dilemma. Don’t be jealous of us, who sit in the Cabinet and make these decisions. We have two goals and we must not allow the important goal of bringing the hostages back destroy the second goal of dismantling Hamas.”

Prosecutors filed terrorism charges on Monday against four suspects over the launching of maritime flares at Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea on the night of Nov. 16.
Rear Adm. (res.) Ofer Doron, 63, his son Gal Doron, 27, Amir Sadeh, 62, and Itay Yafeh, 62, were charged in the Haifa District Court with terrorism-related reckless behavior, attempted arson, and obstruction of justice.
The decision to launch the flares during a demonstration outside Netanyahu’s residence was driven by ideological and political motives, according to a Channel 12 summary of the indictment.