Russian forces unleashed a huge new offensive on Avdiivka

"The Ukrainian military said Russian forces unleashed a huge new offensive on the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, just northwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun told Ukrainian television that fighting had been intense with 610 artillery shellings reported near Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours." AlJazeera

Biden’s Backstabbing Dents Israeli Morale

"President Joe Biden might have thought he was only talking to a small group of wealthy donors. But his disparaging comments, published about Israel and the Israeli government have dented national morale — and cheered Israel’s enemies.
Biden claimed, without evidence, that Israel practices “indiscriminate bombing”; that Israel is losing support around the world; and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fail unless he boots democratically-elected right-wing parties out of his cabinet.

Two factors made Biden’s comments even worse.
One was that he was speaking to an ostensibly pro-Israel group of donors, led by Lee Rosenberg, a former chair of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Rosenberg was tapped for the job during the Obama years, when it was hoped that he could use his shared Chicago ties with Barack Obama to moderate some of Obama’s left-wing policies. That hope was dashed as Obama grew hostile to Israel, and began cozying up to the Iranian regime.
The other factor is that Israel has been absorbing a series of bad-news stories lately, most of all about the deaths of hostages in Hamas custody, and about the deaths of elite soldiers who are fighting in Gaza to free them.
At 115 casualties since the invasion, Israel has suffered fewer losses than expected. But each fallen soldier is mourned deeply by the entire nation, especially in a small country, and especially when so many of those doing the fighting are reservists, away from their jobs, spouses and children.
Israel is also shocked — at a level that doesn’t always come through in the headlines — at being abandoned by the universities of the West." Breitbart

Consequences of Russian nighttime missile attack on Kyiv

"As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, a massive fire broke out in the Darnytskyi district of the capital of Ukraine, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KCMA).

"The consequences of a missile attack on Kyiv. Darnytskyi district," the message reads." RBC

Angry motorists attack protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire while blocking major road

"Angry motorists have assaulted protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as they blocked the 110 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles.

The demonstration was reportedly organized by IfNotNow, a movement whose goal is to erode US support for Israel as it continues it ground invasion into the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators blocked the entire horizontal length of the freeway in a single file while sporting black shirts that read "not in our name" and holding up cardboard signs calling for a ceasefire." MS

Irish US marine killed in Ukraine

"Graham Dale, 45, from Raheny, north Dublin, Ireland, was killed in the embattled country last Friday. Mr. Dale served in the US military, including in Iraq, before fighting in Ukraine." 

IrishTimes

Israel Begins Pumping Seawater Into Hamas’s Gaza Tunnels

"Israel’s military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’s vast complex of tunnels in Gaza, according to U.S. officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations, part of an intensive effort to destroy the underground infrastructure that has underpinned the group’s operations." WSJ

Millions of Ukrainians forced offline

"Ukraine’s primary mobile network provider, Kyivstar, has been brought down by what is described as one of the biggest cyberattacks ever, leaving millions of customers without mobile phones and home internet service......Ukraine's largest telecommunications provider suffered a major hacker attack on Tuesday, knocking out mobile phone service to millions of people. Mobile communications and access to the internet were down throughout the day. The attack on Kyivstar, which has 24.3 million mobile customers and over 1 million home internet subscribers, has led to a ripple effect that has caused outages of IT infrastructure and disrupted services at banks and some state institutions."RT

Polish MP takes fire extinguisher to Hanukkah candles

"A lawmaker in Poland used a fire extinguisher to douse menorah candles during an official Hanukkah ceremony on Tuesday, calling the Jewish holiday a form of “satanic worship.” The stunt was later referred to prosecutors by Warsaw’s parliament speaker. In a brief statement after the stunt, the lawmaker declared that he was restoring “normalcy,” also labeling Hanukkah as “satanic.” Asked if he was ashamed of what he did, Braun said: “Those who take part in acts of satanic worship should be ashamed.” RT