US blocks UN resolution calling for immediate cease-fire in Gaza

With the current war in Israel resulting in the cancellation of many planned tours and pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the Magdala Tourist Center in the biblical town of Magdala is offering a "virtual pilgrimage" during Advent to help bring the Holy Land to those who cannot get there in person.

Dubbed the "Star of Wonder Advent Pilgrimage of Peace," the free virtual pilgrimage began on Sunday, Dec. 3, the first Sunday of Advent. Videos are available on the center's YouTube page.

The pilgrimage consists of videos from different locations throughout Israel and Palestine, all of which are significant to the story of Jesus' birth. A different video will be released each Sunday, the Magdala Tourist Center told Fox News Digital.

In addition to Magdala, believed to be the birthplace and hometown of Mary Magdalene, "stops" on the pilgrimage include the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem; Nazareth; and Bethlehem, the location of the birth of Christ.

The Church of the Visitation is built on the traditional location of the meeting between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth as told in the Gospel of Luke.

Overseen by Kathleen Nichols, director of Magdala Media's English team, the pilgrimage videos will also include reflections on the biblical meaning of peace, said a press release from Magdala Media.

"Kathleen and her small team made the journey into Palestine to film the now-empty sites connected with Christ's birth, hoping that virtual pilgrims can fill them with prayers for peace from all over the world," said the release.

Fox News' Christine Rousselle contributed to this report.

Hamas terrorists fired rockets into central Israel as the war in the Middle East continues.

Adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mark Regev, said during an appearance Sunday on "FOX News Live" that Israel is "progressing" in the fighting, saying Hamas terrorists are "surrendering in greater numbers" every day.

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Far-left Democrats who voted against condemning Hamas' attacks – or downplayed the group's actions – have showered dozens of candidates with thousands of dollars in campaign cash, according to a Fox News Digital review of federal filings.

Several progressive lawmakers have faced heat over their actions following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on innocent Israeli civilians that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage.

Most recently, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made controversial remarks during a CNN interview by declaring people should be "balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians" when asked why progressive groups remained silent over Hamas' use of rape as a weapon of war.

During the interview, Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, claimed she condemned Hamas' treatment of women and quickly pivoted the conversation back to Israel.

"With respect, I was just asking about the women, and you turned it back to Israel," Dana Bash, the host, shot back. "I'm asking you about Hamas."

Jayapal countered by saying she had already answered the question, adding, "We have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians. Fifteen thousand Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, three-quarters of whom are women and children."

Before Jayapal, a group of House Democrats primarily consisting of far-left "Squad" members voted against a resolution condemning Hamas' invasion in October.

The resolution, H.R. 771, which reaffirmed America's support for Israel as it responded to the attack, received overwhelming bipartisan support and passed by a vote of 412-10, with six members voting present.

Fox News' Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

Israel Defense Forces says it has eliminated Emad Krikae, the commander of Hamas’ Shejaiya Battalion.

According to IDF, Krikae was previously responsible for the anti-tank missile training in the Gaza City Brigade.

Krikae temporarily assumed the position of battalion commander after the elimination of the previous commander during the war. Per IDF, Krikae was part of anti-tank missile fire and terrorist raids carried out inside Israeli territory.  

A man in Beverly Hills has been arrested for allegedly attacking an elderly man on Saturday morning while yelling antisemitic comments at him, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD).

Officers said that Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, of Los Angeles was caught after fleeing the scene and arrested for the alleged attack. 

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., officers were dispatched to the area of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard for reports of a person who had been assaulted with a deadly weapon. 

Antisemitic incidents have proliferated nationwide amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in response to the militant group’s deadly attack on Oct. 7. 

Read the full article on the Beverly Hills arrest by Stepheny Price

Sarah Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met with IDF Lookout Ori Megidish in Kiryat Gat on Sunday. Megidish was rescued in a “special operation” in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in late October.

Megidish was captured in Nahal Oz along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu quoted Megidish as saying throughout her being held hostage: “I will not allow anyone to defeat me” and “Even when I was there, I was not afraid of them.”

Megidish told Mrs. Netanyahu that “her physical and mental health were excellent, and that she already aspires to return to full military service.” 

Employees of a California coffee shop caught on video blocking a Jewish woman from a bathroom while making anti-Israel comments have been fired.

Their firing comes after Farley’s East, the Oakland-based coffee house, apologized for the employees’ behavior on Friday.

"On Sunday, we fell short of this vision. What began as a civil dialogue between our staff and a Jewish customer escalated into a situation that was shocking and unacceptable,” the owners of Farley's posted on social media. 

“Events like these strike fear in the Jewish community and perpetuate the rise of anti-Semitism in our community and around the world.”

The owners continued by saying that acts of hate would not be tolerated in their business.

"We do not tolerate any behavior at Farley's that makes people feel unwelcome or unsafe. Because this act was not aligned with our values, the employees involved in the incident are no longer employed by Farley's.”

Read the full article on the employees’ firing by Stepheny Price. 

Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace called out House colleagues who have not condemned the sexual violence of Israeli women at the hands of Hamas.

"Where are the women's groups who profess to be fighting for women around the world who've been dead silent on this issue? And then look at my colleagues in the House. Where are they?" Mace said on "Fox News Sunday."

Videos and photos on social media, as well as Israeli police accounts, have detailed that Israeli women have faced violent rape crimes after Hamas launched attacks on the nation on Oct. 7.

Read the full article on Mace's comments by Emma Colton.

A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 10, 2023. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas warned on Sunday that no hostage will leave the Gaza Strip alive unless demands like additional aid for Gaza are met, according to reports.

"Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance," Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said in a televised broadcast reported on by the Israeli Times.

Israel and Hamas reached a temporary cease-fire agreement deal that took effect on Nov. 24, during which 110 hostages were freed by the terrorist group in exchange for some 240 Palestinian prisoners. The truce ended and fighting resumed on Nov. 30 after both sides accused the other of violating its terms.

Read the full article on Hamas’ warnings by Greg Wehner.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media availability with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron at the State Department, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 is "beyond anything that I've seen." 

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Blinken was asked by host Jake Tapper why he thinks the United Nations and the international community have been so slow to condemn the atrocities, despite evidence mounting in Israel of rapes and sex crimes committed by Hamas against women and girls, and maybe even against men on Oct. 7. 

"I've heard antisemitism hypothesized as a reason why the U.N. and the international community might be so slow to acknowledge this. What do you think?" Tapper asked. 

Read the full article on Blinken's comments by Danielle Wallace

Israel Defense Forces says the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched several rockets towards Israel Saturday night – including from a point near a United Nations compound in southern Lebanon. Additional launches have been made from the area toward Israel in recent days, IDF says.

“By continuing to fire from near a U.N. compound, Hezbollah endangers the lives of (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) personnel and continues to systematically violate UNSC Resolution 1701,” IDF tweeted. “UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commanders @aroldo_lazaro was notified of the incident.” 

Billboard trucks demanding Harvard’s President Claudine Gay be fired were deployed to the New England campus on Sunday, Fox News Digital learned, just days after her controversial remarks to Congress regarding whether calls for the genocide of Jews breaks the school's code of conduct.

"FIRE GAY," the privately-funded trucks read, accompanied by photos of Gay while she appeared before Congress last Tuesday.

One of the trucks is circling the campus, while the other is positioned at the school's main gate and blaring Gay's exchange with Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on Tuesday. The private funder running the billboard box truck campaign will also deploy a plane over campus this week with a banner reading, "HARVARD — STOP JEW HATRED," Fox News Digital learned. 

Read the full article about the truck billboards at Harvard by Emma Colton

A protester holds a sign which reads "Union against anti-Semitism is strength" as they participate in a march during an anti-Semitism demonstration in Brussels, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Nicolas Landemard)

Thousands marched in the capitals of Belgium and Germany Sunday to protest soaring antisemitism that has swept Europe since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

In Brussels, protesters held signs reading "You don't have to be Jewish to march against antisemitism," and "antisemitism kills," among other slogans. Police said at least 4,000 people attended.

Several thousand people demonstrated against antisemitism in Berlin as Germany deals with a large increase in anti-Jewish incidents following the Oct. 7 attack.

Police estimated that around 3,200 people gathered in the rain, while organizers put the figure at 10,000.

With antisemitism sweeping the nation, New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov showed solidarity with Israel in an audacious way Saturday night. The Republican councilwoman was seen attending the annual New York Young Republican Club gala in Manhattan wearing an evening gown emblazoned with the Israeli flag.

Vernikov, who was born in Ukraine, said the gown was put together in 24 hours by designer Irina Shabayeva.

“So many Jewish New Yorkers & Jewish college students are all over our country are afraid to display their Jewish identity,” she said in a tweet.

“We cannot remain silent. Be Jewish. Be loud. Be proud. This is where we live and we will not be intimidated.”

She also took shots at Ivy League campuses, like Harvard and UPenn, calling them the “laughing stock” for “abandoning every moral and ethical principle when it comes to protecting the Jewish students and the Jewish people.” 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas would be impossible. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Sunday went against “Squad” Democrats who called for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, noting it would be impossible since Hamas has repeatedly said it wants Israel destroyed.

“I don’t know how you can have a permanent cease-fire with Hamas, who has said before Oct. 7 and after Oct. 7 that they want to destroy Israel, they want a permanent war. I don’t know how you have a permanent cease-fire with an attitude like that,” Sanders said during an appearance on CBS “Face the Nation.”

Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, doubling down on accusations that Israel is targeting civilians and committing "genocide."

"When we hear genocidal rhetoric, when we witness devastation and mass murder, when we finance the bombs being dropped, when we intentionally disregard the suffering, we allow the people we represent to be complicit in mass atrocities," Bush said at the time.

"And let me be clear about what's happening: These are war crimes. The targeting of civilians is a war crime; the targeting of medical facilities is a war crime, the starvation and withholding of water and electricity is a war crime; the collective punishment of 2.3 million people is a war crime, and we refuse to be silent," she added as Omar and Tlaib nodded in agreement.

Sanders, however, defended Israel’s right to defend itself and take the fight to Hamas.

“I think Israel has the right to defend itself and go after Hamas, not the Palestinian people," Sanders said.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for Hamas fighters to surrender, declaring it the “beginning of the end” for the terrorist group.

"In recent days dozens of Hamas terrorists have been surrendering to our forces,” Netanyahu said in an on-camera statement while speaking in Hebrew. “They are laying down their weapons and handing themselves over to our heroic fighters.”

“It will take more time, the war is in full swing, but this is the beginning of the end for Hamas,” the prime minister continued. “I say to the Hamas terrorists: it is over. Don't die for Sinwar. Surrender - now."

Video circulating online shows footage showing dozens of detainees stripped to their underwear, hands in the air. Several held assault rifles above their heads, and one man walked forward and placed a gun on the ground.

While Israel has not commented on the lastest video, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said that “increasing numbers” of Hamas fighters were surrendering.

Heavy fighting raged Sunday across Gaza, including in the devastated north, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive after the U.S. blocked the latest international push for a cease-fire and rushed more munitions to its close ally.

Fox News’ Dana Karni and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An Israeli PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave an emotional rebuke on campus of the university president's testimony before Congress last week, in which she said it would depend on "context" whether calls for an intifada or the genocide of Jews would violate the prestigious university's code of conduct or rules against bullying or harassment. 

Speaking through a microphone outside the New England Holocaust memorial in Boston, Liyam Chitayat, a doctoral student in computational and systems biology at MIT, cited how MIT President Sally Kornbluth testified that calls for the genocide of Jews would only violate the university's code of conduct "if targeted at individuals, not making public statements."

This comes as MIT and Harvard are facing mounting pressure to remove their presidents after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned Saturday. 

Chitayat demanded the school answer for its "obsession with context." 

"I want someone to tell me, when is the right context to come and urinate on the window of the prayer room of MIT Hillel in front of the Jewish praying students inside there?" Chitayat said. "Tell me, when is the right context to respond to reports of students facing blatant antisemitism by telling them, well, you can try talking to the police, you can go to therapy or you can go back to where you came from? I want to know when a dozen students are allowed to storm in and harass individual staff members that work or are Jewish and are Israeli." 

"On top of your excellent, excellent moral compass, your choice to defend terrorist sympathizers will never be forgotten," Chitayat said of Kornbluth and Harvard University President Claudine Gay.

Read the full article about Liyam Chitayat by Danielle Wallace

Rabbi David Wolpe, a visiting scholar at Harvard, on Sunday told “FOX & Friends Weekend” why he chose to step down from Harvard’s antisemitism committee after the university’s president gave testimony on Capitol Hill last week. 

“I stepped down, basically, because it became clear to me that we were going to be unable to make the changes that needed to be made, at least in the short term,” Wolpe said. “And I suppose my message to President Gay would be that this is a five-alarm fire.” 

Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay was among university leaders called to testify in a hearing addressing the growing antisemitism that has taken place on college campuses since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel. Gay, along with her counterparts at UPenn and MIT, failed to say whether calling for "intifada" or the genocide of Jews is against Harvard's code of conduct.  

Wolpe said that universities are not completely to blame, pointing to the “deep-seated culture that has been growing now for years,” not only on campuses, but in cities and businesses. 

“This culture is much deeper than the campus, but the campus ought to lead the way,” Wolpe said. “It ought to be able to express to America as universities traditionally did, ‘this is how educated, thoughtfully, morally serious people respond to this.' Unfortunately, we’re not seeing this.”

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan attends a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in New York City, New York, U.S., November 29, 2023. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

The U.N.’s controversial Commission of Inquiry (COI) tasked with investigating Hamas’ crimes of rape and sexual abuse of Israelis has been deemed an "antisemitic" group by the Jewish State’s ambassador to the U.N. that is incapable of conducting a fair probe.

"The antisemitic Commission of Inquiry, established by the morally distorted Human Rights Council, which recently appointed Iran as chair of the council’s Social Forum, is biased against Israel in every way," Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan told Fox News Digital.

"Therefore, Israel has zero trust in its findings and its illegitimate activities. Its ‘investigation’ into the terror organization’s sexual crimes against Israeli women on Oct. 7 is akin to Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, investigating its crimes."

Erdan is a fierce critic of the U.N.’s longstanding alleged bias against the Jewish state.

Read the full article about Gilad Erdan by Benjamin Weinthal

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow, Russia January 30, 2020. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov/Pool)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a nearly hour-long phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday amid tensions between the Jewish state and Moscow.

Netanyahu told Putin that he disapproved of "anti-Israel positions" that were made by Russian diplomats at the United Nations last week, along with Russia’s “dangerous cooperation” with Iran, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu defended Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 240 hostages taken back to Gaza, telling Putin that any nation would have dealt a similar response, according to the report.

Since the Hamas incursion into the Jewish state, Israel has launched airstrikes and a ground war that have that have leveled entire neighborhoods in Gaza and killed thousands of Palestinians.

Netanyahu also reportedly thanked Putin for Russia’s efforts to help free Russian dual nationals that were taken hostage and asked Moscow to put pressure on the Red Cross to allow humanitarian visits to the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Hamas still has 117 hostages, as well as the remains of 20 people killed in captivity or during the Oct. 7 attack. The militants hope to exchange them for large numbers of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Tensions between Israel and Russia have been cold as Moscow remains critical of Israel’s war against Hamas.

During a U.N. Security Council meeting last week, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky warned that Israel’s plan to flood Hamas tunnels to flush out the terrorists may constitute a war crime.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden’s State Department said Saturday it approved the sale of $106.5 million worth of tank ammunition to Israel amid the war against Hamas in a deal that bypasses Congress. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved a possible foreign military sale to the government of Israel of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment for an estimated cost of $106.5 million, according to a State Department press release Saturday. 

Blinken "determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended," according to the release.

The move comes as Biden's request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security is languishing in Congress, caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security.

Read the full article about Blinken's decision by Danielle Wallace

Source: @mia_schem via Instagram

Israeli ex-hostage Mia Schem shared a picture of her new October 7-related tattoo on Instagram Saturday.

"I will never forget the 7.10.23," Schem's caption, which was written in Hebrew, read. "The pain and fear, the hard scenes, the friends who won't come back and the ones we have to bring back."

"But we will still win, we will still dance!" the post added.Schem, 21, was released from Gaza and brought back to Israel on November 30. She was seen embracing her mother and brother after stepping foot into Israel.

According to the Times of Israel, Schem was shot and kidnapped at the Re'im music festival massacre. Over 360 victims were killed there by Hamas terrorists.

Several Democrat members of Congress have a long history of public support for an organization whose leader recently ignited a firestorm over controversial comments regarding Hamas' deadly attacks on Israeli citizens.

Nihad Awad, the executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), recently said that he was "happy to see" the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and that the Jewish state did not have a right to self-defense because it is an "occupying power."

"The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on Oct. 7," Awad said at the 16th Annual Convention for Palestine in the U.S. on Nov. 24. "And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in."

He continued, "And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense — have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense."

Awad's comments forced the White House to scramble and scrub CAIR as a committed partner to fight antisemitism on its website. A White House spokesperson also strongly reprimanded his comments in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"We condemn these shocking, Antisemitic statements in the strongest terms," the White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on October 7th were, as President Biden said, 'abhorrent' and represent 'unadulterated evil.'

"Meanwhile, dozens of federal lawmakers across the U.S. have previously expressed support for CAIR, as featured on the organization's website, and some remained silent when asked by Fox News Digital about the co-founder's stance on the horrific attacks that left 1,200 dead and others captured.

Sen. Krysten Sinema, I-Ariz., who is facing re-election in the 2024 cycle, previously applauded CAIR's work as "advocating for a more just society" and also accepted thousands of dollars in campaign donations from former directors and chairs of the group's Arizona chapter.

"This organization’s inspiring service is a testimony to your success in creating a nurturing and supportive, responsive organization," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is currently facing criminal bribery charges.

In 2019, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, praised the group "for empowering American Muslims nationwide in political and social activism through our country," as written on CAIR's website.

U.S. military sources tell Fox News Digital that American forces have been attacked 87 times in the Middle East since October 17.

The latest attacks against the U.S. by Yemeni Houthis are being viewed as a major escalation in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

American forces shot down 3 drones in Eastern Syria.The French warship Languedoc shot down two incoming Houthi drones while patrolling the Red Sea on Saturday.

This comes on the same day that the Iranian-backed Houthi leaders announced that its forces would target any ships heading to or from Israel, effectively a virtual blockade of Israel’s ports that threatens Israeli commerce.

Fox News Digital's Jennifer Griffin and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.

The United States stood up to dozens of nations and almost every other member of the United Nations Security Council and vetoed a resolution Friday that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. The Biden administration has supported Israel's war to eradicate Hamas amid intensifying international pressure to condemn Israel for civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip. 

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the resolution “imbalanced” and criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which the terrorist group killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and “only plant the seeds for the next war.”

“Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution,” Wood said before the vote. “For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate cease-fire.”

The Associated Press contributed to this update.