Hamas released a video today showing U.S. citizen Edan Alexander, who is currently being held hostage in Gaza. In the video, Alexander urges President-elect Trump to step in and use his influence to negotiate for his release. This marks the first time footage of Alexander has surfaced since he was taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Alexander, in the video, states that he has been in captivity for over 420 days, suggesting the video was recorded recently, within the past 24 hours. Currently, 101 hostages remain in Hamas’s custody in Gaza, including seven Americans. An Israeli official has indicated that the release of the video is seen as a hopeful signal from Hamas.

On Friday, President Biden was seen with a book that characterizes Israel as a colonial power in opposition to Palestinian resistance, despite his ongoing support for the Jewish state. As reported by the New York Post, Biden was photographed leaving Nantucket Bookworks while holding a copy of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017,” written by Rashid Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University.
Khalidi commented on the situation, saying, “I do not speak to the Post (or the Times for that matter), so this is not for publication, but my reaction is that this is four years too late,” in reference to Biden holding his book.

President-elect Donald Trump has revealed that businessman Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, will be appointed as the US Ambassador to France. Trump expressed confidence in Kushner’s ability to “strongly serve US interests abroad.”
Born in 1954 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Charles Kushner comes from Jewish parents who immigrated from Poland after the Holocaust. He pursued a law degree at Hofstra University before joining his father’s real estate firm in the 1980s. In 1985, Kushner founded his own company, which quickly grew to become a major force in the real estate sector, with several high-profile developments.

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, declared on Friday that his group had achieved “victory” over Israel in the latest conflict. During a televised speech, Qassem, who took over from Hassan Nasrallah after Nasrallah’s elimination by Israel during Operation Northern Arrows, asserted that Hezbollah’s “divine victory” in this conflict had surpassed the group’s previous triumph claimed after the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

Israeli Air Force jets today attacked terrorist infrastructure along the Syria-Lebanon border that Hezbollah was “actively using” to smuggle arms.
“The strike was conducted after identifying the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria to Lebanon, even after the ceasefire agreement, constituting a threat to the State of Israel and a violation of the terms of the truce,” the IDF said.
The military accused the Iranian proxy, with the backing of the Assad regime, of smuggling weapons through civilian crossing points.
“The IDF will continue to act to eliminate all threats to the State of Israel that contravene the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the army said.

IDF Staff Sergeant Zamir Burke tragically lost his life in combat in northern Gaza, the IDF said earlier this evening. The 20-year-old from Beit Shemesh had been serving as a squad commander in the 601st Battalion of the 401st Brigade.
In the same incident where Staff Sergeant Zamir Burke fell, another soldier from the 601st Battalion, 401st Brigade, sustained serious injuries.
Additionally, a separate event saw a soldier from the 46th Battalion of the Armored Corps, 7th Brigade, gravely wounded during fighting in southern Gaza.
Moreover, a soldier from the 82nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade was also seriously injured while involved in operational activities in northern Israel. The injured soldiers have been transported to a medical facility for treatment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed a willingness to cede land to Russia in exchange for NATO protection if it would bring an end to the ongoing conflict.
“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under [the] NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Zelensky stated in an interview with Sky News today, speaking through a translator.
“That’s what we need to do fast, and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically.”
This statement marks a significant shift from Zelensky’s earlier position, where he had committed to fighting on until Ukraine regained control of its internationally recognized borders, which included the disputed Crimea region.
{Matzav.com}

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the nation’s largest, will not rehire Mark Lillienfeld, a 43-year-veteran of the department, as a contractor after the latter performed Nazi salutes and made racist comments during a training lecture for law enforcement officers.

Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a senior member of the Emirati Federal National Council and chairman of its committee on defense, interior and foreign affairs, visited the shive in Israel for Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabd rabbi who was murdered in the United Arab Emirates.
The American Jewish Committee thanked Al Nuaimi for attending the shiva.
“The United Arab Emirates will never allow extremists to divide us,” the Emirati official said, per the AJC. “Today, more than ever, our country is committed to openness and peace.”
JNS sought comment from the Emirati embassies in Tel Aviv and Washington and from the Israeli embassy in the United Arab Emirates.

The Memphis Police Department arrested a 17-year-old male, whom it identified as “juvenile male,” and charged him with killing an Israeli man last week.
“His name was not released due to his age,” the department told JNS.
Aviv Broek, 21, was shot to death and found by officers shortly after 1:15 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 22 on the 2300 block of Hernando Road in the city. The Tennessee department told JNS on Nov. 24 that “ there is no indication at this time of a hate crime,” but that it was “pursuing all leads.”