Three U.S. service members injured in Kataib Hezbollah terrorist attack, Biden launches strikes

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces conducted airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq on Christmas Day.

The airstrikes were in retaliation against attacks by Kataib Hezbollah terrorists earlier on Monday.

"Earlier in the day, Iranian sponsored Kataib Hezbollah terrorists and affiliated groups attacked coalition forces at Erbil, Iraq resulting in several injuries," a press release from CENTCOM read. "Early assessments indicate that these U.S. airstrikes destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants."

"There are no indications that any civilian lives were affected," the statement added. "The U.S. military will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of these strikes."

CENTCOM General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement that the airstrikes are intended to hold regional actors "accountable."

"These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks," Kurilla said. "We will always protect our forces."

Smoke is seen rising from areas near the Syrian capital Damascus as a result of an Israeli missile attack on Nov. 22, 2023. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Iranian state media claims an Israeli airstrike outside Damascus in Syria on Monday killed a senior advisor in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Reuters reported that three security sources confirmed the death of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, who was responsible for coordinating a military alliance between Iran and Syria.

State television interrupted programming to announce the death of Mousavi and described him as one of the oldest advisors for the Guard in Syria.

The announcement stated that Mousavi accompanied Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Guards’ elite Quds Force, who died in a U.S. drone attack in Iraq in 2020.

Read the full article about Iran and Israel by Greg Wehner

Smoke billows over Khan Yunis during Israeli bombardment from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 25, 2023, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier died from a fungal infection earlier in December, Israeli media reported Monday.

The Jerusalem Post, citing KAN News, reported that the soldier died in mid-December at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, Israel.

The soldier was hospitalized for several days and suffered from injured and infected limbs. He was evacuated out of Gaza after falling ill.

According to the Jerusalem Post, at least 10 Israeli soldiers have contracted serious infections over the course of the Israel-Hamas war.

The sounds of not-so-friendly carolers were heard singing on Christmas morning, as dozens of Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the respective Virginia and Washington, D.C., homes of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

Sullivan and Austin are two of President Biden's top foreign affairs advisers.

The groups could be seen outside the officials' homes early Christmas morning as a large police presence also moved in.

"Austin, Austin, rise and shine, no sleep during genocide!" protesters were heard shouting in one of several clips shared by the far-left organization The People’s Forum, which is opposed to Israel's war against Hamas terrorists.

Read the full article about the D.C. protests by Stepheny Price

The town best known as the birthplace of Christ can expect a further exodus of Jesus' followers after canceling Christmas celebrations and removing festive decorations, a former Catholic priest told Fox News.

"You have a town … that is no longer Christian," theologian Jonathan Morris told Fox News. "Even an essential holiday like Christmas will not be respected."

Officials in Bethlehem, the biblical city in the West Bank where Jesus was born, announced Nov. 14 that Christmas decorations wouldn't be displayed and that holiday celebrations would be canceled to show solidarity with Gaza amid ongoing bloodshed from the Israel-Hamas war. Year-round Christmas decorations would also be removed "in honor of the martyrs and in solidarity with our people in Gaza," the city council posted on Facebook.

Read the full article about Bethlehem by Megan Myers

A priest on CNN attempted to link the "story of Christmas" to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, sparking intense backlash on social media. 

On Christmas morning Monday, Father Edward Beck was asked about the "pain and suffering" taking place all over the world during the holiday season and to address those who are feeling "hopeless."

"I think the message of Christmas is that God enters into it with us and we're not alone in it," Beck responded. "What I'm so struck by is that the story of Christmas is about a Palestinian Jew- how often do you find those words put together? A Palestinian Jew born into a time when his country was occupied, right? They can't find a place for her to even give birth, his mother. They're homeless. They eventually have to flee as refugees into Egypt, no less. I mean, you can't make up the parallels to our current world situation right now." 

Read the full article about CNN by Joseph A. Wulfsohn

Danny Danon meets with students from the "Take Action for Israel" mission. Courtesy: Take Action for Israel

A group of pro-Israel student leaders from top U.S. universities commenced the “Take Action for Israel” mission to gather first-hand testimonies about the Oct. 7 attack and subsequent war in the Gaza Strip. 

Two dozen students, coming from schools such as UPenn, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, Brandeis, Temple and Johns Hopkins, among others, took up the mission in coordination with Hasbara Fellowships and IsraelAmbassadors.com to meet with top Israeli officials and visit the communities affected by the attack. 

They already met with Danny Danon, a former ambassador to the United Nations, who hoped the students would find “truth” and “advocate for Israel and relay your authentic experience.” 

“I am thankful you are all here to witness the realities the people of Israel face on a daily basis and hear directly from the residents,” he said. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with soldiers in northern Gaza Strip. Courtesy: Israeli Government Press Office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently made a trip to the northern Gaza Strip, where he received a briefing from commanders of different units.

“I am here in the north of the Gaza Strip with you, and I am very impressed,” Netanyahu told soldiers during his visit. "I told your commanders before, and also you, as reservists, as fighters - we are proud of you and trust you.”

Netanyahu urged the soldiers: “Don’t stop. Anyone who talks about stopping – no. Do not stop. The war continues to the end.”

“I know that you left families and that the families support, that's a great thing, that's the strength - that's the key to victory."

Netanyahu heard from commanders regarding confiscated weapons and “shafts” found in civilian areas, according to a statement from the Israel government press office.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to reporters as she is joined by fellow House Democrats in the Rayburn House Office Building on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, faced blowback for her social media post that tried to liken Jesus to the Palestinian people and criticized Israel but made no mention of Hamas or their hostages.

“In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, referencing Jews who lived in the land over 2,000 years ago under Roman control. “He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power.”

“Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today’s Palestinians, so much so that the Christian community in Bethlehem has canceled this year’s Christmas Eve celebrations out of both [fear for their] safety and respect,” she added, although the area remains under the Palestinian Authority’s control.

Jacob Kornbluh, a senior political reporter at The Forward, responded with a post on social media platform X that called out the representative for making “no mention of Hamas terror” or “the victims of Oct. 7 attack.

”Pro-Israel activist Andrea Karshan lamented that people do not enjoy Christmas, instead seeking to get “so social justice political about it,” The New York Post reported.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant (R) hold a joint press conference after their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 18, 2023. (Photo by Israeli Ministry of Defense/Ariel Hermoni/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Protesters gathered outside U.S. Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin’s house on Christmas day to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

An activist coalition formed between the Shut It Down for Palestine coalition, the Palestinian Youth Movement and the ANSWER Coalition gathered outside Austin’s house and demanded, “No Christmas as usual during a genocide! Ceasefire NOW!”

The protesters argue that Israel can only maintain its war effort because of financial and political support from the U.S.

In a press release issued after the protest, the groups expressed anger over several trips taken by U.S. officials to Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli officials in shows of support, including Austin, who said during his trip that “America’s support for Israel’s security is unshakeable.”

The groups promised to “continue to put the pressure on until [America’s] support of war crimes is rendered completely unsustainable.”

Palestinians inspect the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp after an overnight Israeli strike on December 25, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Cairo has put forth a plan that would seek an end to the Israel-Hamas war that a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat admitted to the Associated Press would prove ambitious.

Egypt devised the plan with input from Qatar , which would also participate in the plan’s execution. Both countries would coordinate with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to establish a government of experts, the anonymous Egyptian official said

.The plan includes a phased hostage “all-for-all” release and the creation of a Palestinian government to administer the Gaza Strip and West Bank that would follow a ceasefire.

Close to 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli custody on security-related charges or convictions, Palestinian officials have claimed.

Israel would also have to withdraw from Gaza, which would coincide with Hamas and Islamic Jihad ending their attacks on Israel.

Pope Francis delivers his Christmas Urbi Et Orbi Blessing and his traditional Christmas Day message from the central balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, on December 25, 2023 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Pope Francis renewed his calls for peace in the Middle East amid the war in Gaza during his Christmas message, lamenting the suffering of innocents.

The pope warned his followers against the “quest for worldly power” and urged people to turn their attention to victims of war, particularly the suffering of children in the region, calling them the “little Jesuses of today” to a crowd of roughly 6,500 in St. Peter’s Square.

“May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred, and may the Palestinian question come to be resolved through sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, sustained by strong political will and support of the international community,” he said. “Brothers and sisters, let us pray for peace in Palestine and Israel.”

During the Christmas Eve mass, the pope said, "Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world.

"The pope has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to the conflict and the release of all hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Reuters contributed to this report

U.S. President Joe Biden, left, pauses during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Israel military campaign in Gaza on Sunday, the White House said. Both leaders discussed the need to ensure the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas, a White House statement said.

“The President emphasized the critical need to protect the civilian population  including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting,” it said.

Biden and Netanyahu agreed to remain in “regular consultation” through their national security teams.   

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.