Israeli soldiers targeted in ‘extremely bloody and intense’ battles as Gaza Strip tensions rise

The Israeli Air Force struck an anti-tank missile terrorist cell in Daraj Tuffah on Thursday with the guidance of Israel Defense Forces troops on the ground in the area.

The IDF said troops destroyed terrorist infrastructure inside a building after RPG missiles were fired from it in the direction of an IDF vehicle. An anti-tank missile launch site with operating terrorists was struck by an IAF fighter jet in the same area at the direction of troops on the ground.

Israeli forces have also conducted operations in the Daraj Tuffah area over the past two days, eliminating terrorists via ground and aerial strikes.

"In a separate incident, terrorists fired at IDF troops from a building during operational activity," the IDF said. "Following searches of the residence from which the shots were fired, the troops located dozens of weapons."

The IDF's naval forces are also providing support to troops conducting ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

Fox News' Yael Kuriel contributed to this report.

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram joined "Your World" on Wednesday to give the latest updates about the Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking to guest host Charles Payne, Pergram explained how Iran-backed terrorist groups have attacked U.S. forces at least 106 times since October 17. The U.S. retaliated against Kataib Hezbollah terrorists on Christmas, after the group injured American soldiers at Erbil Air Base.

"Additional strikes by the U.S. stokes fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East, especially if the U.S. gets sucked in," he explained. "The U.S. ordered strikes against offshoots of Hezbollah and groups aligned with Iran after American forces were injured in one strike in northern Iraq. "

"Notably, things appear to have calmed down somewhat after the US flexed its military muscles over the past two days," Pergram concluded. "The Navy fired 15 anti-ship missiles in retaliation to more than 100 attacks on US installations."

Former Dutch deputy prime minister Sigrid Kaag was hired as the United Nations coordinator for humanitarian aid to Gaza on Tuesday.

Kaag, who speaks Arabic fluently, is married to Anis al-Qaq, a former Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official.

In an announcement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Kaag “brings a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian and development affairs as well as in diplomacy” to the position.

“She will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza,” Guterres said on Tuesday. Kaag is scheduled to start working on January 8.

The UN's relief efforts have been criticized by Israel supporters, some of whom say the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has been "hijacked" by Hamas.

"@antonioguterres under your watch UNRWA in Gaza has been hijacked by genocidal terrorists who exploit it every day," Ambassador Gilad Erdan wrote on X Tuesday. "Aside from Hamas, the only body to blame for the situation in Gaza is the UN!"

"UNRWA is an accomplice of Hamas," Erdan added. "It’s time for the Secretary-General and @UNLazzarini to shoulder responsibility for the moral rot of UNRWA and UN agencies."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he was accompanied by Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., during a visit to wounded IDF soldiers.

Netanyahu and Mast visited Hadassah-Mt. Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem, where they met with soldiers and border police officers who were injured.

In a statement, Netanyahu said that he "thanked [Mast] for his unwavering support of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF."

"The Prime Minister and the Congressman heard from the soldiers about the fierce battles they waged against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and activity in Judea and Samaria, and were impressed by their dedication to the goal and sense of mission," Netanyahu's office said in a press release. "They were also updated on their medical status and the rehabilitation process at the hospital, which has received many wounded during the fighting."

"Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated to the soldiers that the fighting would continue to the end – until the decisive victory over Hamas," the statement added.

Fox News Digital's Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.

A number of antisemitic incidents rocked several college campuses this year in the United States following an attack committed against Israel by Hamas.

Following the terrorist attack in southern Israel Oct. 7, which left an estimated 1,200 people dead, several college campuses became hotbeds for pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid an outpouring of protests on the same issue from different corners of the world. 

Many of those who took part in the demonstrations failed to condemn the terror group and instead took aim at the Jewish State over its retaliatory efforts.

Read the full article about antisemitism by Kyle Morris

At least 26 people were arrested Wednesday during a pro-Palestinian protest where demonstrators blocked a major New York City freeway inside John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said. 

Several protesters were seen on the Van Wyck Expressway blocking gridlocked traffic, forcing some travelers to get out of their vehicles with their luggage to get to their gate, Fox 5 NY reported.  

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Fox News Digital that it was notified of protest activity on the freeway inside the busy airport around 11:30 a.m. The roadway reopened around 20 minutes later following the more than two dozen arrests. 

Read the full article about pro-Palestinian protests by Louis Casiano

The Israel Defense Forces released new video of Hamas tunnels on Wednesday, as its war against Hamas terrorists continues.

The video purportedly shows Israeli soldiers discovering tunnel shafts near Al-Rantisi Hospital, a children's hospital in Gaza.

"IDF troops are uncovering Hamas’ tunnels inside and around multiple hospitals within Gaza," the IDF explained on X.

"The Rantisi Hospital is just another terrorist stronghold used to connect and transfer terrorists and weapons throughout Gaza to be used against Israelis," the Israeli military added.

The White House recently released the letter that President Biden sent to Congress, authorizing the retaliatory strikes against Kataib Hezbollah and other terrorists on Christmas.

In the letter, which was publicized on Wednesday, Biden explained that he asked the U.S. military to launch "discrete strikes against three facilities in Iraq used by Iran-affiliated groups for training, logistics support, and other purposes."

"As I have reported previously, militia groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have perpetrated a series of attacks against United States personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria," Biden wrote. "These attacks, including the recent attack on the Erbil Air Base by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, have caused injuries to United States personnel and have placed under grave threat the lives of both United States personnel and Coalition forces operating alongside United States forces."

The president wrote that the strikes "were taken to deter future attacks and were conducted in a manner designed to limit the risk of escalation and minimize civilian casualties."

"I directed the strikes in order to protect and defend our personnel who are in Iraq conducting military operations pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force," Biden continued. "The strikes were intended to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities."

"The United States took this necessary and proportionate action consistent with international law and in the exercise of the United States' inherent right of self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter," the president added. "The United States stands ready to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address further threats or attacks."

The American service member who was critically injured by Kataib Hezbollah terrorists at Erbil Air Base in Iraq on Christmas is currently recovering.

A U.S. defense official confirmed the news to Fox News on Wednesday. Two other American personnel were wounded in the attack, but neither were in critical condition.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin announced on Monday that the U.S. retaliated against Kataib Hezbollah by conducting "necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq."

"These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base earlier today, and intended to disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible," Austin said in a press release.

Fox News Digital's Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Protesters supporting Palestinians will be facing criminal charges after disrupting traffic at Los Angeles International (LAX) Airport on Wednesday morning, causing authorities to declare an unlawful assembly.

A dozen demonstrators had been detained just after 10 a.m. local time, FOX 11 LA reported, adding that they will face charges, including riot and attack on a police officer.

The local station added that the demonstrators held signs bearing slogans such as "Free Palestine," and "Ceasefire is not enough."

Read the full article about Los Angeles by Pilar Arias and Bill Melugin

Tehran has tried to take some credit for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as part of revenge for the killing of a high-ranking Iranian official, but the terrorist group Hamas flatly denied the claims in a bizarre spat between close allies. 

"It’s natural for Hamas to deny any linkage here to avoid giving Israel more reasons to continue its military mission against the terror group," Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. 

"Iran has been looking to wash blood away with blood since the killing of Soleimani, whose anniversary is near and it hopes to hype," Taleblu explained. "It should come as no surprise that the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism would seek to use terror when responding to the loss of their chief terror mastermind."

Read the full article about Iran and Hamas by Peter Aitken

American forces in the Middle East have been attacked 106 times since October 17, Fox News has learned.

The attacks have occurred in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, amid the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

The most recent attack took place at a U.S. airbase in Erbil, a city in northern Iraq. The base was targeted by a one-way attack drone.

There are no reports of wounded service members or damage to infrastructure at this time.

Fox News Digital's Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Wednesday during a trip to his country's border with Lebanon that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, “must understand that he’s next.”

Cohen made the comment a day after a Hezbollah strike wounded 11 people in northern Israel, according to The Associated Press.

The Israeli military and Hezbollah have been engaged in repeated skirmishes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Cohen said Hezbollah must respect a 2006 U.N. cease-fire that calls on the group to withdraw from the border area.

“We will operate to make the most of the diplomatic option,” Cohen said. “If it doesn’t work, all options are on the table.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to the Middle East again next week to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Axios is reporting Wednesday, citing five American, Israeli and Arab officials.

The Axios report said it would be Blinken's fifth trip to Israel since the war began on Oct. 7 and he is due to arrive sometime late next week.

During the trip, Blinken is expected to visit the West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as well, according to Axios.

A State Department spokesperson, when asked by Fox News Digital about the report, said "We have nothing to preview or announce regarding Secretary Blinken's schedule and travel."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement Wednesday that the appointment of Sigrid Kaag as "United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza is an important step as we continue to work with the UN as a critical partner in the delivery and distribution of life-saving humanitarian assistance in Gaza. 

"The United States is the largest financial supporter of the humanitarian assistance efforts to support Palestinian civilians who are caught in the middle of the conflict between Israel and Hamas," Sullivan added. "We welcome Ms. Kaag’s leadership and look forward to working together closely to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, and ensure safety and security for the aid delivery and the humanitarian staff providing the life-saving support to those in need."

Kaag is the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and her appointment comes after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution last week to increase Gaza aid.

Israeli spokeswoman Tal Heinrich sparred with CNN host Brianna Keilar as the latter appeared to suggest Israel viewed children as enemies in the war against Hamas.

Heinrich was featured on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. As she explained Hamas’ use of women and children to harm soldiers, Keilar repeatedly interrupted to suggest Heinrich was justifying attacking children.

Heinrich explained, "Our troops are finding, right now, on the ground, in certain neighborhoods in Gaza, pictures of children, women with guns, Hamas uniform tailored for children. And Hamas terrorists that we have arrested—"

"Does that make the children justifiable enemies to you? Is that what you’re saying?" Keilar interjected.

Keilar repeated, "Does that make all of the children justifiable enemies to you? I mean, you’re raising the specter of them being used in military uniform."

"This is not what I’m saying," Heinrich answered. 

After given some time, she explained, "I’m saying that a Hamas terrorist that we have interrogated has admitted in the interrogation that Hamas are exploiting children, they’re using them to transport ammunition. That is outrageous! Where is UNICEF? No, of course not!"

Israeli Air Force Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Omer Tischler has appeared Wednesday in a video that the Israel Defense Forces says addresses "false claims" made by the media surrounding its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's military has come under scrutiny regarding the increasing civilian death toll during its mission to eliminate the Palestinian terrorist group. President Biden, earlier this month, said Israel is starting to lose international support because of the "indiscriminate bombing that takes place."

Tischler began the video by saying that "since the Oct. 7 massacre, the Israeli Air Force has been conducting a precise, focused and process-based campaign" against Hamas.

"I will now address the issues that have been seen in the media," he continues. "To start with, our use of so-called 'dumb bombs.'" 

"The term 'dumb bombs' describes munitions that are not guided based. These are standard munitions that are regularly used by militaries worldwide. The claim that such munitions are indiscriminate or cause uncontrollable damage is misleading," Tischler said.

"Even though these munitions are not GPS guided, they are still used accurately," he added. "It is released in a specific release point calculated by the aircraft's system to allow the pilot to strike a target accurately."

Tischler also spoke about the use of heavy munitions and how Israeli forces strike targets in "sensitive areas."

"In war, mistakes can happen. While there are exceptions, they are still made. We study them, learn from them and make changes to our process as a result," he concluded.

Hamas on Wednesday is pushing back against a claim from a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who said that the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel was launched in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

The paramilitary guard's spokesman Ramezan Sharif made the comments at a news conference where he threatened retaliation for the killing of another top Iranian military figure, Gen. Razi Mousavi, who was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday, according to The Associated Press.

Sharif said that the Oct. 7 attack was “one of the acts of revenge by the resistance front against the U.S. and the Zionists for the assassination of the martyr Soleimani," who was the leader of the Guards' elite Quds Force.

But Hamas in a statement denied Sharif’s characterization and said the Oct. 7 operation was launched in response to purported threats to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and to the “Zionist occupation and its ongoing aggression against our people and our holy sites.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last one who can preach morality to us.

"The IDF is the most moral army in the world that fights and destroys the most abhorrent and cruel terrorist organization in the world, Hamas ISIS, which committed crimes against humanity and which Erdogan praises and hosts his senior officials," Netnayahu added.

Erdogan earlier today compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

“We watched Israel’s Nazi camps in the stadiums, right?” Erdogan said Wednesday in reference to a video aired on Turkish televisions that appeared to show Israeli soldiers rounding up half-naked men in a stadium in Gaza, according to The Associated Press. “What is this? Remember they used to talk about Hitler in a weird way? How are you different than Hitler?”

“They will make us long for Hitler," Erdogan reportedly added. "Is there anything different in Netanyahu’s actions compared to Hitler’s?”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a vocal critic of Israel during its military campaign to defeat the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, is now comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, reports say.

“We watched Israel’s Nazi camps in the stadiums, right?” Erdogan said Wednesday in reference to a video aired on Turkish televisions that appeared to show Israeli soldiers rounding up half-naked men in a stadium in Gaza, according to The Associated Press. “What is this? Remember they used to talk about Hitler in a weird way? How are you different than Hitler?”

“They will make us long for Hitler," Erdogan reportedly added. "Is there anything different in Netanyahu’s actions compared to Hitler’s?”

The Turkish leader went on to say that Netanyahu was receiving “all kinds of support” from the United States.

“And with all this support, what did they do to more than 20,000 Gazans? They killed them,” he also claimed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Iraqi government is calling American airstrikes against a terrorist group there earlier this week "an unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty." 

The statement came after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Christmas day that "at President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq.

"These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base earlier today, and intended to disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible," Austin added.

The Iraq Prime Minister's Office said in its own statement Tuesday that "The Iraqi government, through its security forces, constitutional institutions, and legal authorities, asserts its steadfast response to attacks on foreign diplomatic mission headquarters and sites hosting military advisors from friendly nations. Such attacks, we previously labeled as hostile acts, infringe upon Iraq's sovereignty and are deemed unacceptable under any circumstances or justification.

"At the same time, the Iraqi government condemns what transpired early this morning, Tuesday, December 26, 2023, during which Iraqi military sites were targeted by the American side justifying the act as a response," it continued. "This resulted in the martyrdom of one service member and the injury of 18 others, including civilians. This constitutes a clear hostile act. It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq."

Israel's military chief said Tuesday that the war against Hamas in Gaza is expected to continue on "for many months."

"The war will go on for many months and we will employ different methods to maintain our achievements for a long time," Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement, according to Reuters.

"There are no magic solutions, there are no short cuts in dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting," he reportedly added. "We will reach Hamas' leadership too, whether it takes a week or if it takes months."

"Ultimately, will we be able to say that there is no enemy surrounding the state of Israel? I think that's too ambitious, but we will create a new security situation," Halevi also said.

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that three more of its soldiers have died in fighting in the Gaza Strip.

They were identified as Lt. Yaron Eliezer Chitiz, 23, Sgt. Itay Buton, 20, and Sgt. Efraim Yachman, 21.

All three of the soldiers were killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.

The deaths bring its overall troop losses in the Gaza ground operation to 164, The Times of Israel reports.

The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday has released a video of an airstrike it says it carried out against Hamas fighters running in between buildings in the Shejaiya area of Gaza City.

"About 200 terrorist targets were attacked in the last day from the air, sea and land: Air Force aircraft, in cooperation with the fire and intelligence complex, attacked and eliminated terrorists passing between buildings," it said in a post on X.

A video shared by the Israeli Air Force appears to show individuals running in between buildings before an explosion occurs.

The Israeli Air Force also said Wednesday that one of its fighter jets attacked a military site belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The New York Times faced intense criticism throughout the final months of 2023 over its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

The Times began drawing ire as the horror unfolded in southern Israel on Oct. 7, immediately portraying Palestinians as the victims with the headline "Gaza Has Suffered Under 16-Year Blockade."

But perhaps the biggest blunder from the Gray Lady during the Israel-Hamas war was its botched coverage of the explosion at a Gaza hospital.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health alleged that Israel bombed the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital through an airstrike killing over 500 civilians. Subsequent reporting and intelligence found it was an explosion in the hospital's parking lot stemming from a misfired rocket fired by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, resulting in a death toll a fraction of what Hamas alleged. The initial reports from the Times and others prompted several Arab leaders to cancel meetings with President Biden and sparked riots outside of U.S. and Israeli embassies across the Middle East.

While many news organizations uncritically ran with Hamas' narrative, The Times stood out with its blaring headline that read "Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say" and even included an unrelated photo of rubble from a bombed building from a separate incident.

The following week, The Times published an editor's note admitting it relied "too heavily" on Hamas' version of events.

The conclusion from Hamas' disinformation campaign drawn by New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg was that "It Is Impossible to Know What to Believe in This Hideous War."

Former Times reporter Alison Leigh Cowan accused her ex-employer of committing "modern-day blood libel" with its erroneous reporting. The Free Press editor Bari Weiss, a former Times opinion page editor, raked the paper over the coals for "publishing Hamas PR" and its subsequent "soft non-apology."

Even after that unflattering episode, the coverage of the war from the "Paper of Record" has continued raising eyebrows. While reporting on the Hamas sympathizers who have ripped posters of Israeli hostages in cities and college campuses across the country, The Times described the anti-Israel vandalism as "its own form of protest- a release valve and also a provocation by those anguished by what they say was the Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinians in the years before Oct. 7 and since the bombing of Gaza began."

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst gave an update about the Israel-Hamas war during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday.

Yingst explained that fighting "has certainly intensified in southern Gaza," specifically in the city of Khan Younis.

"It's not just Hamas cells that are fighting the Israelis, but also smaller factions like PFLP and DFP," the reporter said. "The Israelis say over the past several days they've lost 19 soldiers and a number have also been injured in these battles."

"We've seen some of the images released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad showing ambushes against Israeli forces in this area," Yingst added. "They are fighting street by street, block by block in extremely bloody and intense battle."